HLT52215 is the nationally recognised Diploma behind massage therapist work. It has been the current version on the national register since 2015, when it replaced HLT50212. About 133 massage therapist jobs were advertised in June 2026, down 2.4% on a year earlier.
The signals behind the Diploma of Shiatsu and Oriental Therapies are mixed, and both sides are worth weighing. Employment is projected to grow through 2035. The official shortage list does not rate its occupations in shortage and enrolments are falling. These are official statistics, not a promise about your result.
Job ads for massage therapists are holding steady. About 133 massage therapist jobs were advertised online in June 2026, down 2.4% on a year earlier. Over the last 12 months there were about 1,700 job ads, while 5 people were training in the qualification nationally (2025). Ads show the market. Enrolments show the pipeline. Neither is a job promise.
Australia's official shortage list rates massage therapists as not in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Massage Therapist as not in shortage.
Massage therapist jobs are projected to keep growing strongly. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 19,473 workers in May 2025, 21,534 by May 2030 (up 10.6%) and 23,711 by May 2035 (up 21.8%).
Enrolments in the Diploma of Shiatsu and Oriental Therapies are dropping fast. Across Australia, 15 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 5, down 66.7% in a year.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for HLT52215 is being verified against official program lists.
Eligibility and student contributions vary by program and provider. The official state listing is the source of truth. In a subsidised place the government pays most of the tuition and you pay a co-contribution set by the program and provider.
The Diploma of Shiatsu and Oriental Therapies is 22 units: 19 core, plus 3 electives chosen from 11 options on the register.
No Get Course partner currently lists this qualification. Check the national register for organisations approved to deliver it, and remember that approval to deliver is a regulatory fact, not a recommendation. You can browse live courses from our partners and enquire today.
Browse coursesGet Course maps HLT52215 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 4116) so the mapping can be checked. Job advertisement counts come from the Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index and count online ads, not vacancies filled. Enrolment counts come from NCVER Total VET Activity and count people in training, not completions. Funding rows appear only after verification against the official state program list. Source vintages: Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index latest month June 2026; NCVER Total VET Activity 2025 collection; register training.gov.au, synced 18 September 2026; register synced 18 Sept 2026. Page last updated 19 Sept 2026.