PSP40616 is the nationally recognised Certificate IV in Procurement and Contracting. It prepares you for work as a purchasing officer. It has been the current version on the national register since 2016, when it replaced PSP42412. Employers posted about 2,081 purchasing officer jobs in June 2026, down 0.2% on a year earlier.
The signals behind the Certificate IV in Procurement and Contracting are mixed, and both sides are worth weighing. Employment is projected to grow through 2035 and enrolments are rising. The official shortage list does not rate its occupations in shortage. These are official statistics, not a promise about your result.
Job ads for purchasing officers are holding steady. About 2,081 purchasing officer jobs were advertised online in June 2026, down 0.2% on a year earlier. Over the last 12 months there were about 24,400 job ads, while 1,205 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 production clerks, purchasing officers, stock clerks, warehouse administrators and order clerks as not in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Production Clerk, Purchasing Officer, Stock Clerk, Warehouse Administrator and Order Clerk as not in shortage.
Purchasing officer jobs are projected to grow. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 117,522 workers in May 2025, 123,922 by May 2030 (up 5.4%) and 130,794 by May 2035 (up 11.3%).
Certificate IV in Procurement and Contracting graduates do better than is typical at Certificate IV level. In the 2025 NCVER Student Outcomes survey, 97.2% were employed or in further study after training. The typical Certificate IV result is 89.9%, across 71 qualifications. Median income after training was $68,700, against $63,400 typical. 91.3% were satisfied with the training, against 87.8% typical. Income here is the survey median about six months after training. It includes part-time work, so it is not the full-time award rate.
Enrolments in the Certificate IV in Procurement and Contracting are growing. Across Australia, 950 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 1,205, up 26.8% in a year.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for PSP40616 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 Certificate IV in Procurement and Contracting is 15 units: 9 core, plus 6 electives chosen from 10 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 PSP40616 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 5911) 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. Outcome benchmarks marked “typical” are medians computed by Get Course across all Certificate IVs in the same NCVER collection; they are derived figures, not official NCVER benchmarks. Funding rows appear only after verification against the official state program list. Source vintages: Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index latest month June 2026; NCVER Total VET Activity 2025 collection; Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; NCVER Student Outcomes survey 2025 survey; register training.gov.au, synced 6 September 2026; register synced 18 Sept 2026. Page last updated 19 Sept 2026.