PUA20719 is the nationally recognised Certificate II behind fire fighter work. It has been the current version on the national register since 2019, when it replaced PUA20713. About 82 fire fighter jobs were advertised in June 2026, up 36.7% on a year earlier.
The signals behind the Certificate II in Public Safety (Firefighting Operations) are mixed, and both sides are worth weighing. Employment is projected to grow through 2035 and job ads in June 2026 were up 36.7% on a year earlier. 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.
Employers are posting more fire fighter jobs than a year ago. About 82 fire fighter jobs were advertised online in June 2026, up 36.7% on a year earlier. Over the last 12 months there were about 900 job ads, while 2,035 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 emergency service workers and fire fighters as not in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Emergency Service Worker and Fire Fighter as not in shortage.
Fire fighter jobs are projected to grow. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 17,137 workers in May 2025, 18,211 by May 2030 (up 6.3%) and 19,096 by May 2035 (up 11.4%).
Results for Certificate II in Public Safety (Firefighting Operations) graduates are mixed against other Certificate IIs. In the 2025 NCVER Student Outcomes survey, 86.8% were employed or in further study after training. The typical Certificate II result is 77.6%, across 63 qualifications. 87.4% were satisfied with the training, against 91.4% typical.
Fewer people are enrolling in the Certificate II in Public Safety (Firefighting Operations) than a year ago. Across Australia, 2,310 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 2,035, down 11.9% in a year.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for PUA20719 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 II in Public Safety (Firefighting Operations) is 11 units: 4 core, plus 7 electives chosen from 28 options on the register. Prerequisites apply to 14 of them, marked below.
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 PUA20719 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 4412) 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 IIs 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: register training.gov.au, synced 6 September 2026; 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; NCVER Student Outcomes survey 2025 survey; register synced 18 Sept 2026. Page last updated 19 Sept 2026.