PUA30322 is the nationally recognised Certificate III in Public Safety (Aquatic Search and Rescue). It prepares you for work as a police officer. It has been the current version on the national register since 2022, when it replaced PUA30319. Employers posted about 13 police officer jobs in June 2026, down 36.5% on a year earlier.
The signals behind the Certificate III in Public Safety (Aquatic Search and Rescue) are mixed, and both sides are worth weighing. Employment is projected to grow through 2035. Job ads in June 2026 were down 36.5% 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 fewer police officer jobs than a year ago. About 13 police officer jobs were advertised online in June 2026, down 36.5% on a year earlier. Over the last 12 months there were about 200 job ads, while 70 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 police officers as not in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Police Officer as not in shortage.
Police officer jobs are projected to grow. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 67,454 workers in May 2025, 71,642 by May 2030 (up 6.2%) and 74,944 by May 2035 (up 11.1%).
Enrolments in the Certificate III in Public Safety (Aquatic Search and Rescue) are dropping fast. Across Australia, 105 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 70, down 33.3% in a year. National data for PUA30322 starts in 2022.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for PUA30322 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 III in Public Safety (Aquatic Search and Rescue) is 11 units: 5 core, plus 6 electives chosen from 27 options on the register. Prerequisites apply to 11 of them, marked below.
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Browse coursesGet Course maps PUA30322 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 4413) 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: register training.gov.au, synced 6 September 2026; Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; NCVER Total VET Activity 2025 collection; employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index latest month June 2026; register synced 18 Sept 2026. Page last updated 19 Sept 2026.