PUA40319 is the nationally recognised Certificate IV behind fire fighter work. It has been the current version on the national register since 2019, when it replaced PUA40313. About 82 fire fighter jobs were advertised in June 2026, up 36.7% on a year earlier.
The signals behind the Certificate IV in Public Safety (Firefighting Supervision) are mixed, and both sides are worth weighing. Employment is projected to grow through 2035, enrolments are rising 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. 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 1,345 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 IV in Public Safety (Firefighting Supervision) graduates are mixed against other Certificate IVs. In the 2025 NCVER Student Outcomes survey, 100% were employed or in further study after training. The typical Certificate IV result is 89.9%, across 71 qualifications. 85.5% were satisfied with the training, against 87.8% typical.
Enrolments in the Certificate IV in Public Safety (Firefighting Supervision) are growing. Across Australia, 1,145 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 1,345, up 17.5% in a year.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for PUA40319 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 Public Safety (Firefighting Supervision) is 11 units: 3 core, plus 8 electives chosen from 35 options on the register. Prerequisites apply to 17 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 PUA40319 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 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: register training.gov.au, synced 6 September 2026; Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; NCVER Student Outcomes survey 2025 survey; Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index latest month June 2026; NCVER Total VET Activity 2025 collection; employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; register synced 18 Sept 2026. Page last updated 19 Sept 2026.