SHB40121 is the nationally recognised Certificate IV behind beauty therapist work. It has been the current version on the national register since 2021, when it replaced SHB40115. About 340 beauty therapist jobs were advertised in June 2026, down 3.6% on a year earlier.
The signals behind the Certificate IV in Beauty Therapy are mixed, and both sides are worth weighing. Beauty therapists are in national shortage and employment is projected to grow through 2035. Enrolments are falling. These are official statistics, not a promise about your result.
Job ads for beauty therapists are holding steady. About 340 beauty therapist jobs were advertised online in June 2026, down 3.6% on a year earlier. Over the last 12 months there were about 4,400 job ads, while 1,000 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 beauty therapists as in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Beauty Therapist as in national shortage.
Beauty therapist jobs are projected to grow. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 39,264 workers in May 2025, 40,927 by May 2030 (up 4.2%) and 43,410 by May 2035 (up 10.6%).
Fewer people are enrolling in the Certificate IV in Beauty Therapy than a year ago. Across Australia, 1,155 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 1,000, down 13.4% in a year. National data for SHB40121 starts in 2022.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for SHB40121 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 Beauty Therapy is 23 units: 18 core, plus 5 electives chosen from 12 options on the register. Prerequisites apply to 10 of them, marked below.
Providers listed on Get Course offering this qualification or its pathway. Enquire and the provider confirms details directly.
Get Course maps SHB40121 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 4511) 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; Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index latest month June 2026; Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; 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.