SHB50121 is the nationally recognised Diploma of Beauty Therapy. It prepares you for work as a hair or beauty salon manager. It has been the current version on the national register since 2021, when it replaced SHB50115. Employers posted about 3,543 hair or beauty salon manager jobs in June 2026, down 3.1% on a year earlier.
The independent signals behind the Diploma of Beauty Therapy are weak right now. The official shortage list does not rate its occupations in shortage and enrolments are falling. Weigh both sides.
Job ads for hair or beauty salon managers are holding steady. About 3,543 hair or beauty salon manager jobs were advertised online in June 2026, down 3.1% on a year earlier. Over the last 12 months there were about 42,900 job ads, while 4,870 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 retail manager (general)s, antique dealers, betting agency managers, hair or beauty salon managers, post office managers and travel agency managers as not in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Retail Manager (General), Antique Dealer, Betting Agency Manager, Hair or Beauty Salon Manager, Post Office Manager and Travel Agency Manager as not in shortage.
Hair or beauty salon manager jobs are projected to stay about flat. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 250,748 workers in May 2025, 255,807 by May 2030 (up 2%) and 267,728 by May 2035 (up 6.8%).
Diploma of Beauty Therapy graduates do worse than is typical at Diploma level. In the 2025 NCVER Student Outcomes survey, 85.9% were employed or in further study after training. The typical Diploma result is 92%, across 34 qualifications. Median income after training was $52,200, against $63,250 typical. 82.2% were satisfied with the training, against 89% 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.
Fewer people are enrolling in the Diploma of Beauty Therapy than a year ago. Across Australia, 5,215 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 4,870, down 6.6% in a year. National data for SHB50121 starts in 2022.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for SHB50121 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 register lists 20 core units for the Diploma of Beauty Therapy, plus 26 elective options. 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 SHB50121 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 1421) 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 Diplomas 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; NCVER Student Outcomes survey 2025 survey; Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; register training.gov.au, synced 6 September 2026; register synced 18 Sept 2026. Page last updated 19 Sept 2026.