SHB50321 is the nationally recognised Diploma of Cosmetic Tattooing. It prepares you for work as a body artist. It is current on the national register, with no earlier version recorded. 45 people enrolled in 2025, down 30.8% on the year before.
The signals behind the Diploma of Cosmetic Tattooing are mixed, and both sides are worth weighing. Employment is projected to grow through 2035. 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.
Australia's official shortage list rates civil celebrants, body artists, first aid trainers, religious assistants and personal service workers necs as not in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Civil Celebrant, Body Artist, First Aid Trainer, Religious Assistant and Personal Service Workers nec as not in shortage.
Body artist jobs are projected to grow. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 21,044 workers in May 2025, 22,071 by May 2030 (up 4.9%) and 23,456 by May 2035 (up 11.5%).
Enrolments in the Diploma of Cosmetic Tattooing are dropping fast. Across Australia, 65 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 45, down 30.8% in a year. National data for SHB50321 starts in 2022.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for SHB50321 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 4 core units for the Diploma of Cosmetic Tattooing, plus 14 elective options. Prerequisites apply to Five 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 SHB50321 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 4518) 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: NCVER Total VET Activity 2025 collection; employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; register training.gov.au, synced 6 September 2026; register synced 18 Sept 2026. Page last updated 19 Sept 2026.