TLI31321 is the nationally recognised Certificate III behind import-export clerk work. It has been the current version on the national register since 2021, when it replaced TLI31320. About 885 import-export clerk jobs were advertised in June 2026, up 8.9% on a year earlier.
The signals behind the Certificate III in International Freight Forwarding (Operator) are mixed, and both sides are worth weighing. Employment is projected to grow through 2035 and job ads in June 2026 were up 8.9% 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 more import-export clerk jobs than a year ago. About 885 import-export clerk jobs were advertised online in June 2026, up 8.9% on a year earlier. Over the last 12 months there were about 10,100 job ads, while 170 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 despatching and receiving clerks and import-export clerks as not in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Despatching and Receiving Clerk and Import-Export Clerk as not in shortage.
Import-export clerk jobs are projected to grow. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 46,458 workers in May 2025, 48,766 by May 2030 (up 5%) and 51,445 by May 2035 (up 10.7%).
Fewer people are enrolling in the Certificate III in International Freight Forwarding (Operator) than a year ago. Across Australia, 190 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 170, down 10.5% in a year. National data for TLI31321 starts in 2022.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for TLI31321 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 International Freight Forwarding (Operator) is 13 units: 8 core, plus 5 electives chosen from 12 options on the register.
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Browse coursesGet Course maps TLI31321 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 5912) 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; Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index latest month June 2026; Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; register training.gov.au, synced 6 September 2026; register synced 19 Sept 2026. Page last updated 19 Sept 2026.