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Diploma of Arboriculture

This diploma suits people who already work with trees and want to move into the assessing and reporting side of the job: inspecting trees for defects and disease, judging risk, and writing the reports that councils, developers, insurers and landowners rely on.

Illustration of a person working as arborist
  • Course code: AHC50524

Where you can study this course

Where

  • Melbourne Polytechnic

    Visit provider website → (opens in a new tab)
    Campuses
    13 campuses
    Duration
    Not yet checked
    Study mode
    Not yet checked
    Full fee
    Not yet checked

    What students say

    A number of students find the organisation and admin frustrating, and opinions are mixed on the trainers and teaching, while some rate the facilities and campus highly.

  • TAFE NSW

    Visit provider website → (opens in a new tab)
    Campuses
    40 campuses
    Duration
    Not yet checked
    Study mode
    Not yet checked
    Full fee
    Not yet checked

    What students say

    Many students speak well of the facilities and campus, and some rate the trainers and teaching highly, though opinions are mixed on the trainers and teaching and student support, and some found the organisation and admin frustrating.

  • TAFE SA

    Visit provider website → (opens in a new tab)
    Campuses
    26 campuses
    Duration
    Not yet checked
    Study mode
    Not yet checked
    Full fee
    Not yet checked

    What students say

    Students rate the trainers, teaching, facilities and campus highly, though some found the organisation, admin and communication frustrating; opinions are mixed on facilities and campus.

  • Wodonga Institute of TAFE

    Visit provider website → (opens in a new tab)
    Campuses
    4 campuses
    Duration
    Not yet checked
    Study mode
    Not yet checked
    Full fee
    Not yet checked

    What students say

    Students rate the trainers and teaching highly, and many value the student support. Some found communication and organisation frustrating, which matters if you want clear, smooth admin.

Last reviewed 17 September 2026.

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Is this course right for you?

Entry requirements

To commence this qualification an individual must have achieved the following units of competency or their equivalent: AHCARB314 Implement a tree maintenance program AHCARB316 Perform pruning operations AHCARB323 Identify trees.

  • Providers can set their own conditions, such as a minimum age or a current job in the industry, and practical training may need a workplace placement. Check each provider above.

Entry recommendations

To be prepared for this course, it helps to have:

  • an interest in the health and wellbeing of trees
  • close attention to detail when inspecting trees
  • clear writing skills for reports others rely on
  • an attitude of care and responsibility for tree safety

What will you learn?

You learn to recommend what should be planted and where, how a tree's canopy should be managed, and when removal is the right call. Much of the work sits inside legislation, regulations and local by-laws that govern tree protection and removal, so interpreting those rules is part of the training. Entry assumes you have already completed the practical pruning, tree identification and tree maintenance units, which means most students arrive with hands-on arboriculture experience behind them.

  • tree defect inspection
  • tree identification and selection
  • arboricultural impact reports
  • diagnosing tree diseases
  • specifying and auditing tree work
  • tree legislation and by-laws

Units of competency (8 core, 2 elective)

The qualification is made up of 10 units. Everyone completes the 8 core units below, and the remaining 2 are electives chosen from the list on training.gov.au, so they vary by provider. Select a unit to see what it covers.

  • Loading the details for AHCARB408…

Career pathways

Roles this qualification is a recognised route into, and what else you need.

  • A recognised route into Arborist

    Arborist

    Arborists assess, prune and remove trees, keeping them healthy and safe around the people, buildings and powerlines below them.

    Explore this career →
    Weekly pay
    $1,400
    Full-time share
    80%
    Employment size
    5,600 workers
    Average age
    36 years
    Average full-time hours
    40 hours
    Gender share
    3% female
    Future growth
    +6%
    Job market
    In shortage (regional)

    Consulting arborist and tree-assessment training; meet prerequisite units and applicable tree-work rules. The diploma does not by itself establish practical climbing competence. Entry requirements: To commence this qualification an individual must have achieved the following units of competency or their equivalent: AHCARB314 Implement a tree maintenance program AHCARB316 Perform pruning operations AHCARB323 Identify trees.

Data from training.gov.au and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (CC BY 4.0).