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Many high school students and graduates aspire to work with animals and the Certificate II and III qualifications we offer are excellent pre-vocational courses that can lead to a wide variety of career pathways in the animal care industry.
Combining online learning with practical training, our animal care courses will provide you with both the underpinning knowledge and practical skills needed to enter the workplace or move on to higher qualifications.
This depends on your individual experience and academic ability.
If you are at high school or a high school-aged student, we recommend commencing your animal care career with our on-campus course, ACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care (VETDSS High School) or our online version, ACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care (Online). You can find out more detailed information on what age you need to be to commence our Animal Care certificates here.
Depending on a student’s individual interests, we recommend all high school-leavers commence with ACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care. The only time we recommend direct entry into ACM30122 Certificate III in Animal Care Services is when a student has already completed a Certificate II in either Animal Studies or Care or an alternative course or has considerable work experience in the animal care industry.
If you are new to the animal care industry and want to learn more about animals, we would suggest you start with ACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care. This is an excellent entry-level course to introduce you to the world of animal care. If you have not studied for some time and/or have only previously completed studies up to year 10 in high school, the Certificate II courses are also an ideal starting point to give you the foundations for further study in this area.
If you are a mature-aged student who has considerable experience working with animals, has completed year 11 studies or higher at high school, and are seeking a general animal care qualification, we would suggest that you begin your studies with ACM30122 Certificate III in Animal Care Services (RSPCA) or ACM30122 Certificate III in Animal Care Services (Online)
The Certificate II and III in Animal Care (Animal Studies) courses are both offered as flexible online learning courses and on-campus study modes.
Deciding which course is for you depends on your experience and skills. If you already have recent significant experience working or volunteering with animals including animal handling, and have good academic ability we would suggest starting at a Certificate III level. On the other hand, if working with animals and handling animals is completely new to you, we recommend starting at a Certificate II level.
When it comes to deciding which study mode is for you, this again depends on your location and personal situation. The online eLearning option is the most flexible study option for high school leavers and graduates and requires you to organise your own practical training in an approved animal-related organisation. The blended intensive options are only available in Perth, WA and offer a combination of on-campus classroom training, onsite practical training in which we organise and supervise your workplace practical training at a reputable WA based workplace as well as home online eLearning. If you enrol in our VETDSS High School specific course you will complete all practical training and assessments on-campus at our Ascot Training facility and will not require an additional work placement.
For anyone interested in pursuing a career in veterinary nursing, our animal care (animal studies) qualifications meet the prerequisite for ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing. All applicants are subject to the AVT selection process once the prerequisite is met.
ACM20121 Animal Care Online | ACM20121 Animal Care On-campus | ACM20217 Horse Care | ACM30121 Animal Care Services | ACM30117 at the RSPCA |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duration | 1 year | 10-14 weeks | 1 year | Up to 2 years | 6 months |
| Study Mode | Online only | Blended | Online only | Online only | Blended |
| Attendance | Not required | Attendance required | Not required | Not required | Attendance required (RSPCA) |
| Work placement hours required | 150 hrs | 1 day per week | Dependant on Experience | 250hrs | 1 day per week at RSPCA |
| Who organises work placement | Student | Organised by AVT | Student | Student | Organised by AVT |
| Pre-requisites | Not required | Not required | Not required | Not required | Not required |
| Selection and interview process | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Start date | Anytime | Intakes throughout year | Anytime | Anytime | February and July |
| No. of units | 12 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 12 |
| Cert IV in Veterinary Nursing Meets initial pre-requisite for Vet Nursing | |||||
| Cost* | $2,845 | Animal Health & Welfare** Vet Nurse Pathway $3,648 | $2,795 | $3,795 | $5,495 |
Animal Welfare | |||||
VN Pathway |
Fees: For more detailed information about fees visit the individual qualification pages as well as our student policies page.
* Applicants for ACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care Intensive (Health and Welfare) course may be eligible for the Jobs & Skills WA Participation Program, thereby significantly reducing the fees. See the course page for detailed information
Want to find out more about starting out, career opportunities working with animals, subjects to choose to go on to a career in veterinary nursing? Follow these links:-
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The leader in Vet Nursing qualifications, Animal Care (Animal Studies) and Animal Behaviour and Training Courses for students wishing to pursue a career working with animals. AVT is a nationally recognised training provider based in Perth, Western Australia providing on-campus and online courses to students studying throughout Australia. Learn More
We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land where our campus is based, the Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and we commit to walking alongside our indigenous brothers and sisters. We extend that respect to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in our community.
Applied Vocational Training (AVT) Registered Training Provider No.5273