Animal Studies (RSPCA)

The Animal Services team at RSPCA WA has 5 main departments: Shelter, Veterinary, Foster & Volunteer, Behaviour and Adoptions and has 3 key objectives. Their aim is to:

• Provide shelter and enrichment to lost, abandoned, surrendered or seized animals
• Rehabilitate animals that require medical or behavioural treatment prior to being suitable for rehoming
• Find suitable, permanent homes for all rehabilitatable animals

More than 70% of animals end up at the RSPCA in WA as a result of an intervention from the RSPCA inspectorate (inspector services), with a majority of them having some form of welfare concern. The remaining animals are surrendered by either their owners, council pounds or are found as strays.

The RSPCA faces a unique challenge not experienced by other animal shelters. They have the added responsibility of seizing animals and prosecuting owners who do not provide the appropriate care and living conditions for their animals. This also means the RSPCA are unable to rehome any such seized animals whilst legal proceedings are occurring against accused owners. As a result, the RSPCA often have considerably fewer animals available for adoption at any one time in comparison with other shelters but on the other hand, have many long term animals in their care. Unfortunately, many of these animals have significant medical and behavioural concerns.

Once animals can be offered for adoption, they are all provided with a veterinary health check, behavioural assessment as well as being microchipped, desexed and vaccinated. Many animals also require behaviour modification plans and some may even require surgical or medical procedures to correct long term problems.

The RSPCA shelter is run entirely by donations, with only a small amount of government funding which covers a portion of the services provided by the inspectorate division. The team at the RSPCA are 100% dedicated to placing as many animals as possible into new homes and trying to improve the lives of every animal that comes into their care.

The RSPCA facilities are based at 108 Malaga Drive, Malaga.  To learn more about the RSPCA please visit RSPCA WA

The application process for our RSPCA Animal Studies course are as follows:-

• Step 1 – Apply using our online form found on the course page. If an application period is not open you can register your details and we will contact you when applications are open.
• Step 2 – Your application will be reviewed by one of our AVT Student Liaison Officers. Shortlisted applicants will be contacted for an interview.
• Step 3 – Successful applicants will be emailed an offer including payment plan details.
• Step 4 – Applicants are required to activate their payment plan prior to course commencement

For an overview of all important dates and deadlines including details of the next intake for all AVT courses, visit our Timetables and key dates page.

To successfully complete our Certificate II in Animal Studies (Animal Care) Intensive courses and the Certificate III in Animal Studies RSPCA based courses, attendance is compulsory on your scheduled on-site/practical training days.

If you are unwell, you will be asked to contact your trainer in advance to arrange a time to catch up.  Due to the intensive nature of the course, if you are absent for more than 2 practical training days, it is unlikely you will be able to successfully complete this qualification.

This is an intensive course and a majority of the days spent at the RSPCA will be hands-on working alongside fellow students, our qualified teaching team and RSPCA representatives. For this reason it’s important we keep the class size small. There will be no more than 12 students in your class.

AVT offers high quality study material written, reviewed and delivered by Veterinarians, Animal Scientists and Veterinary Nurses with formal training qualifications. Our in-house training team have spent hundreds, if not thousands of hours creating course resources for our units of competency across all courses.

The difference between registered training providers’ course content across all RTOs including TAFE is often the units contained in the course and the quality of the material. There are many units that can be included in a course and training providers nominate a selection of units they will offer to students.

Our courses are broad-based and give an excellent introduction to working with animals across all species. They provide a fantastic opportunity to learn about many different animals and most importantly allow you to apply what you learn from our online course material or in the classroom to the workplace.

To find out more about the units offered within each course visit the Course Content section on our qualifications pages.

• ACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care
• ACM30121 Certificate III in Animal Care Services (Online)
• ACM30117 Certificate III in Animal Studies (RSPCA)
• ACM20217 Certificate II in Horse Care
• ACM40321 Certificate IV in Animal Behaviour and Training
• ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing

We are only offering this course in Perth, Western Australia.

We do not hold a formal Open Day, however we often attend careers expos and events organised by schools. Throughout the year we conduct information sessions which are offered by invitation. If you are interested in attending one of these sessions please contact us

No, you do not need to complete a previous qualification for entry into ACM30121 Certificate III in Animal Care Services or ACM30117 Certificate III in Animal Studies.

For more detailed information about entry requirements for these courses, please visit these “Entry Requirements” section on the following pages:-

• Online eLearning based course
• RSPCA WA based Course

The new ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing qualification requires ACM20117 Certificate II in Animal Studies (Now updated to: ACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care)   OR a relevant Certificate III or higher level qualification in an animal science discipline OR can demonstrate equivalent skills and knowledge in a relevant animal science discipline to any of the above qualifications.

This means if you do not have any prior experience working with animals you will need to complete either a Certificate II in Animal Care  or Certificate III in Animal Studies or Care or a similar course.  You can find out more about the course entry requirements on the Course Entry tab here or our detailed course entry requirements are described here

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• Preparing to submit an application for our Veterinary Nursing course
• Top 7 reasons to pursue a career in the veterinary industry
• What age do I have to be to commence the Veterinary Nursing course?

The minimum age requirements for Certificate II in Animal Care  are based on academic school year.  For the Certificate II in Animal Care, this is Year 10 High School or equivalent. Some exceptions may be possible. Please note the minimum age for our Intensive Courses is 18 years of age due to the policies of our work placement facilities.

The minimum age requirements for Certificate III in Animal Studies are based on academic school year.  For the Certificate III in Animal Studies, this is Year 11 High School or equivalent. Some exceptions may be possible. Please note the minimum age for the RSPCA based course is 18 years of age due to RSPCA policy.

None of the courses currently offered by Applied Vocational Training are eligible for Government HECS-HELP or VET Student Loans (formerly VET FEE-HELP).

HECS-HELP is a scheme that assists eligible Commonwealth supported students to pay their student contribution amount with either a loan or a discount for certain up-front payments. HECS‑HELP loans are available at all public universities and at a handful of private higher education providers.

VET Student Loans is an Australian Government loan scheme to assist eligible students studying diploma level and above qualifications to pay their tuition fees. VET Student Loans replaces VET FEE-HELP from 1 January 2017. There are no Government loans available for Certificate IV  and lower levels of study including those offered at AVT.

To find out if you may be eligible for alternative support such as Youth Allowance, we recommend contacting Centrelink .

Concession fees are available to eligible students only through our courses which have been granted government funding. Currently, this applies to the Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing for students that are residing within Western Australia and our Certificate II in Animal Care Intensive (Animal Health and Welfare). For more information on the eligibility criteria please see the fees section of the course page.

We offer flexible monthly payment plans with instalments for all students. We do not require upfront full payment for any of our courses. Total course fees and payment plan structure vary with each course and individual circumstances. Visit the relevant qualifications page for more information or contact us for further details.

ACM30121 Certificate III in Animal Care Services is the latest training package at a Certificate III level in animal care.  ACM30110 Certificate III in Animal Studies and ACM30117 Certificate III in Animal Studies are now superseded by the new course.

Course codes change from time to time because the Government department that oversees the training packages, including the Animal Care Package (ACM10) regularly review courses and revise content guidelines in line with industry feedback.  These guidelines are then provided to Registered Training Organisations such as ourselves so we can revise and update our course material.  This results both in changes to the content within certain units and in some cases, units being replaced.  Some qualifications may change significantly, some others may not.

When qualifications in the Animal Care Package are updated, training providers generally have between 12 and 24 months to transition students to the new course code.  This transition time can differ from time to time depending on extensions permitted by the government.

Change History

• ACM30110 Certificate III in Animal Studies was updated to ACM30117 in 2017: Read More
• ACM30117 Certificate III in Animal Studies was updated to ACM30121 in 2021: Read More
• ACM30121 Certificate III in Animal Care Services is the current qualification.

Each superseded certificate is deemed equivalent to the new qualification.

Yes, our qualifications in Vet Nursing, Horse Care and Animal Studies/Care are nationally recognised and accredited.

Our company, Applied Vocational Training (AVT),  is fully registered by the Australian Government training registration authority ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority).  Our Registered Training Organisation (RTO) Number is 5273. The qualifications we offer are nationally recognised Certificates.

We are also supported and endorsed by the Australian Veterinary Association. Our registration authority can be viewed on the training.gov.au website, which is the Australian Government’s website for details of registered courses and training providers –  View our details here.

We strongly recommend you search the training.gov.au website for any training organisation you may be considering.

We follow the national training package for all qualifications. The latest version of the training package can be viewed here.  training.gov.au is the Australian Government Website for registered training courses and providers.

In some cases, registered training organisations (RTOs) may enrol non-resident students who are temporarily visiting or reside in Australia on certain visas, other than study visas. However, some visas include restrictions on training. Most visas and sub-class visas clearly outline what your study rights are in Australia. It is the responsibility of the individual to check their study and work rights according to their individual visa. 

Further information is also available from the Department of Home Affairs.

Visa information for Jobs & Skills WA Funding

Students wishing to be considered for funded places in the ACM40418 Certificate  IV in Veterinary Nursing should visit this page for more detailed information about eligibility. 

Related FAQ’s:

• Can an RTO enrol an overseas visitor into a course and not be CRICOS registered?
• I live overseas, can I still study your courses online?
• Is the Australian Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing recognised worldwide?
• I currently live overseas, can I apply for your on-campus full-time course? Will I need an international student visa?
• I wish to study in Australia on a student visa. Can I study with Applied Vocational Training?

In some cases, a registered training organisation (RTO) may enrol students who are temporarily visiting or reside in Australia on certain visas, other than study visas. However, some visas include restrictions on training. Most visas and sub-class visas clearly outline what your study rights are in Australia. It is the responsibility of the individual to check their study and work rights according to their individual visa* . Further information is also available from the Department of Home Affairs.

*Any course undertaken by a student visa holder must be registered on CRICOS and training must be provided by a CRICOS registered provider (The Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students). Applied Vocational Training is not a registered CRICOS provider and as such we are unable to accept applications from individuals wishing to study on a student visa.

Related FAQ’s:

I live overseas, can I still study your courses online?

I am a non-resident visa holder, can I study with AVT?

Is the Australian Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing recognised worldwide?

I currently live overseas, can I apply for your on-campus full-time course? Will I need an international student visa?

Is the Australian Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing recognised worldwide?

Tags: international, overseas, visa, CRICOS

This answer specifically addresses students who wish to study in Australia on a Student Visa.

Unfortunately, we are unable to assist individuals with studying as an international student as we do not hold the required CRICOS registration “The Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students.

The following link outlines the main steps to be taken to be able to study in Australia homeaffairs.gov.au. This will require applying for a student visa under the Vocational Education and Training Sector. However, you will need to have been accepted into a full-time study course by a CRICOS approved provider and then apply for the student visa. These normally take approximately 46 days to process.

You may find CRICOS registered training institutions in Australia who can offer qualifications to international students. Some TAFE (Technical and Further Education) institutions hold CRICOS registration and offer courses in Animal Studies and Veterinary Nursing.

Related FAQ’s:

Can an RTO enrol an overseas visitor into a course and not be CRICOS registered?

I live overseas, can I still study your courses online?

Is the Australian Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing recognised worldwide?

I currently live overseas, can I apply for your on-campus full-time course? Will I need an international student visa?

I am a non-resident visa holder, can I study with AVT?

Tags: international, overseas, visa, CRICOS

This answer specifically addresses international students who wish to study in Australia on a Student Visa.

Unfortunately, we are unable to assist individuals with studying as an international student in Australia as we do not have the necessary registration with our government to enrol students in Australia on a Student Visa. The required registration for this is CRICOS ‘The Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students’.

To find out more about studying in Australia we recommend visiting the Australian Government website: homeaffairs.gov.au. This will require applying for a student visa under the Vocational Education and Training Sector. However, you will need to have been accepted into a full-time study course by a CRICOS approved provider and then apply for the student visa. These normally take approximately 46 days to process.

You may find CRICOS registered training institutions in Australia who can offer qualifications to international students. Some TAFE (Technical and Further Education) institutions hold CRICOS registration and offer courses in Animal Studies and Veterinary Nursing

Related FAQ’s:

Is the Australian Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing recognised worldwide?

Can an RTO enrol an overseas visitor into a course and not be CRICOS registered?

I wish to study in Australia on a student visa. Can I study with Applied Vocational Training?

I live overseas, can I still study your courses online?

I am a non-resident visa holder, can I study with AVT?

Tags: international, overseas, visa, CRICOS

All qualifications offered by Applied Vocational Training require students to learn and demonstrate knowledge and practical application of a significant amount of Australian local and state legislation, regulations and standards.

In other countries, legislation, regulations and standards are often different, making it difficult for us to assess and recognise competence in all areas.

As such, Applied Vocational Training no longer accepts applications from students living overseas*

Important note for students wishing to return or live in Australia

* Individuals who currently live overseas but are intending to return and or/live in Australia may be considered for enrolment. If such enrolment were to occur it would not be possible for any certification to be awarded until the student could be assessed as competent in Australia, regardless of the amount of course work completed overseas.

Related FAQ’s:

I currently live overseas, can I apply for your on-campus full-time course? Will I need an international student visa?

Can an RTO enrol an overseas visitor into a course and not be CRICOS registered?

I wish to study in Australia on a student visa. Can I study with Applied Vocational Training?

Is the Australian Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing recognised worldwide?

I am a non-resident visa holder, can I study with AVT?

Yes. If you have completed and passed the exact same unit as delivered by AVT, you will receive a credit transfer for the unit.  You must be deemed competent and be awarded a PASS in the unit.

At the time of application, you will be required to provide us with a Statement of Attainment from a recognised and approved training provider. We will verify your previous studies with the training provider.

For information about fees and charges that apply to credit transfers, please see our student policy page.

Credit transfer fees do not apply for students who have completed a previous qualification with AVT.

To receive a credit for a unit of competency that you have previously been awarded, you must be able to supply a verifiable Testamur (certificate) or Statement of Attainment obtained from the issuing provider.

A Testamur or Statement of Attainment must either contain the wording ‘The qualification is recognised within the Australian Qualifications Framework’ or the AQF logo authorised by the AQF Council.

A Record of Results or Statement of Academic Record by itself is not sufficient when applying for a credit transfer of a nationally recognised unit of competency.

If you do not have a copy of your Testamur or Statement of Attainment you are responsible for requesting a copy from the issuing provider, we are unable to do this on your behalf.

For more information about RPL see our frequently asked questions here.

Students with eligible credit transfers may apply, however, due to the course delivery format, 100% attendance is required for induction and practical training/on-site days and therefore full course fees will apply.

Yes. You can use units of competency received from a prior qualification even if the unit is different from an elective unit required by AVT.  You can claim a credit transfer (CT) for these units as long as:-

• the unit is current and relevant to work undertaken in the animal care and management industry and
• you hold a Statement of Attainment from the issuing provider.

If this is the case, then you may use previous units of study to fulfil the elective component of the qualification.

You will be required to provide us with a Statement of Attainment from a recognised and approved training provider at the time of application. We will verify your previous studies with the training provider.

For information about fees and charges that apply to credit transfers, please see our student policy page. 

Please note, we are unable to offer RPL or Train and Assess any other elective unit of competency other than the ones provided in the courses offered on our website.

For a full list of our qualifications visit our Qualifications Overview page 

In meeting the required rules of evidence and principals of assessment, AVT is unable to provide recognition of prior learning (RPL) to candidates who can not demonstrate recent and current skills and knowledge.

Applicants need to be able to demonstrate that they meet the competency requirements of the current training package including application of current industry techniques using the latest technology, equipment and supplies in accordance with the current standards and regulations.

If you wish to gain certification as a veterinary nurse or animal carer without having current experience, you will need to enrol in and complete the full course.

Read more about RPL here

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is available to enrolled students of AVT qualifications.  The prior learning may be in the form of previous studies or completed qualifications (including superseded qualifications), on the job experience or volunteer work.

To find out more detailed information about RPL visit our RPL page.