Diploma of Practice Management

The Diploma of Practice Management is designed for people who want to work at senior administrative levels in health and allied health settings. It particularly suits those already working in the sector who want to move into a supervisory or practice administration position. You’ll need Year 12 or a completed Certificate III to enrol, along with a minimum age of 18. If you’re over 21, two years of relevant work or study experience can qualify you instead.

A health administration qualification prepares you to carry out administrative work within a practice, while the diploma develops the broader operational and leadership skills used in practice management. The Certificate IV in Health Administration covers operational and team-leading tasks. The diploma takes you further, into supervising staff, recruiting new team members and managing workplace health and safety policies. It also carries a higher AQF level than the Certificate IV.

The diploma develops skills relevant to managing medical, dental and allied health practices. The Diploma 

of Practice Management is applicable to the health and social assistance sectors, covering medical, dental, chiropractic, osteopathic, podiatry, mental health, rehabilitation and aged care practices. The administrative and supervisory skills you develop transfer between these settings, since every practice needs someone to manage its people, safety obligations and day-to-day operations. You’ll learn terminology throughout the course, so you’ll be able to communicate confidently with clinicians in any of these environments.4. What leadership and business management skills will I develop?

Over 14 units, you’ll learn how to:

• Supervise administrative teams and support their day-to-day work

• Recruit and onboard new staff into a private practice

• Establish and evaluate workplace health and safety policies and procedures

• Manage the resources and systems a practice depends on

• Interpret and apply medical terminology correctly

• Apply your existing skills and experience across different practice types

These are the responsibilities that separate a senior administrator from someone carrying out administrative tasks day to day.

Graduates work as practice managers, senior medical administrators, healthcare administrators and service managers. Medical centres, dental practices, allied health clinics, mental health services, rehabilitation providers and aged care facilities all employ people in these positions. Because you’ll be qualified to oversee both staff and operations, you can take on responsibility for how an entire practice works.

AIPC delivers the Diploma of Practice Management online, so you can study from anywhere in Australia while you continue working. Full-time study takes around 12 months, and you have up to five years from enrolment to finish if you’d rather pace yourself. Self-paced and part-time options are available throughout, which suits students who are already employed in a practice.

Yes. The Diploma of Practice Management was designed around exactly the responsibilities a practice manager has, like supervising staff, managing recruitment and maintaining safety policies. 

The diploma builds leadership and operational skills that can help prepare you for roles involving team supervision and greater responsibility for day-to-day operations.. Combining the qualification with experience in a practice can strengthen your preparation for roles involving greater administrative or supervisory responsibility.

This course suits those who enjoy organising people and systems and those who want to have a bigger say in how a health service runs. You’ll be the person staff come to with problems and the one responsible for keeping a practice compliant, well resourced and properly staffed. Prior experience in health administration helps, though it isn’t required for entry. What matters most is a willingness to take on responsibility for other people’s work as well as your own.