HLT51020 Diploma of Emergency Health Care

Name: Diploma of Emergency Health Care
Price: <a href="#fees-and-scholarships">Free TAFE</a> No tuition fees for eligible students AUD

VU course code: HLT51020 | Level of study: TAFE

Duration

7 months full time

Delivery mode

Face to Face with eLearning

Fees

Free TAFE

No tuition fees for eligible students

Location

Sunshine

Next start date

07 July 2025

Application closes

20 June 2025

Overview

Start your career in emergency health care – one of Australia’s largest and fastest-growing industries – with a Diploma of Emergency Health Care HLT51020 from Victoria University.

During this healthcare course, you will gain the clinical skills and knowledge to assess patients in an emergency. You will learn how to provide life support, and master appropriate interventions for the crucial time before your patient gets to hospital.

Learning from our expert staff through our award-winning learning model, you will gain knowledge and skills in emergency reponses:

providing critical life support
infection prevention and control procedures
management of major incident scenes
delivering clinical care
health professional and health system engagement
safe work practices.

You also gain crucial patient communication skills, including:

analysing and responding to client health information
communicating complex situations to support health care
working with culturally diverse patients.

Once you have completed this course, you will have the confidence and skills to work in the healthcare and patient-transport industry, supporting ambulance drivers, paramedics, and hospital workers.

: This qualification reflects pre-hospital and out-of-hospital workers employed to provide patient assessment, healthcare and transport services. These workers possess clinical skills and theoretical knowledge and provide clinical assessment and pre-hospital and out-of-hospital interventions to patients in an emergency, including providing advanced skills in life support. This qualification applies to a variety of roles within the health care and patient transport system.
: Everything you learn with Victoria University has direct links to the real world. We place a strong emphasis on clinical and practical learning.
Clinical placement is an important part of your training. You will be progressively introduced, under supervision, to the responsibilities and experiences of the ambulance transport attendant. Through 160 hours of placement, you will gain direct practical experience to improve your confidence.
We have a strong network of established industry contacts and provide a supportive learning environment in the workplace and community.
: You will practise your new skills in a safe environment in our state-of-the-art facilities. They include:
clinical practice rooms
self-directed learning laboratories (SDL)
life-like mannequin technology.
: This course is delivered through our award-winning interactive e-learning model.
You’ll get the benefits of face-to-face workshops combined with the flexibility of user-friendly online activities.
: Achieve your full potential with The Learning Hub, which help you develop your confidence, academic ability, and study skills.
Benefit from in-person mentoring and study sessions, along with a range of digital learning modules that you can access anytime.
Get help from our online, 24/7 support service to polish your assignments before you submit, and receive guidance on writing, referencing, maths and more.
Read more about The Learning Hub

This course is nationally recognised training.

Entry requirements

When assessing your application, we consider your education, work experience, current skills and personal attributes (where relevant).

Applicants for this course will need to meet the entry criteria outlined below. If you don’t meet the entry criteria, you may be able to gain entry by first completing a different course. We call this a ‘pathway’.

You may also be eligible for ‘Recognition of Prior Learning’, which lets you finish your course more quickly when you have gained some of the skills required from past study or work experience.

COVID-19 vaccine requirement

All students must have any COVID-19 vaccine before beginning placements.

You need to provide evidence of having had the COVID-19 vaccine to undertake a placement and progress within the course.

 You must be willing to undergo any additional checks and immunisations as directed by the University.

Entry criteria

As part of the application process applicants must:

have completed Certificate III in Non-Emergency Patient Transport prior to admission. If obtained outside of Victoria University you must submit a certified copy of both the Award and Academic Transcript with your application.

be at least 18 years of age or over by the course commencement date.

complete a Pre-training Review (PTR)

undertake a literacy and numeracy (LN) assessment.

Victoria University uses the Basic Key Skills Builder (BKSB) tool for this assessment and applicants must achieve level four (4) in both literacy and numeracy. Applicants who complete the ACSF assessment tool the minimum exit level three (3) for both literacy and numeracy must be achieved.

hold a driver's Licence (probationary licence accepted)

undergo an interview, prior to admission into the course.

Hold the following units from HLT31120 Certificate III in Non-Emergency Patient Transport:

CHCDIV001 Work with diverse people

HLTWHS002 Follow safe work practices for direct client care

HLTWHS006 Manage personal stressors in the work environment

HLTOUT001 Implement safe access and egress

HLTOUT010 Communicate in complex situations to support health care

HLTINF006 Apply basic principles and practices of infection prevention and control.

Hold the following units from HLT31115 Certificate III in Non-Emergency Patient Transport:

CHCDIV001 Work with diverse people

HLTWHS002 Follow safe work practices for direct client care

HLTWHS006 Manage personal stressors in the work environment

HLTINF001 Comply with infection prevention and control policies and procedures. (Note, students will be required to enrol and complete gap training and assessments into updated unit code HLTINF006 Apply basic principles and practices of infection prevention and control.

Applicants are required to provide an Academic transcript to verify competency. (stated above)

For students who do not hold the units HLTOUT001, HLTOUT010 or HLTWHS006, you will be required to enrol into these units.

Practical Placement requirements:
For employment and practical placement purposes, this vocational sector typically requires:

a current Working with Children Check

a current (valid 6 months after course commencement) and satisfactory Police Record Check

Medical and physical testing as required for Ambulance Victoria-related shifts

Fit to work check

Evidence of up-to-date Immunisations

Any other regulatory requirements (e.g. PPE training, mask fit testing)

All students must have any COVID-19 vaccine prior to the commencement of placement. Students will be required to provide evidence prior to commencement of placement. If students are not compliant with this requirement they are not eligible to undertake a placement and this will mean that they will not be able to progress within their course. Failure to provide the required documents in the timeframe specified by the Course Coordinator means you will be unable to undertake practical placement in a workplace and therefore not eligible to progress in this course.

Information about the immunisations can be found online at https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/immunisation.

Meeting the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee you entry into this course.

Some courses receive more applications than the number of places available. In this situation we will also assess your education, work and other relevant experience.

Special entry programs

Special admission programs

If you are from a disadvantaged or underrepresented social, economic or cultural background, you may be eligible for one of our special admission programs. These programs are designed to help you access education more easily.

Learn more about special entry programs

VU Early Entry

If you're currently in Year 11 or 12, our exclusive VU Early Entry program comes with a Conditional Offer to the course of your choosing*, a personalised course plan, special events, exclusive discounts and access to one-on-one course advice.

*Conditions apply.

Learn more about VU Early Entry

Credit & Entry pathways into this course

Victoria University is committed to providing a transparent admissions process. Find out more about how to apply for our courses, and our commitment to admissions transparency. Meeting the minimum admission criteria does not guarantee entry into this course. Past academic performance may be considered.

Course structure

To be awarded the HLT51020 Diploma of Emergency Care, 17 units must be completed comprising:

9 core units
8 elective units, consisting of:

- at least 4 units from the electives listed

- up to 4 units from the electives listed below or from any other current endorsed Training Package or accredited course.

Units

Fees & scholarships

TAFE fees vary, depending on how much the government contributes towards course costs (if anything).

Read below to find out about the fee ‘type’, the estimated yearly tuition costs for this course, and the financial support on offer.

Fees

Scholarships

Careers

In Victoria, you will be qualified to work in roles such as:

Ambulance Transport Attendant (ATA)
Patient Transport Officer (PTO)
Ambulance Community Officer (ACO) with Ambulance Victoria (in rural areas).

Further employment opportunities vary from state to state. You may find employment with:

private sector health care providers e.g. Royal Flying Doctor Service, St John Ambulance
state/territory ambulance authorities
Australia Defence Force
first aid providers.

FURTHER STUDIES (PATHWAYS)

Please note: There may be a limit on how many students can access pathways to the Bachelor of Paramedicine due to high demand. If you are eligible for a pathway but unsuccessful in securing a place, please contact VUHQ (student service centre) on +61 3 9919 6100 for advice.

VU stories

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"The professionalism the teachers have shown throughout my course has been amazing to witness. They are constantly encouraging and guiding students, and address every question – no matter how trivial it may seem."

Andrew's career change to paramedic