Business Administration courses include certificates, diplomas, bachelor degrees, graduate certificates, graduate diplomas and MBAs. Here are your choices for business administration courses online in Australia.
Business administration courses train students in how to manage people and systems. The certificate, diploma, degree or postgraduate qualification you earn signals to employers that you're capable of getting things done.
The skills you learn from a business administration course can be used in just about every office in Australia. What you learn won't go to waste. Here are the options for studying business administration online and earning a recognised Australian qualification.
Types of Courses
Certificate III in Business (Administration)
The Certificate III in Business (Administration) is ideal for recent school leavers. By doing the online course, you gain practical office administration skills to help land you a job such as trainee administration assistant, administrative officer, or personal assistant.
Depending on subject choices, you could learn how to: process financial transactions, maintain financial records, process payroll, maintain business resources, organise schedules, and purchase goods and services.
The Business Administration specialisation is one of four available for a Certificate III in Business... READ MORE
Certificate IV in Business (Administration)
A Certificate IV in Business (Administration) prepares you to handle complex administrative tasks where you may be supervising others.
You should consider this course if you are aiming to be fully responsible for significant jobs within the workplace.
Depending on which elective units you do, you could learn how to: comply with government regulations, support staff management, coordinate information systems use, record interactions with customers, organise business meetings, do project work, produce documents in Word or Excel, and apply new technology... READ MORE
Certificate IV in Business (Leadership)
Leadership is a specialisation available from a Certificate IV in Business. This business major focuses on bringing out the best in the people around you through communication skills, collaboration and professional development.
You don't have to be a designated team leader for the course to be relevant to your current job.
Topics you can study to quality for the specialisation include: supporting a positive culture, making presentations, leading difficult conversations, collaborating in creative processes, supporting learning and development, and leading and facilitating a team... READ MORE
Certificate IV in Leadership and Management
The Certificate IV in Leadership and Management is a 12-subjects course with 5 core subjects.
Students learn how to: demonstrate leadership, lead effective workplace relationships, coordinate business plans, apply communication strategies, and lead and facilitate a team.
You may prefer this course to the Certificate IV in Business (Leadership) based on available units. Both courses have a large number of elective units and the two can be almost identical. The best choice may come down to carefully comparing courses from different providers... READ MORE
Diploma of Business (with specialisations)
A Diploma of Business is the main business course at the diploma level. The qualification was expanded in 2020, replacing several others. As a result, students no longer have the option of getting an accredited Diploma of Business Administration from TAFEs and colleges.
A few of the nine specialisations available could definitely be considered "business administration" courses. These are listed below.
Every Diploma of Business course is made up of 12 subjects, consisting of 5 core subjects and 7 elective units... READ MORE
Diploma of Business (Leadership)
A Diploma of Business (Leadership) offers more advanced study compared to the Certificate IV in Business (Administration) or Certificate IV in Business (Leadership) and will improve your career prospects.
The Diploma of Business is a 12-unit course with five core units and many possible electives. Leadership is one of nine possible majors.
To qualify for the Leadership specialisation, at least four electives must cover subjects such as disability support, professional development, workplace relationships, and managing team effectiveness... READ MORE
Diploma of Business (Operations)
Business Operations is a Diploma of Business specialisation that is about managing human resources systems and other essential business processes.
You could, for example, learn how to manage: business finances, recruitment and onboarding, payroll, separation and termination processes, records systems, operational plans, business risk, and continuity planning.
The business administration course develops practical skills that are useful for any sizeable organisation. Employers could be more willing to pay for this course than most others... READ MORE
Diploma of Business (Organisational Development)
You can specialise in Organisational Development as part of an online Diploma of Business.
You will be trained to promote a culture where individuals and groups in your organisation evolve and cooperate to increase productivity. A large menu of units is available for course providers to offer.
Topics that may be offered to you include: presentation and debate of ideas, concept development, leading and managing change, establishing an innovative environment, continuous improvement, workplace sustainability planning, and building strategic business networks... READ MORE
Diploma of Leadership and Management
A Diploma of Leadership and Management is ideal for people who lead teams, whether big or small, or who aim to do so. Taking the course online helps you to build business management skills and leadership confidence.
The 12-unit diploma has 6 core (compulsory) units that are relevant for any manager as well as 26 possible electives that are more job specific.
Core units are about how to: communicate with influence, promote learning in others, build workplace relationships, manage business planning, use emotional intelligence, and manage team performance... READ MORE
Bachelor of Applied Business (Management)
Business Administration and Management are majors you can do as part of a Bachelor of Business university degree. We recommend doing an applied business course if you are going to do one of these majors.
With an applied program, you build practical skills to complement study of leadership principles. You'll become job ready and employable, remembering that management roles are generally unavailable to new graduates.
A Bachelor or Applied Business (Management) program builds skills by having students work on real projects... READ MORE
Graduate Certificate in Business Administration
A common way to start an MBA in Australia is with an online Graduate Certificate in Business Administration. The course is typically made up of 4 subjects from the MBA program.
Since an MBA consists of 12 subjects normally, a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration can be thought of as one-third of an MBA.
Just because "Graduate" is part of the title, don't believe the course is just for graduates. In fact, if you don't have a degree, you can gain entry into an MBA program by enrolling in a graduate certificate course – provided you have significant professional experience... READ MORE
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is likely the number one postgraduate degree in the world. Anyone seeking a senior role in their industry can potentially benefit.
Convenient, flexible online study makes MBA studies doable for almost anyone. With an accelerated online MBA, you can study part-time and still finish quickly.
MBA courses are concerned with teaching principles of good management and leadership. That helps explain why MBA degrees are so popular and valued. Students build management skills while signalling to employers that they're ready for leadership roles... READ MORE
Masters in Health Administration
Anyone working in healthcare or social services who aspires to senior management might consider a Masters in Health Administration. The degree is similar to an MBA but most or all of the subjects will relate to the health industry.
Topics you may explore include Australia's healthcare system, using health data for decision-making, organisational management in health care, and leading and managing in health.
You can complete the 12-subject program part-time online as a working professional. Participants may include nurses, allied health professionals and social workers... READ MORE
Masters in Leadership and Management
A Masters in Leadership and Management could be any masters with a strong focus on leadership and management training. They include degrees like Master of Health Management, Masters in Educational Leadership, and Masters in Nursing Management.
The programs contain limited technical content, giving more time to build skills in areas such as communication, change management and organisational leadership.
A leadership and management masters is ideal for experienced professionals who want to expand their leadership skills and qualify for senior roles... READ MORE
FAQs
Business administration courses are ranked from top to bottom under the Australian Qualifications Framework. The best course, at Level 9, is the Master of Business Administration (MBA).
The MBA is followed at Level 8 by the Graduate Diploma of Business Administration, Graduate Certificate in Business Administration, and Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours). At Level 7 is the Bachelor of Business (Business Administration) or similar.
Among Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, an Advanced Diploma of Business (Level 6) is the highest rank course, The Advanced Diploma is followed by a Diploma (Level 5), Certificate IV (Level 4), Certificate III (Level 3), and so on.
You need a bachelor degree (any discipline) and/or significant professional experience to qualify for MBA programs and other postgraduate courses. For bachelor degrees, your ATAR score or equivalent determines whether you'll be accepted into business school. VET courses generally don't have entry requirements.
The business skills you learn in each course differ according to the level. While entry-level course may teach office support skills, such as record keeping, higher level courses focus more on executive management and leadership. Every course leads to a nationally recognised qualification.
In Australia, accredited business administration courses often take around one year of full-time study. These include certificate, diploma, advanced diploma and graduate diploma courses. A bachelor degree takes three years of study normally or four years if you also do a one-year honours degree.
A Graduate Certificate in Business Administration is a short course, at just 0.5 years of full-time study. Many different types of graduate certificates in business are available, each consisting of four subjects.
A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is generally 1.5 years of full-time study in Australia.
Accelerated online learning is available so that you can study part-time and still finish courses in a reasonable timeframe. You're able to study year-round without long breaks.
Short courses are also available where time to completion is measured in hours or weeks rather than months or years. However, short courses are generally not accredited by the Australian Government. While they can help you achieve learning goals, they may not be recognised by employers.
Business administrators take care of essential functions for organisations. The scope of what they do is enormous.
An office receptionist answering calls and a personal assistant taking notes are doing business administration. So are the accountants in the finance department when they organise financial records. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a company is also a business administrator, with the job are making decisions about priorities for staff and the business as a whole.
With so many different administrative tasks, the paths to start a career in business administration are many. Each person's journey almost always involve a significant education component.
What defines a business administration career is unclear however. Receptionist and administrative assistant are the kinds of job openings that come up when you search for 'business administration jobs'. These aren't really careers; more jobs to make a living.
If you consider business administration to refer to essentially running a business (or a major part of a business), then the path is a little more clear. First, you become a professional of some kind. Then you become skilled in your profession. Finally, as you start to be considered for senior roles, you study business administration by doing an MBA degree.
We're describing the kind of path that many top executives take. But, too be honest, there isn't a simple answer to the question: "How do you start a career in business administration?" Business administration simply isn't a career you can neatly define like being a doctor, engineer or lawyer.
