HLT57715 Diploma of Practice Management

HLT57715 Diploma of Practice Management

Institute of Allied Health is a trading name for the Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors Pty Ltd and qualifications are awarded by AIPC (RTO Provider Number 0670).

This practice management course is delivered online. You can study for your diploma certificate on a full-time, part-time or self-paced basis. Indicatively, full-time study of this online practice management course will take approximately 18 months.

This course has a work placement component of 240 hours.

To achieve this practice management qualification, students are required to complete 240 hours of compulsory practical placement in a workplace where health services are delivered by health practice professionals. 

You can choose your work placement location, but it needs Institute approval based on course requirements. We can help you find a suitable workplace if you are struggling to locate one.

To obtain entry to this diploma practice management course, you need to demonstrate completion of at least Year 12 (or equivalent) OR a recognised Certificate III qualification, and be at least 18 years of age.

If you are 21 years or older, you may apply for entry based on completion of at least 2 years of employment where literacy and numeracy was required to undertake the work.

This course is not available to international students.

Discounted upfront payments $4490 (normally $5615- save 20%)

Fortnightly payments $165/fortnight x 36 payments

A practice manager runs the business side of a medical or allied health practice so the clinicians can focus on patients. You’ll manage budgets and financial plans, oversee the billing and accounting system, recruit and induct new staff and manage the performance of the team reporting to you. You may also oversee compliance requirements, including work health and safety, infection prevention and control and relevant legal and ethical obligations.

Practice managers in Australia earn an average base salary of somewhere between $74,731* and $103,598* a year, depending on which source you consult. Each platform below collects its data differently:

• SEEK: Employers include salary information when they advertise a vacancy, and SEEK aggregates those ads into a typical figure for each role. Practice manager jobs advertise between $85,000 and $105,000* a year. Advertised figures tend to reflect what employers expect to pay an experienced candidate rather than a fresh graduate with little experience.

• PayScale: Workers complete an online questionnaire about their own pay, so the sample covers entry-level and highly experienced managers alike. PayScale reports an average base salary of $74,731* a year, with the middle of the range running from $58,000 to $110,000* based on 469 salary profiles.

• Indeed: Workers report their own salaries, which Indeed combines with the pay employers list in job postings to calculate the average. According to Indeed, practice managers earn an average salary of $103,598* based on over 500 reported salaries.

• Glassdoor: Employees submit their pay anonymously and Glassdoor models a market rate from those submissions. Practice managers report an average base salary of $85,000* a year, with a range of $70,000 to $110,000*. Managers also report a further $10,000* a year in bonuses and other additional pay, based on over 300 submissions.

*These figures are indicative ranges only. We accessed SEEK, Indeed, Glassdoor and PayScale in August 2026. Each source updates its data regularly, so check the original pages for current figures. Your own earnings will vary with your experience, your location, the size of the practice and the responsibilities you take on.

We designed this course for people already working in healthcare administration who want a senior or supervisory position. You’ll get the most out of it if you handle reception, billing or coordination now and want to take on the budget, the roster, the hiring and a team of your own. You can enrol from age 18 with Year 12 or with a recognised Certificate III. Anyone over 21 can also apply with two years of work experience where reading and arithmetic were part of the job.

This diploma prepares you for practice manager, senior medical administrator, healthcare administrator and services manager positions. Managers at this level work in a wide range of practices, so you can move between fields without retraining:

• Medical practices

• Dental practices

• Chiropractic and osteopathic clinics

• Podiatry clinics

• Mental health services

• Rehabilitation services

• Aged care providers

Some managers stay with one practice and take on more sites as the business grows, while others specialise in the financial or compliance side of healthcare operations.

You’ll study 14 units covering the money, the people, the risk and the compliance obligations a senior administrator takes on. We’ll teach you to:

• Manage budgets and financial plans for a health practice

• Implement and monitor a health billing and accounting system

• Manage recruitment, selection and induction so new staff start well

• Manage the performance of the staff who report to you

• Lead a team and keep it working effectively together

• Manage business risk and your legal and ethical compliance

• Develop and implement new policy in your practice

• Manage work health and safety, including infection prevention and control standards

Your 240 hours of work placement let you apply this in a real working practice, where you’ll manage real budgets, real rosters and real compliance obligations under supervision.

Health administrators handle the day-to-day tasks, while practice managers run the business. As an administrator, you’d process medical accounts, maintain patient records and coordinate appointments, which is what the Certificate IV in Health Administration trains you for. Practice managers take responsibility for the budget, the staff and the practice’s compliance obligations. Many practice managers start as administrators, then study at the diploma level once they’re ready to lead a team.

No. Practices hire managers for their business skills, so a background in administration matters more than clinical training. You’ll study medical terminology as part of the course, which lets you interpret clinical documentation and communicate with practitioners without having trained as one. Your 240 hours of placement give you real first-hand experience where you’ll learn how the clinical and administrative sides fit together.