A short course is a government initiative that allows students to complete a graduate certificate with heavily subsidised fees through the Commonwealth Grant Scheme. Short courses must be completed within the 2022 calendar year. Graduate certificates being offered as short courses will have a short course enrolment option on their webpage.

The Commonwealth Grant Scheme (CGS) subsidises the cost of tuition fees for students by offering Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) to students from non-universities. More information

In order to get a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) through the Commonwealth Grant Scheme (CGS), you must complete four units of study before 31 December 2022. This means that you will do at least two units of study in one term, equating to 30 hours of study per week, and one unit of study in the other two terms (equating to 15 hours of study a week). If you wish to a graduate certificate at your own pace, you can apply to study our graduate certificate without a CGS place.

It is not possible to do this course in fewer than two terms.

Transcripts and Australia Higher Education Graduation Statements (AHEGS) will become available after the scheduled end of the short courses In January 2023. Certificates will be available at the annual graduation ceremony in August or can be posted to you at that time. You only need your transcript and/or AHEGS to demonstrate your new qualification to an employer.

Most of our graduate certificates are already offered online, and so there is no difference between the teaching quality or the course delivery between the CGS places and the regular places for these subjects. However, there are more courses and electives through our regular delivery, including those that require clinical placement. Our usual delivery of graduate certificates can also be completed at your own pace and do not need to be completed by 31 December 2022. All short courses must be completed fully online before 31 December 2022.

The graduate certificate is a stand-alone qualification (Australian Qualification Framework Level 8), but it can also articulate into Masters Degrees in Australian Universities subject to the entrance requirements of the university.

No. To maintain the high standard of our courses, we are only offering courses that are already successfully being delivered in a fully online model and that can be effectively taught in a compressed model, allowing you to complete before 31 December 2022. This means that for the courses that are offered, not every elective will be available. Courses and electives with clinical places are not being offered under this scheme, although you can still take graduate certificates that have a clinical component without a CGS place. Graduate Certificates offered as Short Courses will be demarcated as such next to their listing on the website, please see here.

ACN have been allocated a limited number of Commonwealth Supported Places to give to students who complete a graduate certificate online before 31 December 2022 (“Short courses”). Students must be prepared to take two units of study in one of the three terms before the end of the year, starting 18April 2022.

You must meet residency requirements as set out by the Higher Education Support Act to study on a Commonwealth Supported Place in Australia. This means you must be an Australian citizen, or a permanent resident who will reside in Australia for the duration of study, or a New Zealand citizen who will reside in Australia for the duration of study.

Courses with clinical places are not being offered under this scheme, although you can still take graduate certificates that have clinical components without a Commonwealth Supported Place.

Yes. Indeed, many of our graduate certificates require you to be a Registered Nurse working in the area of practice (please refer to the criteria for the graduate certificate you are interested in). However, you must be able to complete the course by 31 December 2022. If you are employed full time, be aware that this will be a very heavy workload and may not be appropriate to all students. Additionally, some graduate certificates require you to have current recent experience in a relevant nursing field. See individual graduate certificates for entrance requirements.

Unfortunately, this initiative is for new students only and runs at a different pace and with different unit offerings from our regular Graduate Certificate. You can only apply for a Short Course if you are not already a student at ACN.

In order to get a Commonwealth Supported Place through the Higher Education Relief Package, you must complete four units of study before 31 December 2022. This means that you will do at least two units of study in one term, equating to 30 hours per week, and one unit of study in the remaining two terms. If you wish to pursue a graduate certificate at your own pace, you can apply to study our graduate certificate without a CGS place.

Yes, if you are successful in your application for a place in a ‘Short Course’ and complete before 31 December 2022.

No. Students completing a short course do so under a Commonwealth Supported Grant, and therefore pay a student contribution. Nursing students have a contribution of $3950 per EFTSL. A graduate certificate is 0.5 EFSTL and so the student contribution is $1975. This fee must be paid upfront. Please see here for reference.

No. This fee structure is set nationally by the Australian Government.

It is for the whole course as most of the cost is government funded. The student contribution is $1975 and must be paid upfront.

No. Government funded places under the Higher Education Relief Package must be completed before 31 December 2022.

There are four units in a Graduate Certificate. Any unit that you do not complete before December 2022 must be paid for in full if you wish to complete the Graduate Certificate in 2023. Completed units do not need to be repeated or paid for again.

Applications open from 21 March 2022 for commencement on 18 April 2022. Applications will close 13 April 2022.

Not all Graduate Certificates are available as short courses and there is a limited number of places available. If all places within a Graduate Certificate are filled before the closing date, applications will close early for that course.

ACN will make multiple rounds of offers in order to ensure that the most possible number of students can study with us. If your application is unsuccessful, we will be in contact with you within 10 working days. If you are offered a place in the first round, you will also be contacted within 10 working days and will need to immediately confirm and pay the student contribution to hold your place. If you do not receive a first-round offer but have not been unsuccessful, you have been put onto a waiting list for the second round of offers. You will be notified if a place becomes available to you before the census date. All places will be finalised and students enrolled before census date on 13 April 2022.

The ACN has had extraordinary demand for their short course offerings. We therefore ask that you confirm your offered place and pay the student contribution within three working days so that unconfirmed offers can be offered to other applicants. We are unable to reserve your place without confirmation of acceptance.

No, all short course places must commence in the April 2022 term.

You can withdraw from the short courses. If you withdraw before census, we can process a full refund for the student contribution that you paid upfront ($1,975). If you withdraw after census (2 May 2022), no refund will be possible.