RPL for Certificate III in Animal Care Services

Certificate III in Animal Care Services takes 17 units. Through Recognition of Prior Learning, each unit is assessed on evidence of work you have already done rather than on training you sit through.

What the assessment looks at

Every unit sets out what you must be able to do and what you must know. An assessor works through them one at a time, asking the same question each time: does this person's evidence show they can do this reliably, in a real workplace, recently enough to count?

You can read the full requirements for ACM30122 on the national training register. They are public, and worth a look before you spend anything — if the units describe work you have never done, RPL is not your route.

Evidence worth gathering before you start

• Photos of completed jobs, ideally showing a few stages of the same job, with their original dates intact.
• Job sheets, dockets, work orders or site diaries covering a spread of jobs.
• Supervisors, employers or clients who will confirm specifically what you did.
• Any licences or tickets you already hold.

How the guided process works

You work through the 17 units one at a time, talking about jobs you have actually done. You can speak rather than type. Add photos as you find them, and stop whenever you like — progress saves itself, and most people spread this over weeks while they dig out records. At the end you have an evidence portfolio your RTO's assessor can work through.

What this does not do

It does not assess you, and it cannot promise you ACM30122. An assessor at a registered training organisation makes that decision and may require further evidence or training. What a complete portfolio buys you is a fair assessment rather than a rejection over paperwork.

See what ACM30122 involves →

The 17 units you complete, chosen from these 57

You do not do all 57. Certificate III in Animal Care Services is 7 core units, which everyone does, plus 10 chosen from the 50 electives below. Read both lists before you spend anything — it is the fastest way to tell whether RPL is your route. If most of this describes work you have done, you have a case to make. If whole sections describe work you have never touched, an assessor will say so, and doing the course is the honest answer.

Worth knowing: 1 of them have a prerequisite unit, so the order you gather evidence in matters.

Core units — everyone does these

• ACMBEH301 — Identify behaviours and interact safely with animals
• ACMGEN303 — Assess the welfare status of an animal
• ACMGEN304 — Promote positive wellbeing in self and others in animal care workplaces
• ACMGEN309 — Provide basic animal first aid
• ACMGEN315 — Communicate effectively with clients and team members
• ACMINF301 — Comply with infection control policies and procedures in animal care work
• ACMWHS301 — Contribute to workplace health and safety processes

Electives — you choose from these

• ACMAIM204 — Participate in companion animal rescue
• ACMAIM311 — Communicate with companion animal owners about incident management processes
• ACMAIM312 — Perform companion animal rescue
• ACMAIM313 — Carry out casualty and post-rescue management of animals
• ACMARM301 — Support veterinary activities in remote communities
• ACMBEH302 — Provide enrichment for animals
• ACMBEH404 — Condition animal behaviour
• ACMGEN205 — Source and provide information for animal care needs
• ACMGEN302 — Care for young animals
• ACMGEN305 — Provide advice on companion animal selection and general care
• ACMGEN306 — Provide advice on aquatic animal selection and general care
• ACMGEN307 — Maintain aquariums and/or aquascapes and aquatic animals
• ACMGEN308 — Walk and exercise dogs
• ACMGEN310 — Provide reception services for an animal care facility
• ACMGEN311 — Maintain and monitor animal health and wellbeing
• ACMGEN312 — Provide nutritional requirements for animals
• ACMGEN313 — Carry out simple breeding procedures
• ACMGEN314 — Identify animal anatomy and physiology for animal care work
• ACMGRM201 — Bath, dry and brush domestic dogs
• ACMGRM303 — Provide sanitary and hygiene grooms for companion animals
• ACMGRM304 — Perform grooms on cross breed dogs
• ACMGRM305 — Groom dogs to meet breed style and coat requirements
• ACMGRM403 — Enhance companion animal coat and skin condition
• ACMINF304 — Promote environmental health and safety for companion animals in remote communities
• ACMSPE313 — Provide general care of amphibians
• ACMSPE314 — Provide general care of birds
• ACMSPE315 — Provide general care of common native mammals
• ACMSPE316 — Provide general care of domestic dogs
• ACMSPE317 — Provide general care of domestic cats
• ACMSPE318 — Provide general care of fish
• ACMSPE319 — Provide general care of invertebrates
• ACMSPE320 — Provide general care of mammals
• ACMSPE321 — Provide general care of non-venomous reptiles
• ACMSPE322 — Provide general care of rodents or rabbits
• ACMSUS401 — Implement and monitor environmentally sustainable work practices
• BSBESB305 — Address compliance requirements for new business ventures
• BSBESB407 — Manage finances for new business ventures
• BSBFIN302 — Maintain financial records
• BSBINS302 — Organise workplace information
• BSBOPS304 — Deliver and monitor a service to customers
• BSBOPS404 — Implement customer service strategies
• BSBSTR301 — Contribute to continuous improvement
• BSBXTW301 — Work in a team
• HLTAID011 — Provide First Aid
• HLTPOP032 — Monitor and maintain dog health in the community
• SIRRINV001 — Receive and handle retail stock
• SIRRMER001 — Produce visual merchandise displays
• SIRRMER003 — Coordinate visual merchandising activities
• SIRRRTF001 — Balance and secure point-of-sale terminal
• SIRXSLS002 — Follow point-of-sale procedures

Each unit breaks down further into elements and performance criteria — the specific things you have to be able to show. The guide works through them one unit at a time and asks about jobs you have actually done, rather than making you read the register yourself.

Related qualifications

Same training package, and a common second choice for people who find this one is not quite their trade:

• Certificate III in Animal Technology (ACM30219, 13 units)

When you are ready, see what ACM30122 costs and what the guide asks you for, or read what counts as evidence and how RPL compares with doing the course.