BSB80120 Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning)

Purpose of Qualification

The BSB80120 Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning) is an AQF level 8 qualification for people who already work in learning and development, human resources or organisational change and want to lead that work at a strategic level. It exists because leading learning is not the same skill as delivering it: it means reading the organisation, reading the evidence, and designing development that changes how the work gets done.

At Clinton Institute the qualification is taught at our Melbourne campus in the CBD, and it is delivered for domestic students. The learning is built around the units of competency in the national training package, so what you study is the standard applied Australia wide, and what you hold at the end is a recognised Australian graduate diploma rather than a certificate issued by the institute alone.

What You Will Learn in BSB80120

The three core units give you the spine of the qualification: contributing to the development of learning and development strategies, leading strategic transformation, and implementing improved learning practice. Together they are the difference between running training and leading the capability that the organisation depends on.

The five elective units shape the qualification around the work you do. Choosing Initiate and lead applied research moves you towards the evidence work that senior learning roles are judged on. Choosing Develop and implement business plans, Lead financial strategy development, Manage innovation and continuous improvement, or Develop organisational strategies moves you towards the business and strategy work that sits above the learning function. Elective units must be relevant to your work environment and the qualification, which is why every elective is one of the units listed in the national training package rather than a free choice.

Who the BSB80120 Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning) Is For

The BSB80120 Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning) suits people who are already responsible for learning in an organisation: learning and development coordinators moving into management, HR generalists who own capability building, team leaders who run training programs, and consultants who design development for clients. It also suits experienced managers who want a formal grounding in learning strategy and organisational change rather than a generalist business qualification.

It suits people who are mid-career and building evidence of their own capability, and people who intend to work towards roles such as Head of Learning and Development, Organisational Development Consultant or Change Manager. The work is postgraduate in its demands: students lead applied research, design learning strategies for complex organisational problems, and present recommendations to the people who can act on them.

Qualification Entry Requirements

There are no certified qualification requirements for this qualification, and entry is at the discretion of Clinton Institute based on your prior qualifications and professional experience. You must be at least 18 years of age at the time of enrolment, and you need the appropriate Language, Literacy and Numeracy levels to complete the course requirements, which Clinton Institute assesses through an LLN test completed before enrolment.

Because the CRICOS registration for this qualification was cancelled from 5 October 2026, BSB80120 is open to domestic students only: Australian citizens and permanent residents. There is no English language test requirement for enrolment, and no Confirmation of Enrolment can be issued for this qualification. Credit and recognition of prior learning are available for people who already hold the skills and knowledge, because each unit maps to a unit of competency and prior study can be assessed against specific units. For the current entry process and the documents you will need, contact our admissions team.

Training Modes

BSB80120 is delivered face to face at the Clinton Institute Melbourne campus at Level 9, 313 La Trobe Street, Melbourne VIC 3000, in the Melbourne CBD. The course runs for 58 weeks in total, which is 41 scheduled study weeks and up to 17 weeks of holiday across the academic year, and every class, tutorial and assessment appointment for this qualification happens at that address.

There is no work placement component and no external placement is required for this qualification. The practical work sits inside the units instead: applied research carried out on a real organisational question, workplace-based projects that use the work you already do as the basis for assessment, and the written and practical assessment for each unit of competency. Credit transfer and recognition of prior learning can reduce the units you need to complete, and with them the length of the course.

How BSB80120 Is Assessed

Assessment uses a mix of written and applied methods, matched to each unit: research reports that answer a question your organisation actually has, learning and development strategy plans, project documentation and recommendation papers, and applied workplace tasks. The emphasis is on producing the artefacts a senior learning professional produces, because that is the evidence you will show an employer.

Every assessment is mapped to a unit of competency in the national training package, so the evidence you produce for one unit is separate from the evidence for another, and you always know which unit each task belongs to. If you already hold evidence of the skills covered by a unit, credit transfer and recognition of prior learning mean you can be assessed against it instead of repeating the work.

CRICOS Cancellation and Domestic Enrolment

On 2 October 2026 the Australian Government published a legislative instrument under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 that suspends and cancels the CRICOS registration of the BSB80120 Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning). From 5 October 2026 international students can no longer enrol in or commence the qualification, providers cannot enrol new overseas students in it, no new Confirmations of Enrolment are issued for it, and CoEs for students who had not commenced it by that date were cancelled. Students who had already enrolled and commenced the qualification before 5 October 2026 can continue studying and complete it.

What that means for a domestic student is straightforward: BSB80120 continues to be delivered at Clinton Institute, it is open to Australian citizens and permanent residents, and no Confirmation of Enrolment is issued because a Confirmation of Enrolment can only be issued for a course registered on the CRICOS register. On enrolment you receive a Verification of Enrolment from Clinton Institute together with your enrolment agreement and your academic record. If you are an international student, the CRICOS-registered qualifications on our course pages are the ones that can support a student visa, and our admissions team will map your goals onto them.

If you were already studying BSB80120 when the registration was cancelled

The cancellation did not stop your qualification mid-study. If you had commenced BSB80120 before 5 October 2026 you can continue and complete it, and Clinton Institute will confirm your academic record and your completion. If you had enrolled but had not commenced it by that date, your Confirmation of Enrolment was cancelled and no new one can be issued.

Because the qualification could not be delivered as registered, the 14-day provider obligation period under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 applies to students who had not commenced. A provider must fulfil its default obligations to an international student within 14 days of the default day, either by offering a place in another suitable course that the student accepts in writing, or by paying a refund of the tuition paid for education and training that was not received. The Tuition Protection Service is the Australian Government body that assists international students on student visas whose provider cannot fully deliver their course, including through a refund via TPS Online.

Your visa may also be affected by a cancelled Confirmation of Enrolment. Clinton Institute is a training provider, not a migration agent, so we cannot advise on your visa. For what the cancellation means for your own circumstances, speak to the Department of Home Affairs or a MARA-registered migration agent. Our article on what to do if you were already enrolled in the GDML sets out each step.

Units of Competency

BSB80120 comprises 8 units: 3 core units and 5 elective units. That is the packaging rule for this qualification in the national training package, and it is the course plan Clinton Institute delivers. The core units are the same for every student, and the elective units are chosen from the list below in line with the packaging rules, which require elective units to be relevant to the work environment and the qualification, to maintain the integrity of the AQF alignment, and to contribute to a valid, industry-supported vocational outcome.

The unit figures on this page come from two published sources: the BSB80120 training package published by the Australian Government, which sets the 8 units: 3 core units and 5 elective units packaging rule, and the Australian Government notice of 2 October 2026 on the cancellation of the CRICOS registration. Both are public records you can check yourself.

Core units

Elective units

Course Fees and Intake Dates

BSB80120 is open to domestic students, so the tuition that applies to you is the onshore domestic fee. The current fee is published in the 2026 Onshore Price List on our intakes and prices page, together with the prospectus and the current intake schedule. The fee varies with credit transfer arrangements and with enrolment promotion, and it is confirmed for your enrolment when admissions issues your offer, so ask for the figure that applies to you rather than a general figure.

Clinton Institute runs multiple intakes through the year, and your tuition can be paid in instalments rather than in one amount, with the instalment options set out on the payment options page. The start date for your intake is confirmed in the current intake schedule, and it matters because your enrolment agreement, your tuition schedule and your Verification of Enrolment are all dated from it. Contact admissions and we will confirm the timetable that applies to the intake you choose.

Career Outcomes and Job Roles

The BSB80120 Graduate Diploma of Management (Learning) is built for senior learning, capability and change work. The roles it opens are Learning and Development Manager, Training Manager, Head of Learning and Development, Organisational Development Consultant, Change Management Specialist, and learning strategy or talent development roles in growing organisations.

Two things strengthen an application in that market. The first is the evidence of a nationally recognised AQF level 8 qualification that an employer can verify against the Australian Qualifications Framework. The second is the applied work itself: a graduate who can describe the organisational question they researched, the learning strategy they designed against it and the recommendation they defended has something a certificate alone does not give them. Talk to your trainer about which applied project best matches the role you are targeting.

Melbourne Campus and How to Apply

BSB80120 is taught at the Clinton Institute Melbourne campus at Level 9, 313 La Trobe Street, Melbourne VIC 3000, in the Melbourne CBD, a short walk from Flagstaff, Southern Cross and North Melbourne stations, with student space on site. Every class, assessment and campus appointment for this qualification happens at that address.

To apply, use our online application, email admission@clinton.edu.au or call +61 3 8394 2064. You will need your academic transcripts and evidence of your professional experience, and you will complete an LLN test and a course entry interview before enrolment. Current intake dates and the domestic fee that applies to you are on our intakes and prices page.