RSPCA NSW runs training programs about animal care and welfare. Home What we do Training ACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care What we do Adoptions Dogs and Puppies Cat and Kittens Cat Care Guide Cat Care Guide: Cat Friendly Homes Cat Care Guide: Introducing The Family Cat Cat Care Guide: Petting and Cat Communication Cat Care Guide: Your New Cats Home Pocket Pets Birds Livestock Adoption fees Exceptional Owners Seniors for Seniors Program Home Ever After Intensive Breeding Taskforce Donate to support our IBTF Finding a Good Breeder Legal Implications The Animals The Business of Cruelty The Team Tip-Off Form Our Impact Social Return on Investment Sydney Education Centre Auditorium Meeting and Training Rooms Veterinary Services RSPCA Sydney Veterinary Hospital RSPCA Hunter Veterinary Hospital (Rutherford) RSPCA Broken Hill Veterinary Hospital Rescue and Rehabilitate Behaviour Pet Rehabilitation Program Lost and Found I’ve lost my pet I’ve found a pet Care for Animals Owning a Pet Costs Veterinary Care Adopting a New Pet Locating a Lost Pet Pets and Rental Properties Disaster Management Plans Enrichment Dog Care Dog Walking Guidelines Parvovirus in Dogs Barking Bathing and Grooming Identification Veterinary Care Housing Breeds Enrichment Nutrition Puppy Care Cat Care Kitten Care Identification Veterinary Care Keeping Wildlife Safe and Your Cat Happy Housing Breeds Bathing and Grooming Training Nutrition Pocket Pets Livestock Birds Housing Identification Veterinary Care Nutrition Bathing and Grooming Training Pet Hazards Toxic Plants for Pets Christmas Season Fireworks and Storms Heat Stress Snake Bites and Pets Bushfires and House Fires Droughts Education School Education School Holiday Program Kids’ Corner Youth and Animal Program Teacher and Educator Portal Community Engagement RSPCA AWARE (free education resources) Training ACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care ACMGEN309 Provide Basic Animal First Aid ACMMIC401 Implant Microchip in Cats and Dogs Introducing Your Pet to a New Baby Basic Animal First Aid Introduction to Animal Enrichment Introduction to Animal Welfare Animal Welfare Our Inspectorate Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (1979) Working in Communities Community Aged Care Program Community Domestic Violence Program Community Homelessness Program Outreach Animal Assistance Programs Indigenous Community Companion Animal Health Program (ICCAHP) Community Branches and Programs Bushfire Response Disaster and Alerts Hot weather Fireworks and Storms Bushfires and House Fires Droughts RSPCA Pet Insurance TrainingACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care ACMGEN309 Provide Basic Animal First Aid ACMMIC401 Implant Microchip in Cats and Dogs Introducing Your Pet to a New Baby Basic Animal First Aid Introduction to Animal Enrichment Introduction to Animal Welfare ACM20121 Certificate ll in Animal Care ACM20121 Certificate ll in Animal Care ACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care allows students to develop practical skills in animal care and gain a real understanding of animal care and welfare requirements. It is a nationally recognised qualification and an entry point into the animal care and management industry. Students will learn the fundamental skills needed to care for domestic animals and undertake a practical work placement at an RSPCA NSW shelter. Students are not required to find their own work placement. The course will introduce students to the concepts of animal hygiene, providing basic animal first aid, communicating effectively with people, staying safe in an animal-related workplace and sourcing information about the needs of animals. For full details regarding studying with the RSPCA NSW Training Team, please download the RSPCA NSW Training Team’s Student Handbook here. For detailed information on the Certificate II in Animal Care, please download the information sheet here. For available course dates, please see below. Please note to be provided information and offered positions for when courses become available, an expression of interest form must be filled in. Your contact details will be held on file and you will be notified when any course dates are open for application. Course snapshot Course duration: Ten weeks intensive full-time. Course structure: This course is a blended delivery mode that encompasses online learning, face-to-face training, and includes practical work placement at  one of our RSPCA NSW Shelters. It should be considered a full-time course as students will need to commit significant time to their studies during the 10 weeks. Please see the proposed timetable for the course here. Please note this is a sample only and slight changes are made to this timetable for each different cohort. Cost: This training is subsidised by the NSW Government through Smart and Skilled Funding. The fee for your course enrolment will vary dependant on your eligibility and the availability of funding under this subsidy. You can review your eligibility for funding by visiting the Smart and Skilled Website. Please note that funding is limited and may not be available to all applicants even if considered eligible. You will be advised of your course fee before commencing studies so that you can determine if you would like to proceed. Course fees may range between $0 and $1340 for eligible student under Smart and Skilled funded positions. For those not eligible, or where funding is not available, or those wishing to enrol as a non-funded student, the full course fee of $3245 is required. Uniform: Students are required to wear closed-in shoes, long pants and a sleeved shirt. A student polo shirt will be provided but all other items must be provided by the student. Work placement locations: Please check public transport availability for each location as some shelters have limited public transport options available. Central Coast Shelter in Somersby (Tuesday to Thursday or Friday to Sunday). Illawarra Shelter in Unanderra (Tuesday to Thursday or Friday to Sunday) Sydney Adoption Centre in Yagoona (Tuesday to Thursday or Friday to Sunday). Hunter Shelter in Rutherford– (Tues to Thursday or Friday to Sunday) Please note that regardless of your work placement location, all students must attend all face-to-face training days at the Sydney Adoption Centre in Yagoona for the classroom component of the course. Qualification: ACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care. This qualification is nationally recognised. Subjects studied: Core (seven) ACMGEN201 Work in the animal care industry ACMGEN202 Complete animal care hygiene routines ACMGEN203 Feed and water animals ACMGEN204 Assist in health care of animals ACMSUS201 Participate in environmentally sustainable work practices ACMWHS201 Participate in workplace health and safety processes BSBCMM211 Apply communication skills Compulsory electives (five) ACMGEN205 Source and provide information for animal care needs ACMBEH302 Provide enrichment for animals ACMINF201 Handle companion animals safely and follow infection control guidelines ACMSPE316 Provide general care of domestic dogs ACMSPE317 Provide general care of domestic cats  Why study with the RSPCA Training Team? Our courses are nationally recognised and industry-leading. You’ll gain a broad and unique perspective on the animal care industry through your work placement at an RSPCA NSW shelter, where all our staff members are dedicated to improving the lives of animals. Plus, more than anything, animal welfare is at the forefront of our training. RSPCA trainers are industry professionals and highly experienced animal carers. RTO code: 70238 Entry requirements There are no education requirements for entry into this course. However, due to RSPCA NSW policy, students must be at least 18 years old, with the appropriate approval to study or work in Australia. Please note that we are not a registered CRICOS provider, so cannot accept enrolments for those seeking to study with a student visa. As our work placement will involve animal handling and manual lifting, it’s beneficial to have a reasonable level of physical fitness. Due to the nature of the animal industry, emotional resilience is advantageous. Please note that you must be immunised against tetanus before commencing the course. Given the online nature of the initial learning for this course, it is recommended that students have an intermediate level of computer literacy, and access to a computer or laptop device with a strong internet connection and webcam. It is recommended that Google Chrome is used to access our Learning Management System. Please note that undertaking training through RSPCA NSW does not guarantee an interview for a paid or volunteer position at RSPCA NSW. You can find a list of any available positions at RSPCA NSW here. Course dates The course dates listed below are indicative only and may be subject to change. To be notified of when course applications open, please fill out an Expression of Interest Form below. 28th October 2024 – 19th January 2025 (including 2 week break over Christmas/New Year) 20th January 2025 – 30th March 2025 17th March 2025 – 25th May 2025 12th May 2025 – 20th July 2025 Please note that undertaking training through RSPCA NSW does not guarantee an interview for a paid or volunteer position at RSPCA NSW. You can find a list of any available positions at RSPCA NSW here. Pathways from this qualification Job role titles covered by this qualification may include: animal care attendant animal shelter attendant cattery attendant kennel hand Students who study this course may choose to go onto further study in related animal fields such as: Veterinary Nursing Captive Animals Grooming Animal Technology Companion Animal Services This course is eligible for students to apply for a concession card through Transport NSW. Applications must be made well in advance of the course start date. To apply for a concession card, please visit the Transport NSW website here. If you apply for a concession card, please notify the RSPCA NSW Training Team at training@rspcansw.org.au. Application Process: Please  submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) in undertaking the ACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care below. Our administrators will contact all interested parties on the EOI list via email with an invitation to apply for the course. Our team will review all applications in order of receipt and confirm your eligibility to study with us (we may need to contact you for further information). At this point we will also determine your eligibility and accessibility to any Smart and Skilled funding. Please note that application does not guarantee a position in the course and will be limited by the number of spots allocated for each cohort, and work placement location. Students successful in gaining a place in the course will be contacted to complete an enrolment form and will be provided with an estimated fee for course completion. Please note that student fees must be paid at least 2 weeks prior to the course commencement. RSPCA NSW does not have formal payment plans for this course but will endeavour to open course applications at least 12 weeks prior to the course commencing, giving students time to gather fees and make payment by the due date. Express your interest in Certificate ll in Animal Care Name* First name Last name Email* Phone number*Date of birth* DD slash MM slash YYYY Preferred location*Please selectIllawarra ShelterSydney ShelterHunter Shelter The RSPCA is committed to handling your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). You can read our Collection Notice here.Personal Information Collection Notice By completing this form, you are providing personal information to RSPCA NSW (we, us, or our). Further details about how we manage personal information is contained in our Personal Information Collection Notice at rspcansw.org/collection-notice and Privacy Policy at rspcansw.org.au/privacy-policy.Personal Information Collection Notice* I have read the Personal Information Collection Notice before providing my personal information and I agree to its terms. What our students say about our coursesThis course has been an amazing experience for me and truly a dream come true. I have dreamed of working with animals my whole life and the course is the perfect way to start a career in animal care. It teaches you everything you need to know through theory work as well as practical work placement, with supportive and patient trainers and staff members at the facilities. I will forever be grateful for this opportunity!I loved this course, I never once thought to work with dogs because in my head you could only do veterinarian work and I did not want to go into that field due to the gore and talking to people about their budget. This course really truly helped me come closer to one of my biggest passions in life. I'd like to thank Adam, Kia and Allison for teaching me more about animal care, through their teaching I actually learned about animals which I didn't think I would learn much in this course. I just took it because I thought it would be fun to work with animals but it wasn't just fun it was also challenging and educating. I will never forget the knowledge that has bestowed upon me so once again thank you.This is a great opportunity to really get inside the animal care industry and learn what it's like to work there. The teaching staff are as supportive as they are experienced, and they want to see their students excel in all areas of animal care.Overall it was an amazing experience which I highly enjoyed. Would recommend it to anyone who is interested and wants a start in the animal industrylearnt so much more than I thought I would. Giving me a better understanding of the behaviours of animals. Thank you.RSPCA training is a great way to get short courses with in-depth knowledge and details of looking after pets and having pets in the family. Would highly recommend for People interested.
