Diploma of Hospitality Management (Commercial Cookery)
Be the mastermind behind the kitchen doors. Go beyond cooking to mastering the art of running a kitchen: lead a team, design profitable menus, manage the budget, and turn your culinary vision into a real, working operation.
The mastermind behind the kitchen doors
Ready to be the mastermind behind the kitchen doors? Our Diploma of Hospitality Management (Commercial Cookery) is your pathway to becoming a culinary leader, where you'll go beyond cooking to mastering the art of running a kitchen. You'll perfect your culinary skills while learning how to manage a kitchen team, design menus, and balance the budget, because running a kitchen isn't just about great food. It's about running a smooth operation!
From creating signature dishes to ensuring everything runs like clockwork behind the scenes, this course preps you for a dynamic role as a kitchen manager. If you're passionate about food and dream of leading your own kitchen crew, this diploma gives you the skills to make your culinary vision a reality.
You'll complete 28 nationally recognised units combining kitchen skills with leadership and business management expertise. You'll refine your abilities in menu planning, kitchen operations, financial management, and staff supervision while mastering high-level cooking techniques. Time to sharpen those knives and cook up a career at the top of the food chain.
Senior leadership skills for the top of the food chain
The Diploma is where chefs become senior leaders. These are the strategic, business, and people skills that take you from running a section to running the whole venue.
Senior Leadership
Lead and manage people at scale. Build, motivate, and develop teams across multiple service periods, sections, and venues.
Strategic Menu Design
Design profitable menus from the ground up: market research, target customer profiling, pricing for margin, and performance evaluation.
Budgets & Finance
Prepare, draft, negotiate, and monitor budgets. Drive financial performance for entire venues and report on every deviation that matters.
Customer Service Strategy
Develop and manage quality customer service practices across the venue. Handle complaints, recover escalations, and turn every interaction into loyalty.
Legal & Compliance
Identify and manage legal risks. Stay compliant with the laws that apply to your business operations, and keep the venue on the right side of the line.
Business Relationships
Negotiate and manage commercially significant business-to-business agreements. Build the supplier and partner relationships that keep your venue running.
28 nationally recognised units
Eleven core units cover the senior hospitality management foundations every venue leader needs: customer service, finance, legal compliance, leadership, work operations, business relationships and workplace safety. Seventeen electives in this stream specialise in commercial cookery, food safety supervision, and kitchen operations.
Core Units (11 units)
Every student completes these 11 units. They cover the senior hospitality management toolkit: customer service strategy, finance and budgeting, legal compliance, leadership and people management, business relationships, and workplace safety.
Electives (17 units)
Seventeen electives that specialise the Commercial Cookery stream: advanced cookery techniques across all major sections, recipe development, menu design and costing, food safety supervision, and kitchen operations.
How you'll study
Delivery, duration, entry requirements, assessment, and work placement at a glance.
Delivery Mode
Training is delivered through face-to-face learning, practical kitchen training, workplace-based learning and independent study.
Training Location
Training takes place at approved ABHT training venues and commercial hospitality workplaces.
Course Duration
Course duration varies depending on your training pathway, previous experience and individual progress.
Attendance
Students are expected to attend all scheduled training sessions and actively participate in practical learning activities.
Practical Training
You'll develop advanced leadership, operational and kitchen management skills in a real commercial kitchen while completing workplace-based assessments under industry conditions.
Entry Requirements
There are no formal entry requirements. Students must complete a pre-enrolment LLN assessment and have the language, literacy, numeracy and digital skills to participate in training and assessment.
Assessment
Assessment includes written questions, practical tasks, observations, workplace evidence, projects and practical demonstrations. RPL and Credit Transfer are available for eligible students.
Work Placement
Students enrolled as apprentices complete practical training and assessment in their workplace with their employer. Students who are not employed may be required to complete a work placement in an approved commercial kitchen, with ABHT able to assist in arranging a suitable placement where required.
Where this qualification takes you
Graduates of this course will receive the nationally recognised SIT50422 - Diploma of Hospitality Management, equipping them with the skills to work as a chef, kitchen leader or hospitality manager across restaurants, hotels, pubs, clubs, cafés and other hospitality venues. Career opportunities include:
Catering Manager
Plan and execute catering services for events, parties, weddings, and corporate functions of any scale.
Resort Manager
Oversee daily operations and guest experiences to ensure a seamless and memorable stay for every guest.
Kitchen Manager
Menu planning, staff management, inventory control, and ensuring high food quality and safety standards every service.
Restaurant Manager
Run the venue end-to-end. Manage service, lead the team, and oversee restaurant operations from open to close.
Pick the path that suits how you actually live
The Diploma of Hospitality Management has two enrolment options. If you qualify for the Career Boost program, the cost drops to $28 total. Otherwise it's a flat fee-for-service with simple payment plans.
Career Boost
General training pathway with co-contribution fees charged per unit. Strict eligibility criteria apply, but if you qualify the savings are significant. Most Diploma students study under this pathway.
Fee for Service
For students who don't qualify for government funding, or simply prefer the simplest path. Pay-as-you-go with a $1,500 deposit and a payment plan via Ezidebit direct debit.
Payment structure for Fee for Service
Courses over $1,500 can be split into a $1,500 deposit at enrolment plus a payment plan via Ezidebit direct debit, making it easier to spread the cost over the duration of your study.
Ezidebit terms, conditions, and fees apply. Full details provided during the enrolment process.
Funding info & documents
From form to first day: how it works
No mystery, no surprises. Here's exactly what happens after you register your interest.
Register your interest
Fill in our expression of interest form, or call (07) 3117 9722 if you'd rather chat.
Eligibility check
We'll check whether you're eligible for the Career Boost funding pathway, no obligation either way.
Enrolment call
We'll discuss your training plan, confirm course costs, and arrange your payment if needed.
Enrolment Induction
Attend an enrolment induction where we'll guide you through the enrolment process, answer your questions, and get you ready to start.
Let's get you started
Register your interest now and we'll be in touch within 1–2 business days.
Register Your Interest NowThe businesses we work with
The Surf Club Mooloolaba
Beach House
Aussie World
Beach Bar
Coolum Beach Bar
Cotton Tree Beach Bar
Meals on Wheels Queensland
Maroochydore Surf Life Saving Club
Kings Beach Bar
Maroochy RSL
The Dock at the Wharf
Sandstone Point Hotel
Psari Restaurant
Spicers Tamarind Retreat
See Restaurant
The Creek
Spicers Clovelly EstateCommon questions
If you're wondering about something else, just ring or message us. We answer real questions from real humans.
No. There are no formal entry requirements for the Diploma of Hospitality Management. However, this qualification is designed for people who are already working in hospitality or have some industry experience. If you're new to the industry, our team can help you determine whether the Diploma is the right starting point or whether another qualification would better suit your career goals.
Cert IV makes you a kitchen leader. The Diploma makes you a venue leader. Cert IV focuses on running a kitchen brigade. The Diploma adds the senior business content: budgets and forecasting, legal compliance, customer service strategy, supplier negotiation, and managing service across the whole venue. If you want to step up to Catering Manager, Restaurant Manager, or Resort Manager, the Diploma is what employers look for.
Most students complete in around 24 months. We work around your shifts and study pace, so if you need a bit longer that's fine. The structure is designed for working chefs who are stepping up into management.
It depends on which pathway you qualify for. Career Boost (general training) is just $28 non-concessional or $19.60 concessional if you meet eligibility. Fee for Service is $6,440 self-funded with payment plans available via Ezidebit ($1,500 deposit then a payment plan over the duration of your study). Get in touch and we'll work out which path fits you.
Yes, but you'll need workplace assessments during the course, so you'll need access to a commercial kitchen environment where you can practise the leadership content. We can help connect you with employer partners through our Career Connections network. Reach out and we'll talk you through it.
The Diploma is the qualification that gets you considered for Catering Manager, Kitchen Manager, Restaurant Manager, and Resort Manager positions. It's also the recognised pathway into hospitality operations roles in hotels, resorts, and venue groups.
Ready to enrol?
Register your interest now and our team will get back to you within 1–2 business days. Or pick up the phone. We'd love to chat.