Online training - Call us on 1300 009 924
Online training - access your course anytime, anywhere! Call us on 1300 009 924
Alcohol and Other Drugs Short Course

Test the AOD field. Then commit.

Alcohol and other drug workers play an important role in supporting people through substance use challenges, recovery and wellbeing. Training in this area can help students build practical skills in client support, referral, harm reduction and community-based care. The CHCSS00093 Alcohol and Other Drugs Skill Set is the lowest-risk way to step into AOD support. A nationally recognised short-form qualification that builds the foundations you need, then credits directly into the Certificate IV in AOD or the Dual Cert IV if you decide to continue.

Skill set
CHCSS00093 is Nationally recognised
$79/wk
Payment plans, fortnightly or monthly
100%
Online & Flexible Study
The Skill Set

One nationally recognised qualification.

Built from real CHC units, designed as the proper sector entry point into Alcohol and Other Drugs support work.

CHCSS00093 Nationally Recognised

Alcohol and Other Drugs Skill Set

Covers the essentials of AOD support work: the AOD sector, person-centred support, intervention strategies, and developing individual treatment plans. Designed for sector entrants, community services workers adding AOD capability, and people with lived experience formalising their knowledge.

Duration
A few months
Delivery
100% Online, Self-paced
Outcome
Statement of Attainment

Your pathway

Two ways forward when you're ready.

Complete the Skill Set, then pick the next step that matches your career goal. Your study credits across in full either way.

You start here

Alcohol and Other Drugs Skill Set

Choose your next step

Industry Snapshot

Alcohol & Other Drugs in Australia

Alcohol and other drugs support sits within Australia’s broader health and community services workforce, helping people through counselling, rehabilitation, education and person-centred support.

Counsellors Employed
40,100
Drug and Alcohol Counsellors sit within Australia’s counsellor workforce, supporting people with dependency issues, rehabilitation planning, goal setting and behavioural change.
Largest Employing Sector
16.3%
Health Care and Social Assistance is Australia’s largest employing industry, showing the scale and ongoing importance of care, wellbeing and support-focused roles across the country.
Average Salary
$2,154
Counsellors have median weekly earnings of $2,154 in Australia, reflecting the value of communication, support planning and therapeutic practice in the broader AOD support space.

FAQs

It's a nationally recognised short-form qualification comprising real CHC units, designed as the proper entry point into AOD support work. It covers the AOD sector, person-centred support, intervention strategies, and the development of individual treatment plans. On completion, you receive a Statement of Attainment.

Most students complete it within a few months. Because it's 100% online and self-paced, you can move at your own pace, adjusting to your schedule and how much time you can commit each week.

You have two pathways. The CHC43215 Certificate IV in Alcohol and Other Drugs is the direct route for dedicated AOD roles such as AOD Worker, Outreach Worker and Harm Reduction Worker. The Dual Certificate IV in AOD and Mental Health (CHC43215 / CHC43315) gives you two qualifications and the broadest options across both fields, which often co-occur in practice.

The Skill Set is a foundation rather than a licence to practise on its own, but it points towards roles in AOD support, outreach, harm reduction and community-based care. These are usually reached by progressing to the Certificate IV, which is the qualification employers look for in dedicated AOD positions.

Yes. CHCSS00093 is nationally recognised, and Upskilled is a Registered Training Organisation (RTO No. 40374), so your qualification is valid Australia-wide.