The Advanced Certificate of Community Sector Management is designed for experienced and aspiring leaders working across health, disability, aged care, community services, and not-for-profit organisations. This course builds the practical leadership, compliance, and strategic management skills needed to operate confidently in complex community environments. You will learn how to lead teams through change, manage legal and ethical obligations, embed quality frameworks, and create inclusive, client-centred services that meet regulatory and community expectations. Through four core units and a flexible selection of electives, you will develop advanced capability in organisational leadership, diversity management, governance, sustainability, service program development, community development, and strategic planning.
This online community sector management course is ideal for team leaders, managers, coordinators, and senior practitioners seeking career progression or broader management responsibility within the community sector. Graduates are well-positioned to lead services, manage programs, oversee compliance, and drive continuous improvement across diverse community settings. If you want to strengthen your leadership impact, improve service outcomes, and confidently manage complexity in the community sector, this course provides a clear and credible pathway.
Course Structure
Advanced Certificate of Community Sector Management - Complete 4 Core Units
Unit 1 – Lead and Manage Organisational Change
- Change management
- Goals and objectives
- Change
- Forecasting
- The input/output procedure
- Budgets
- Forecasting techniques
- Risk assessment and management
- Individual risk
- Change management strategies
- Responsibilities
- Ideas
- Sponsors
- Orchestrators
- Change agents
- Leaders
- Planning change
- Managing change
- Change models
- Lewin
- Beer
- Nadler and Tushman
- Bandura
- Kubler-Ross
- Change management strategies
- Education – effective communication plan
- Effective change strategies
- Innovation
- Introducing change
- Assess and evaluate proposed changes
- Change leading to improvement
- Change situations
- Costs and benefits
- Project plans – for managing change
- Restructuring to support change
- Communication plans
Unit 2 – Manage and Promote Diversity
- Workplace diversity concepts and principles
- Diversity data collection and analysis
- Benefits of workplace diversity
- Aligning diversity practices with organisational objectives
- Respectful and inclusive workplace behaviours
- Leadership and role modelling for diversity
- Coaching and supporting colleagues in diversity awareness
- Inclusive work practices and planning
- Professional development for a diverse workforce
- Building a supportive and inclusive workplace culture
- Leveraging diversity to meet workplace and client needs
- Collaboration in diverse teams
- Inclusive and adaptive communication strategies
- Tailored communication for individuals and groups
- Resources to support effective workplace communication
- Evaluating and improving communication practices
- Developing workplace diversity strategies
- Stakeholder consultation and participation
- Advocating for diversity initiatives
- Measuring diversity outcomes
- Reporting on diversity strategies and performance
Unit 3 – Manage Legal and Ethical Compliance
- Legal and regulatory compliance frameworks
- Sources of compliance information
- Scope of compliance responsibilities
- Interpreting legislation and standards
- Risks, penalties, and consequences of non-compliance
- Accessing specialist legal advice
- Ethical frameworks in community services
- Scope of practice and ethical decision-making
- Responsibilities to clients, workers, and the community
- Modelling ethical behaviour
- Developing legal and ethical policies and procedures
- Documentation and record-keeping requirements
- Privacy, confidentiality, and information protection
- Roles and responsibilities for compliance
- Communicating policies and legal requirements
- Monitoring compliance in work practices
- Managing breaches and non-compliance
- Accreditation and certification requirements
- Staying current with legal and ethical obligations
- Continuous review and improvement of compliance systems
Unit 4 – Develop, Implement and Review Quality Framework
- Quality service delivery frameworks and standards
- Stakeholder consultation and expectations
- Client rights, needs, and outcomes
- Benchmarking and good practice
- Organisational barriers and risk management
- Continuous improvement planning and processes
- Monitoring and reviewing service quality
- Feedback, complaints, and service evaluation
- Legislative compliance and procedural updates
- Workforce capability and competency development
- Communicating quality standards and outcomes
- Implementing and sustaining service improvements
Advanced Certificate of Community Sector Management- Electives - Select 4
Please list your four selected units in the notes section at the time of enrolment.
Unit 1 – Contribute to Human Resources Strategic Planning
- Research planning requirements
- Direct, objectives and targets
- Strategic planning process
- Organisational goals and plans
- Strategies and trends
- Future labour needs
- Skill requirements
- Options for sourcing labour supply
- The need for strategic plans
- HR plans
- Technology – external influences and trends
- Economic, market and technological trends
- Demographics trends and labour force
- General population trends
- Labour shortages and labour demand
- Globalisation
- Alternative and non-traditional ways of working
- Data trends
- Changes to industrial and legal requirements
- The value of planning
- HR philosophies, values and policies
- Strategic objectives and targets for HR services
- Costs and benefits
- Risk management plans
- Contingency plans
- Strategic human resource planning
- Effective Implementation of the HR plan
- Strategies
- Monitoring and reviewing the plan
Unit 2 – Provide Leadership Across the Organisation
- Leadership
- Vision and mission
- Matching values
- Obligations and integrity
- Trust-based relationships
- Organisation-based requirements
- Incident management
- Motivation
- Maslow’s Hierarchy
- Motivating others
- Building relationships
- Flexibility
- Community image
- Leader involvement
- Tripe Bottom Line (TBL)
- TBL Objectives
- Trust and Influence
- Communication
- Decision-making
- Assessing risks
- Problem-solving models
- Systems approach
- Data analysis
- Decision-making styles
- Change management
- Communicating decisions
- Managing teams
- Influence and motivation
- Delegation
Unit 4 – Develop Organisational Strategies
- Organisational vision, mission, and values
- Stakeholder consultation and strategic alignment
- Strategic planning processes
- External environment analysis
- PEST analysis
- Industry, competitor, and alliance analysis
- Organisational capability assessment
- SWOT analysis
- Risk and cost–benefit analysis
- Developing strategic objectives and strategies
- Strategic priorities, timelines, and performance indicators
- Risk management planning
- Communicating strategic plans
- Implementing strategic initiatives
- Roles and accountability for strategy delivery
- Monitoring performance and progress
- Evaluating strategic outcomes
- Continuous improvement in strategic planning
Unit 5 – Develop Workplace Policy and Procedures for Sustainability
- Workplace sustainability principles
- Social, economic, and environmental sustainability
- Scope and objectives of sustainability policies
- Research and stakeholder consultation
- Developing and documenting sustainability policies
- Implementation planning and resourcing
- Communicating sustainability policies
- Supporting policy implementation
- Monitoring sustainability performance
- Recording and tracking improvements
- Reviewing sustainability outcomes
- Continuous improvement strategies
- Updating and modifying sustainability policies
Unit 6 – Develop and Implement Service Programs
- Consumer participation and engagement
- Assessing individual and group service needs
- Removing barriers to consumer involvement
- Collaboration with services and networks
- Organisational context and service delivery impacts
- Stakeholder input in program design
- Inclusive and rights-based program planning
- Integrating internal and external services
- Resource planning and allocation
- Program systems and procedures
- Service evaluation and feedback mechanisms
- Program documentation and planning
- Implementing service programs
- Roles, responsibilities, and workforce training
- Monitoring service delivery and budgets
- Managing service delivery issues
- Record keeping and documentation
- Evaluating program effectiveness
- Continuous program improvement
Unit 7 – Work Within Organisation and Government Structures to Enable Community Development
- Organisational structures and governance
- Roles, decision-making, and accountability
- Planning and documentation for community development
- Organisational support and barriers to community development
- Policies and procedures affecting community work
- Government structures and funding systems
- Identifying and accessing community funding
- Government policy impacts and advocacy strategies
- Strategic partnerships with government and communities
- Legal and regulatory requirements for community development
- Monitoring and updating compliance requirements
- Promoting community development within organisations
- Communication strategies and networks
- Confidentiality and ethical public communication
- Management engagement and support
- Managing organisational and community tensions
- Responding to political, social, and economic trends
Unit 8 – Develop Workplace Communication Strategies
- Information is disseminated (internally and externally)
- Forms of information
- What information is used for
- Developing better strategies
- How information helps all employees
- Internal information relating to organisational goals
- Identifying information
- Competitor analysis
- PEST and SWOT analysis
- Establish priorities from SWAT analysis
- Effective communication
- Accounting for specific needs and situations
- Regulatory requirements
- Privacy and Health legislation
- Competing or conflicting interests
- Duty of care
- Policies and procedures
- Obligations of organisations
- Collecting personal information on staff
- Interactions with clients
- Respect for privacy and confidentiality
- Staff obligations
- Collaborative interactions
- Requests for information
- Providing information to external services
- Conflicting and competing interests
- Developing and implementing a communications strategy
- Objectives of a communications strategy
- Determining audiences
- What needs to be communicated
- Communication tools and activities
- Evaluation and amendment
- Communications policies and procedures
- Communication plans
- Crisis communications plans and teams
- Team responsibilities during onset and during crisis
- Media strategy
- Adapting communication strategies
- Stakeholders with disabilities
- Culturally and linguistically diverse stakeholders
- Developing processes and protocols
- Communication and writing techniques
- Preparing written information
- Editing and proofreading documents
- Staff presentations and meetings
- Training activities
- Coaching and mentoring
- Effective communication
- Networking
- Information systems
- Continuous improvement
- Review processes
Unit 9 – Promote Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander cultural safety
- Impact of cultural factors on service delivery
- Cultural factors
- Language issues
- Disadvantage and economic inequities
- Anglo-European influences
- Family violence
- Assessing the current and potential impact of cultural issues
- Issues that influence relationships and communication
- Events and issues pertinent to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history
- First contact
- Stolen generations
- Bringing them home
- Maralinga – atomic bomb testing
- Native title decision
- Deaths in custody
- Rights of Indigenous People
- Discrimination, disenfranchisement loss and grief
- Critical issuers with perception and acceptance of service
- Gaps between mainstream and Indigenous people
- Key aspects of cultural safety
- Practicing cultural safety
- Communication and consultation
- Key health/community risk factors
- Petrol sniffing
- Nutrition and hygiene
- Access strategies
- Health and community service providers
- Awareness of one’s own cultural bias
- Diversity
- Land and kinship
- Spiritual beliefs and religion
- Visual and performance art
- Human capability
- Using available resources
- Service for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health
- Active listening
- Effective cross-cultural communication
- Language and literacy
- Communication
- Workplace communication
- Health community services
- Training staff
- Using interpreters
- Respecting privacy and customs
- Informal communication
- Gender issues
- Information dissemination
- Effective partnerships
- Affordability or services
- Policy frameworks
- Communication barriers
- Misunderstandings
- Cultural ignorance and insensitivity
- Community profiles
- Encouraging self-determination and community control
- COAG Reform agreement
- Closing the gaps
- Connection to land, culture spirituality, ancestry, family and community
- Cultural safety strategy outcomes
Study Hours
Estimated duration 120
Course Delivery and Start
Start anytime, self-paced and 100% online
Assessment
Assessment will be comprised of written exercises, including short-answer questions, reflective tasks, short reports and/or projects. No practical cooking demonstrations are required for assessment and there are no examinations in this course.
Testimonials
About Us
Graduation
A Certificate of Attainment and Statement of Results will be issued upon successful completion of this course.
How to Enrol
Enrolment Form – Employment Services and Rehabilitation Providers
Enrol via Live Chat (Business Hours)
Enrol via Telephone 1300 76 2221 (Business Hours)
Payment Options
Visa, Mastercard, BPAY and EFT/Direct Deposit. Please allow 1-2 Business days for processing for EFT and BPAY.
Course FAQs
Why Choose Australian Online Courses?
- Professional development that is widely recognised and respected;
- Improve your employment opportunities;
- Study online, anywhere via our elearning system;
- High-quality professional development programs written by industry experts;
- All course materials provided online – no textbooks to buy;
- Unlimited tutor support via email;
- We offer twelve (12) months’ access, with extensions available upon application (fees apply);
- Course may be tax deductible; see your tax advisor.
Are there any entry requirements or pre-requisites?
There are no course or subject pre-requisites for entry into our programs. However, our professional development programs are generally intended for people over the age of 18. In some circumstances, enrolments from younger people may be considered. Please complete the AOC Parent Guardian Consent Form prior to enrolling and submit here.
Are there any computer requirements?
To study online with Australian Online Courses you will need a computer (desktop PC/laptop) running a current/updated operating system with reliable high-speed internet access. You will need to use the Google Chrome browser to access your course.
When can I start this course?
You can start within 60 minutes during business hours when you enrol and pay in full with a credit card!
Credit card: Within 60 mins during business hours.
BPAY: Within 1-2 working days.
Internet Banking: Within 1-2 working days.
Cheque/Money Order: Upon receipt of mailed cheque.
How is this course delivered?
This course is delivered online via our easy-to-navigate Learning Management System (LMS), where you will discover interactive online learning/written content, resources and assessment.
Do I need to attend classes or undertake any work placements?
No. All courses are delivered online via our LMS and there are no work placement requirements in this course.
What support can I expect from Australian Online Courses?
Unlimited tutor support is available throughout your studies via email only during business hours Monday to Friday. Our Administrative team are available Monday to Friday via email, live chat and telephone.
I am an international student. Can I enrol into this course?
Yes! We accept enrolments from individuals both within Australia and internationally; location is no barrier to entry into our programs.
Career Pathways
Future growth
Strong
Unemployment
Low
Professional development for:
- Managers and emerging leaders
- Business owners and entrepreneurs
- Team leaders and supervisors
- HR and workforce planning professionals
- Project and operations managers
- Professionals preparing for senior or strategic roles
