← Certificate III qualifications
Certificate III in Horticulture
AHC - Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation
Practical horticulture qualification covering plant identification, soil and pest management.
Entry requirements
- Year 10 or equivalent
What you will learn
The AHC30722 covers ornamental and amenity horticulture practice across parks, gardens, sports turf and nurseries. Core units include identifying plants, sustaining nursery plants, pruning trees and shrubs, installing irrigation systems, controlling weeds and pests with chemical and cultural methods, operating small machinery (mowers, blowers, edgers, chainsaws), and maintaining lawns and turf. Elective streams let you focus on arboriculture, parks and gardens, sports turf, landscape installation or nursery operations. You complete ChemCert chemical handling endorsement as part of the qualification.
Skills you build
- Plant identification across Australian and exotic species
- Pruning, shaping and arboriculture techniques
- Soil testing and amendment
- Drip and pop-up irrigation installation
- Pest, disease and weed management (ChemCert)
- Operating small horticultural machinery
- Reading and interpreting landscape plans
How the course runs
Most trainees complete the course through a paid traineeship over 18 to 24 months under the Australian Apprenticeships framework. Full-time TAFE delivery is also available. Around 480 to 600 hours of formal training, with theory and practical split roughly 30/70. ChemCert is included as a separate certification assessment within the course.
How you will be assessed
- Practical demonstrations in TAFE gardens and shadehouses
- Plant identification tests
- ChemCert chemical handling assessment
- Written knowledge tests per unit of competency
- Third-party reports from supervising horticulturist
Workplace and placement
Most students complete the course through a paid traineeship while working for a council, landscaping contractor, nursery or sports turf facility. Trainee wages are set under the Pastoral Award or Horticulture Award depending on workplace. Outdoor work in all weather is the norm, with peak demand in spring and autumn planting and pruning seasons.
Typical employers
- Local council parks and gardens teams
- Landscape installation and maintenance contractors
- Production nurseries and retail garden centres
- Sports turf and golf course maintenance teams
- Botanic gardens and heritage estate gardeners
- Strata and commercial property garden maintenance
Pay after this qualification
$50,000 - $70,000 per year
Source: https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/explore-careers/occupation/gardeners. Last reviewed 2026-05-21.
Is this the right course for you?
You probably thrive here if
- You enjoy working outdoors all year
- You can identify and remember plant species
- You can handle physical work (digging, lifting, pushing barrows)
- You can use machinery and chemicals safely
- You can read landscape and irrigation plans
It is probably not for you if
- You react badly to pollen, dust or chemicals
- You have a back, knee or shoulder condition
- You cannot tolerate sun, heat or wet conditions
- You struggle to remember plant names and characteristics
After you finish
After Cert III you can progress to Certificate IV in Horticulture (AHC40422) for leading hand and supervisor roles, the Diploma of Horticulture (AHC50422), or specialist tickets in arboriculture (climbing arborist AHC30820), parks and gardens management or turf management. Bachelor of Horticultural Science programs at La Trobe and Charles Sturt offer credit for the Cert III. Many horticulturists move into landscape design or environmental consulting roles.