HLT31120 Certificate III in Non-Emergency Patient Transport

VU course code: HLT31120 | Level of study: TAFE

Duration

0.5 years full time or longer for part time

Delivery mode

Face to Face with eLearning

Fees

VET

Location

Werribee Campus

All start dates

Overview

Kickstart your emergency services career and get job-ready to work as a patient transport officer with a Certificate III in Non-Emergency Patient Transport (NEPT) at Victoria University.

Get the skills to safely assess, transport and care for patients via pre-arranged, booked transport service and in some cases 000 calls.

With this non-emergency patient-transport-driver course, you’ll be ready to help patients who are injured, older, or have a chronic illness or disability, to access essential medical facilities.

You’ll also be job-ready to assist patients and work closely with ambulance attendants and other paramedicine professionals.

Learning from our expert staff through our award-winning interactive e-learning model, you will gain healthcare skills such as:

interpreting and applying medical terminology
recognising healthy body systems
providing first aid
infection prevention and control procedures
providing advanced resuscitation
assessing and delivering basic clinical care
procedures for routine safe removal of a patient
transporting non-emergency patients.

You’ll also gain essential people skills to help you communicate with health care and community services staff and support patients from diverse communities.

: This qualification reflects the role of workers such as non-emergency patient transport officers who provide non-emergency transport and care for patients who have non-acute or chronic illness or disability and require transport. Workers in this role provide appropriate patient assessment, follow procedures for safe removal of a patient for transport for pre-arranged or booked transport service and the time of response is not given high priority in comparison to emergency transport.
: As a VU student, you’ll have access to top work placement opportunities in organisations such as:
St John Ambulance Australia
Royal Flying Doctors Service
Crown Medical Services
During your 80 hours of placements, you’ll get to work with non-emergency patient transport vehicles under the supervision of experts in the field.
: With this Certificate III in Non-Emergency Patient Transport, you’ll be ready for employment in the emergency care sector supporting paramedics and hospital workers on the frontline.
Then, you can progress your career further with a seamless transition into our Diploma of Emergency Health Care, which will equip you with skills to provide critical life support to patients in emergency. The diploma includes 160 hours of clinical work placement in the community.
: With Ambulance Victoria facilities embedded on our Sunshine Campus, you’ll benefit from our strong industry links.
If you continue on to our Diploma of Emergency Health Care and Bachelor of Paramedicine, you’ll connect and collaborate with highly-experienced professionals from within Ambulance Victoria through our new state-of-the-art training facilities.
With more than 1300 paramedics recruited to Ambulance Victoria over the past two years, our graduates are well-placed to be part of the solution to the ever-increasing demand for emergency healthcare services.
: Achieve your full potential with The Learning Hub, which helps you develop your confidence, academic ability, and study skills.
Benefit from in-person mentoring and study sessions, along with a range of digital learning modules that you can access anytime.
Get help from our online, 24/7 support service to polish your assignments before you submit, and receive guidance on writing, referencing, maths and more.
Read more about The Learning Hub

This course is nationally recognised training.

Entry requirements

When assessing your application, we consider your education, work experience, current skills and personal attributes (where relevant).

Applicants for this course will need to meet the entry criteria outlined below. If you don’t meet the entry criteria, you may be able to gain entry by first completing a different course. We call this a ‘pathway’.

You may also be eligible for ‘Recognition of Prior Learning’, which lets you finish your course more quickly when you have gained some of the skills required from past study or work experience.

Inherent requirements

Inherent requirements are the abilities, attributes, skills and behaviours needed to meet the learning outcomes of the course.

You should carefully consider the inherent requirement statement as a:

guide for your learning during the course
way for you to identify challenges you may have in studying this course.

Find course inherent requirements

Entry criteria

Applicants must complete the following to determine suitability:
Full time (On campus)

Pre-training Review (PTR)

Literacy and numeracy assessment

Must be at least 18 years of age or over at the time of course commencement

Must hold a driver's Licence (probationary licence accepted) at the time of course commencement.

Part time (Regional)

Pre-training Review (PTR)

Literacy and numeracy assessment

Must be at least 18 years of age or over at the time of course commencement

Must hold a driver's Full Licence at the time of course commencement.

Has physical presence in Victoria and must reside outside the Melbourne metropolitan area.

Statutory Declaration evidence confirming one of the following:

Part time or full time employment, or

Part time or full time care giver.

Participants are expected to have access to attend campus for practical assessments where relevant.
For information on postcodes, refer to: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/working-in-australia/skill-occupation-list/regional-postcodes.

Practical placement requirements:

A current Working with Children Check (WWCC)

Police check (valid 6 months of course commencement), or Fit for work check.

Evidence of up to date Immunisations

In response to Victoria's Roadmap announced in September 2021, all students must have any COVID-19 vaccine prior to the commencement of placement. Students will be required to provide evidence prior to commencement of placement. If students are not compliant with this requirement they are not eligible to undertake a placement and this will mean that they will not be able to progress within their course.

Failure to provide the required documents in the timeframe specified by the Course Coordinator, means you will be unable to undertake practical placement in a workplace and therefore not eligible to progress in this course.
The following are suggested sites you could visit to obtain these checks:

Police Record Check - http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=274

Working with Children Check - http://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/

Information about the immunisations can be found online at https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/immunisation

In addition, student uniform must be purchased through Victoria University.

Meeting the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee you entry into this course.

Some courses receive more applications than the number of places available. In this situation we will also assess your education, work and other relevant experience.

Special entry programs

Special admission programs

If you are from a disadvantaged or underrepresented social, economic or cultural background, you may be eligible for one of our special admission programs. These programs are designed to help you access education more easily.

Learn more about special entry programs

VU Early Entry

If you're currently in Year 11 or 12, our exclusive VU Early Entry program comes with a Conditional Offer to the course of your choosing*, a personalised course plan, special events, exclusive discounts and access to one-on-one course advice.

*Conditions apply.

Learn more about VU Early Entry

Credit & Entry pathways into this course

Victoria University is committed to providing a transparent admissions process. Find out more about how to apply for our courses, and our commitment to admissions transparency. Meeting the minimum admission criteria does not guarantee entry into this course. Past academic performance may be considered.

Course structure

To be awarded the HLT31120 Certificate III in Non-Emergency Patient Transport, 13 units must completed comprising:

11 core units
2 elective units, consisting of:

- at least 1 unit from the electives listed from the qualification HLT31120 Certificate III in Non-Emergency Patient Transport - up to 1 unit from the electives listed below or from any other current endorsed Training Package or accredited course

Units

Fees & scholarships

TAFE fees vary, depending on how much the government contributes towards course costs (if anything).

Read below to find out about the fee ‘type’, the estimated yearly tuition costs for this course, and the financial support on offer.

Fees

Fee type¹	Tuition²	Materials³	SSAF⁴
Skills First subsidised	$1,627.10	$233 (max)	$261 (max)
Concession	$325.42	$233 (max)	$112 (max)
Full fee (not subsidised)	$8,596	–	–

Fee type¹	Tuition²	Materials³	SSAF⁴
Skills First subsidised	$1,535	$204 (max)	$256 (max)
Concession	$307	$204 (max)	$110 (max)
Full fee (not subsidised)	$8,596	–	–

Scholarships

Careers

As Australia’s strong need for health care and social assistance workers continues to grow, you’ll be well-placed to start your career in this important industry.

With a Certificate III in Non-Emergency Patient Transport, you’ll have the high skills to set yourself up for a strong future and be ready for employment as a:

patient transport officer (PTO)
first aid officer.

Visit the Jobs and Skills Australia website to see the employment growth and average earnings for health care and social assistance workers.

Start dates

TAFE coursework

On campus – Melbourne Werribee Campus

Course starts 06 July 2026

Applications close 30 June 2026

Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information on this page, please note that dates are subject to change. Some courses may close early due to an earlier start date or there being limited places available.

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