Graduate Certificate in Relationship Counselling
GCRC
Help couples and families navigate their toughest challenges, from communication breakdowns to infidelity and life transitions. AIPC's Graduate Certificate in Relationship Counselling builds your ability to create a safe, therapeutic environment, along with core skills across the main therapeutic approaches to relationship counselling. Approved for FEE-HELP and delivered online.
The Graduate Certificate in Relationship Counselling will develop student knowledge and skills in relationship counselling with emphasis on the process of creating a therapeutic environment for clients and on cultivating high levels of skill in communication, sensitivity, self-knowledge, and ethical conduct required of the counselling profession.
You will develop core skills and understanding of the main therapeutic approaches to relationship counselling and the application to relationship challenges.
The course will examine common challenges including infidelity, communication difficulties and life transitions.
Our program is approved for FEE-HELP and is delivered online.
You can apply for entry into the Graduate Certificate in Relationship Counselling if you have successfully completed an undergraduate (Bachelor) degree in any field.
FEE-HELP is a loan scheme for eligible students to pay their tuition (subject) fees.
Pay your subject fees direct to the institute each semester for each subject in which you are enrolled.
Split Payments. This means you can pay a portion of your subject fees yourself, and the remaining portion using FEE-HELP (if eligible).
Pay via Credit Card or Direct Debit.
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Course Recognition
Why study our Graduate Certificate in Relationship Counselling
Graduate Certificate in Relationship Counselling provides a flexible and affordable alternative to traditional tertiary education.
Career ready
A specialist graduate course is your chance to step up with advanced knowledge in a focused area of counselling practice. These qualifications give you real-world, immediately applicable expertise to enhance your current role or prepare you for future study — putting you on a clear pathway if you decide to pursue full counselling qualifications later on.
Extremely applicable
Our specialist graduate courses are designed for professionals who want to elevate their impact. You’ll gain powerful knowledge that integrates seamlessly into your career — helping you better support others, deepen client communication, and stand out as a specialist in your field.
Counselling education specialists
We believe you're better off learning from a specialist than a generalist. Many training providers deliver courses across a variety of industries. At AIPC, we prefer to concentrate on counselling and community services education.
Flexible learning
With so many demands on our time it can be difficult to fit study in around other commitments, that's why our Graduate Certificate in Relationship Counselling has been designed to maximise your learning from home where you can progress through your studies in a full-time or part-time pace.
Career ready
A specialist graduate course is your chance to step up with advanced knowledge in a focused area of counselling practice. These qualifications give you real-world, immediately applicable expertise to enhance your current role or prepare you for future study — putting you on a clear pathway if you decide to pursue full counselling qualifications later on.
Extremely applicable
Our specialist graduate courses are designed for professionals who want to elevate their impact. You’ll gain powerful knowledge that integrates seamlessly into your career — helping you better support others, deepen client communication, and stand out as a specialist in your field.
Counselling education specialists
We believe you're better off learning from a specialist than a generalist. Many training providers deliver courses across a variety of industries. At AIPC, we prefer to concentrate on counselling and community services education.
Flexible learning
With so many demands on our time it can be difficult to fit study in around other commitments, that's why our Graduate Certificate in Relationship Counselling has been designed to maximise your learning from home where you can progress through your studies in a full-time or part-time pace.
Course Outline
Prerequisite: NIL, EFTSL: 0.125
This unit provides students with the theoretical grounding and fundamental elements of counselling practice through an integration of counselling processes and skills. Students will learn about the importance of the therapeutic alliance and develop discrete micro-counselling skills with an emphasis on relationship development and change facilitation. Students will be supported to explore and reflect on their own values and beliefs and how these may affect the counselling relationship and process.
Prerequisite: NIL, EFTSL: 0.125
This unit discusses the importance of ethical and legal frameworks and the obligations of the counsellor within the therapeutic context. Students will examine confidentiality and other core ethical principles with consideration of culture and identity within an Australian context. Record keeping, note taking and general client management are included to ensure student understanding of these legal and procedural elements.
Prerequisite: NIL, EFTSL: 0.125
In this unit students develop a critical understanding and knowledge of counselling models in the context of couples and relationships. Students will recognise the individual needs of clients, and the importance of a counselling approach that is client focused. Students will also reflect on their own values and beliefs within the context of relationship counselling.
Prerequisite: NIL, EFTSL: 0.125
This unit aims to provide students with a deeper understanding of current issues facing families. Students will critically reflect on therapeutic knowledge developed and their professional framework to develop responses to specific relationship issues and couple populations. Students will also consider the skills and knowledge required for working with infidelity, sexuality, communication issues, transitional issues and relationship breakdown/divorce.
This course is for the development of specialist knowledge and skills enhancement and does not lead to accreditation or registration as a generalist or specialist Counsellor.
Below are the upcoming intake periods for the Graduate Certificate in Relationship Counselling.
Trimester | Commences | Census | Residential School | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Term 1, 2026 | 2nd Feb 2026 | 16th Feb 2026 | - | 5th Apr 2026 |
Term 2, 2026 | 20th Apr 2026 | 4th May 2026 | - | 21st Jun 2026 |
Term 3, 2026 | 13th Jul 2026 | 27th Jul 2026 | - | 13th Sept 2026 |
Term 4, 2026 | 5th Oct 2026 | 19th Oct 2026 | - | 6th Dec 2026 |
Course | Year | Tuition Fee per unit | Total Course Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
Graduate Diploma in Relationship Counselling Practice (4 units) | 2026 | $2,990 each | $11,960 |
On your Application Form, you chose one course payment option to pay for your course. You are able to:
Option 1: Pay for your course using FEE-HELP (if you are eligible).
Option 2: Pay for each term of your studies upfront.
Option 3: Pay for a portion of your fees upfront and the remaining portion using FEE-HELP.
If your application is successful and you accept your placement, the investment for each unit is payable via the following methods after accepting your placement:
If you are choosing to pay all or part of your unit fees through FEE-HELP, you will need to return your Request for FEE-HELP Assistance form for the term by the due date indicated in your term enrolment letter. You can find out more about FEE-HELP from the following publication: Fee Help Information – 2026
Payment by credit card, cheque or money order for the term by the due date indicated in your term enrolment letter (usually within two weeks of the term commencing).
If you are paying some of your fees yourself and some through FEE-HELP, then returning your Request for FEEHELP Assistance form and payment of the remaining amount by credit card, cheque or money order by the due date of the term.
If accepted into the course, you nominate your preferred payment method on your Confirmation of Acceptance form to confirm your place in the course. Please note that the unit fees, and any other associated fees, are current only for the units in which you are presently enrolled, and can be reviewed and changed at the Institute’s discretion for future terms.
Subjects where credit is granted
Students are able to apply for credit of previous studies and experience as described in the RPL and Credit Transfer Policy and are not required to pay the unit fee for each unit in which credit is granted.
Additional and Non-Tuition Costs
The following additional and/or non-tuition costs apply:
Current textbook lists are found on the Higher Education Learning Portal which can be accessed upon enrolment. Students are encouraged to submit their online textbook order through Booktopia prior to commencing their studies for the trimester. Students are able to source textbooks from other suppliers if they choose. Students are able to choose from textbooks or e-books, depending on availability, and further information is provided each trimester as to where these can be sourced from.
Students have access to comprehensive online library of texts and resources.
External students borrowing hard copy library resources will need to pay for postage to return the borrowed item/s to the Institute at Locked Bag 15, Fortitude Valley 4006. Please refer to the Australia Post postage calculator for current indicative pricing: http://auspost.com.au/apps/postage-calculator.html.
For students living overseas, please check postage costs with your chosen postal or courier service. Overdue items are charged at $1 per day until the item is returned.
Students are able to apply for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) or Credit Transfer to receive credit for one or more units** of the Graduate Certificate in Relationship Counselling (up to a maximum of 2 units).
This enhances student progression through the course and provides recognition for students entering the course with relevant prior studies and work experience. Students granted RPL or credit are not disadvantaged in achieving the expected learning outcomes of the course, and the integrity of the qualification must be maintained.
RPL recognises that students, due to relevant life and work experiences, may already possess the requisite skills and knowledge for unit/s in the Bachelor course. Students who have been working within a counselling environment for a number of years are able to apply for recognition of this prior learning or experience. Exemption can be applied for one or more course units** (up to a maximum of 2 units).
Assessing credit from prior experience takes into account the authenticity, currency, quality, relevance, transferability and comparability of the experience to the requirements of the unit for which credit is being applied.
Credit Transfer
Credit Transfer refers to obtaining credit towards another course on the basis of having completed previous study of an equivalent subject or unit. Students who have completed similar units to those included in the Graduate Certificate in Relationship Counselling are welcome to apply for Credit Transfer. Students who have completed or partially completed another counselling course are particularly encouraged to apply for Credit Transfer.
Credit will not normally be granted for formal study completed more than 10 years prior to application unless there is evidence of continued relevance of this study for the course towards which credit is sought. Credit is granted where there is substantial overlap with the content and/or learning outcomes of the unit for which credit is being applied.
When assessing credit based on prior study, consideration is given to the objectives of the course, methods of delivery and assessment, admission requirements, course durations, the breadth and depth of the course material, practical training requirements, and experience requirements.
**Students can only obtain credit for a total maximum of 2 units inclusive of whether this credit has been obtained via RPL or credit transfer.
Below is a list of policies and procedures that apply to students enrolled in the Graduate Certificate in Relationship Counselling.
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Frequently Asked Questions
This course suits professionals who regularly support people with relationship difficulties in their work and want formal training in how to respond. Counsellors, social workers, psychologists, welfare officers and pastoral care staff all work with people whose relationships are under strain. You must have a bachelor’s degree in any field to qualify for entry, so what you studied won’t rule you out. Bear in mind that the certificate builds specialist expertise rather than qualifying you to practise as a counsellor.
Approaches to Relationship Counselling covers this. You’ll develop a critical understanding of counselling models and how each applies to couples rather than individuals, since a session with two people in the room works differently from a session with one. The unit emphasises client-focused practice, so you’ll learn to recognise what each partner needs rather than applying one model to every couple. You’ll also examine your own values and beliefs within a relationship counselling context.
You can study this graduate certificate online with AIPC from wherever you live in Australia. No need to attend campus at any stage. The four units are split into two terms of two, which most full-time students complete in six months. You can also enrol part-time if you cannot commit full-time.
Contemporary Relationship Counselling takes you through the issues couples bring to counselling most often:
Infidelity
Sexuality
Communication difficulties
Transitional issues that put pressure on a relationship
Relationship breakdown and divorce
You’ll reflect critically on the therapeutic knowledge you’ve developed and the professional framework you work within, then apply both to specific relationship issues and to the particular couple populations you’re likely to see.
Yes. Counselling two people at once takes skills that individual practice never draws on, and this certificate covers them directly. The Law and Ethics unit deals with confidentiality and client management, both of which get more complicated when your client is a couple. Professional associations decide for themselves what counts towards continuing professional development, so check the current requirements with yours before you enrol.
The certificate strengthens roles where relationship difficulties come up regularly. Counsellors, social workers, family support workers, welfare officers and pastoral care staff can apply this training in the positions they already hold. Some graduates use it to take on couple work within a practice they’re already a part of.
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