Postgraduate Studies

Offered T1 & T3 2026
Overview

This compulsory unit focuses on the application of contemporary marketing theory and practice to agribusiness products and services.  It can be applied to all stages of the agribusiness value chain including input suppliers of finance, fertilisers, seeds and farm machinery; primary producers of food and fibre; food processors and food retailers.

The unit uses the market planning process as an integrating feature of learning and the major assignment is the production of a detailed marketing plan for an agribusiness product or service. The unit has five main sections:

• Marketing concepts.
• The marketing management process.
• Analysis for marketing decisions.
• Strategy and planning for marketing decisions.
• Implementing marketing strategy.

Learning Outcomes

Upon the completion of this unit graduates will be able to:

1. Develop competence to apply advanced knowledge and application of analytical concepts and techniques relevant for marketing decision making, with an emphasis on creating, capturing and sustaining customer value.
2. Acquire specialised technical and cognitive skills to demonstrate advanced knowledge of the important concepts, processes and managerial frameworks of marketing as a discipline.
3. Demonstrate insight and apply independent judgement into the importance of the marketing concept in the strategic direction of modern organisations.
4. Compare and contrast various marketing theories and practices and develop recommendations for strategic action.

Offered T2 & T3 2026

Overview

This compulsory unit is an introduction to managerial financial analysis applied in the agribusiness context.

Managerial finance is the firm’s funds within the firm, from a single farm through to an integrated agribusiness. It encompasses the functions of budgeting, financial forecasting, credit administration, investment analysis and funds procurement.

Major topics include ratio analysis, time value of money, risk and the required rate of return, cost of capital, capital budgeting techniques, leverage and capital structure and portfolio theory.

Learning Outcomes 

Upon completion of this subject graduates will be able to:

• Develop a critical approach to the analysis of the financial performance of the business.
• Understand and use the key financial performance indicators as a measure of business health.
• Apply specialised technical knowledge and skills about analytic tools to confidently recommend strategic investments that will likely increase customer’s wealth.
• Understand and differentiate various theoretical and practical issues in business finance and the range of funding alternatives which may suit business development.
• Review, analyse, synthesise, and apply knowledge of optimal capital structures of debt and equity finance, and operating and financial leverage.
•  Understand and consolidate knowledge of applications in areas of specialised business financing such as leasing and capital budgeting.
• Think critically to apply knowledge of portfolio theory and the relationship between required returns and the decisions regarding capital structure, capital budgeting and capital management.

Offered T1 & T3 2026
Overview

This compulsory unit is generally the first to be taken in the postgraduate program.  It is designed to provide a broad overview of agricultural systems, and then detailed attention to the systems, and parts thereof, concerned specifically with agribusiness.

The unit will first introduce students to the systems thinking mindset and provide an overview of purposeful agricultural systems that are foundational, both of which are central to framing agribusiness systems analysis.

Frames of references will then be explored to allow interrogation of the internal and external systems that agribusiness managers need to understand in order to analyse, measure and improve performance.  These frames include:

• the Business Model Canvas, which offers a systems thinking lens for business planning.
• fundamental financial literacy, which is also foundational for AFA801 Agribusiness Financial Analysis.
• economic principles for agribusiness.

environmental scanning principles and practices used to understand external trends and drivers that may impact agribusinesses.

Learning Outcomes 

Upon the completion of this subject graduates will be able to:

•  Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the systems thinking mindset, as well as the systems, and parts thereof, associated with agriculture and agribusiness.
• Demonstrate advanced knowledge and skills in the acquisition and analysis of information for decision-making purposes in agribusiness.
• Identify the key internal and external drivers for a business to determine, measure and improve performance.
• Demonstrate specialised knowledge and understanding of  the external environment in which the business operates and the impact which this may have on business performance.

Offered T2 & T3 2026
Overview

This unit is an introduction to strategic management in the agribusiness as well as to management and human resource management. The provides a broad and foundational overview of:

• Strategy, structure and culture.
• Organisation mission, goals and objective.
• Analytical frameworks in strategic planning and management.
• The strategic management process – shaping and implementing.
• The integration of strategic management processes with operational aspects.
• External environment and industry level analysis.
• Managing change, business ethics and social responsibility.
• Contemporary strategic issues in agribusiness.

Learning Outcomes 

At the completion of this unit graduates will have demonstrated expert, specialised cognitive and technical skills to independently:

• Recognise and interpret the impact of the environment on an organisation.
• Critically evaluate management and human resource management strategy and direction.
• Identify the strategic options available to an organisation.
• Compare and contrast the strategic direction of an organisation with its competitors.
• Use analytical techniques to examine the strategic positioning of an organisation.
• Evaluate the likely success of specific strategic options.
• Determine appropriate strategies given prevailing internal and external conditions.
• Identify organisational cultural aspects and their impact.
• Determine appropriate organisational direction and goals.
• Determine appropriate strategies, given the outcomes of strategic analysis.
• Communicate the outcomes from a strategic analysis in the form of a business case.

Note: Core unit for Graduate Diploma and Master of Agribusiness 

Offered T2 & T3 2026
Overview 

This unit is positioned to provide you with an overview of the key issues facing contemporary agribusiness. It is recommended that this unit be taken as early as possible in the program so students can gain a deeper understanding of the national and global socio-political environments in which agribusiness managers make decisions, and government policy makers set policy objectives and formulate programs.  This unit has a decision-making theme and four enduring contemporary managerial issue’s themes:

Theme 1: Australian Agriculture in Perspective
Theme 2: Technological Advances in Agriculture and Agribusiness
Theme 3: Social license –The Right to Farm Right
Theme 4: Sustainability

Learning Outcomes 

At the completion of this unit graduates will have:

At the completion of this unit graduates will have:

•  Identified and critically analysed a range of issues which may impact on agribusiness at regional, national, and global levels.
•  Demonstrated an advanced and integrated understanding of contemporary issues affecting agribusiness in Australia, and identified decision-making strategies to mitigate the impact of change which these issues may impose on the business.
• Improved their research skills.
• Evaluated business opportunities, determined risks and developed strategies to manage the impact of change.

Offered T3 2026
Overview

This is an elective unit. This unit examines leadership in all its forms and sets out a series of skills, attitudes, attributes and personal qualities which are required for effective leadership. The unit combines the theory behind aspects of leadership with the development of an understanding of self and others. It also includes practical tools for effective communication and negotiation.

Learning Outcomes 

At the completion of this subject, it is expected that students will be able to apply their knowledge and skills to demonstrate autonomy, expert judgement, adaptability, and responsibility as an agribusiness practitioner to:

• Compare the models of leadership and discuss the roles of effective leaders and managers.
• Identify and explain the learning styles and decision-making tools that are required to understand how people and organisations function.
• Analyse your leadership experiences using different approaches.
• Apply leadership skills in an organisational setting and reflect on your experiences and/or decisions.

Offered T1, T2 & T3 2026

Overview 

This compulsory unit in the Master of Agribusiness is a prerequisite for the two research options:
Option 1: CAP905 Industry Project in Agribusiness
or
Option 2: TLR905 Research Project in Agribusiness

This is a compulsory unit in the Master of Agribusiness, the aims of this unit are to:

• Assist the student to identify an area of work where they would like to become a thought leader and contribute to or solve a problem facing agribusiness.
• Provide the student with the necessary tools and understanding that will set them up to successfully research and analyse evidence gathered from secondary data.
• A student becomes a thought leader through the:
  • systematic development of ideas,
  • expertise and knowledge, and the
  • effective communication of those ideas and knowledge to others.
• Embedded in this Unit’s curriculum is the view that these achievements are most importantly the result of investigation/research in its various forms.

The unit should be taken at the end of the Master’s program because it will draw on content previously learned from other units in the course as well as reflections about work and life experiences of each student.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit, it is expected that students will be able to apply their knowledge and skills to demonstrate autonomy, expert judgement, adaptability and responsibility as an agribusiness practitioner to:

• Demonstrate the application of critical reflective practice for professional and personal thought leadership development.
• Determine and develop an area of thought leadership to pursue.
• Identify, source, evaluate and synthesise literature relevant to a chosen area of thought leadership.

Plan, create and formulate an appropriate research design for the chosen area of thought leadership.

Offered T1, T2 & T3 2026

Overview

CAP904 is a prerequisite for this unit.
This unit is option 1 for completing the research component of the Master of Agribusiness.

This compulsory unit follows on from CAP904 and is delivered over 12 weeks to allow the student sufficient time to work on their industry project. The aims of this unit are to:

• Prepare you to carry out an industry project of your design.
• Provide you with the necessary tools and understanding that will enable you to carry out the industry research and analyse the evidence that will come and use the findings to develop and present solutions to an existing or predicted agribusiness problem or challenge.

The unit focuses on an investigation using the research and project management skills developed in CAP904. With a focus on exploring an industry-based project in agribusiness.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit, graduates will have gained specialised knowledge of:

• The legislative, ethical and data privacy, as well any clearances needed, to investigate an industry project in agribusiness in Australia.
• How to undertake the planned industry project that was scoped in CAP904.
• How to write a business report about your industry project and findings.
• How to communicate research findings in both written and verbal channels to industry corporate stakeholders.

How to write and deliver a written report that meets post graduate scholarly standards.

Offered T3 2026

Overview

This is an elective unit examines the factors affecting global food demand and supply.  It investigates the efforts being made by importing countries to meet their food demand requirements and of exporters to compete effectively in global food and fibre markets. Overlaying this is to develop a robust understanding of the roles, objectives and outcomes of key global institutions and forums etc.

The role of culture, politics, financial and monetary systems, climate and policy on global food and fibre production and trade are all examined.  A range of prediction tools and models are also assessed for their value in assisting agribusiness operators determine the appropriate strategies for their businesses.

Learning Outcomes 

At the completion of this unit graduates will have:

• Identified, understood, and critically analysed current and future pattern and trends in global supply and demand in key agribusiness sectors; future market conditions (e.g., supply and demand patterns); and market research to identify global market opportunities.
• Demonstrated an advanced and integrated understanding of key policy directions in global agribusiness – including trade access, foreign exchange, foreign policy/relations, economic and industry support policy and measures.
• Demonstrated high order awareness of the role and impact of key global institutions and agencies on global agribusiness – especially those relating to trade and global financial arrangements.
• Demonstrated an ability to appreciate and sensitively manage key differences, such as culture, regulation, ethics, compliance/governance, and stakeholders, across agribusiness settings/regions and use associated strategies and skills in managing in diverse global environments.
• Researched and applied established theories regarding current and future developments in technology and how these impacts global agribusiness.
• Demonstrated high level awareness regarding the role of key stakeholder groups associated – directly and indirectly – with global agribusiness.

Offered T3 2026

Overview

In a technology driven and expanding global economy business and farming environments are become increasingly dynamic and sophisticated. Traditional forms of labour management, where labour is seen simply as a cost to be minimised, are fast becoming redundant. The new thinking is that labour is a unique resource which cannot be easily replicated by competitors in the same way as other resources; and that if managed progressively in a way that aims to train and retain it, can be a key contributor to business success.

This unit details the labour management practices that make up this new thinking.  In so doing it sets out a model human resource management programme, noting the problems and prospects of applying the programme within the context of Australia’s system of legal governance of the terms and conditions of employment.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit graduates will have demonstrated expert and specialised understandings of:

• the concepts of labour management and the organisation of work in agribusiness.
• practices and processes of human resource management.
• Australian industrial relations’ institutions and processes.

Offered T3 2026

Overview

This unit focuses on leveraging your qualifications and experience in agribusiness, concentrating on three core areas:

Agri-politics, representation, lobbying, corporate governance, directorships and consulting.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit graduates will have demonstrated expert and specialised understandings of:

• Understand where their experience and expertise in agribusiness can be utilised for career enhancement.
• Leverage skills to open new opportunities in consulting, Agri-politics, and corporate governance.
• Understand and manage risk, legal liability, and professional indemnity requirements.
• Understand and work to relevant professional standards, values and ethics expected of an agribusiness professional.
• Interpret, analyse, and transmit knowledge, skills and ideas to audiences using real case studies.
• Demonstrate how to build skills and networks to enhance career development (including use of mentors, LinkedIn, and online media).

Offered This unit is an elective which can be offered based on demand

Overview

An Independent Reading Study is an opportunity to conduct a guided independent study to critically review literature on a negotiated topic under the guidance of a subject expert supervisor.

This unit is designed to provide students with flexibility in constructing their Master’s program, enabling them to focus on an area of agribusiness directly related to their own interests. It may involve engaging a reading study topic focusing on issues arising from course work and professional interests, or it may (if taken in the latter stages of the program) relate closely to their intended thought leadership project.

Before approval to undertake this unit, a plan of study, readings and assessment are to be negotiated with the Director of Postgraduate Studies.  Once approved a nominated supervisor with expertise in the field will be appointed by the Director of Postgraduate Studies.

This unit will advance literature review and critical reflective practice skills.

Learning Outcomes

Graduates at this level will apply knowledge and skills to demonstrate autonomy, expert judgement, adaptability and responsibility as a practitioner and/or learner to demonstrate an ability to independently:

• Analyse critically, reflect on and synthesise complex information, problems, concepts and theories.
• Research and apply established theories to a body of knowledge or practice.
• Interpret and transmit knowledge, skills and ideas to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

Offered This is an externally offered unit and is available in T1, T2 & T3 2025.

Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this unit graduates will have demonstrated expert and specialised understandings of:

• The supply chain terminology used throughout the industry, understanding the linkages between financial and operational measures.
• The relationship between Strategic Planning, S&OP, and Processes Execution; including but not limited to: Forecasting, Inventory, Warehousing, MRP, Sourcing, Purchasing, Manufacturing, Sales Order Fulfillment, and Lean Six Sigma.
• How to manage the flow of goods and materials throughout the supply chain using procurement, inventory, transportation and the distribution network.
• How to refine interactions with suppliers, customers and your own team.
• Become familiar with continuous improvement tools that can increase the performance and sustainability of the supply chain, such as Lean and Six Sigma.
• As part of the IR902 unit, the completion of all three preparatory courses is required before taking the Certified Supply Chain Analyst (CSCA) Exam. Upon completion of the three courses and the exam, you will become a Certified Supply Chain Analyst and the course transcript will be provided to the College