Career pathways guide

How to become a health information manager

How to become a health information manager in Australia: Queensland Health’s careers site says you need a university degree, and that degree is the qualification its titled health information manager positions ask for (Queensland Health, July 2026). A second route begins with clinical coding. It can lead to coder, senior coder, auditor, educator and clinical coding manager roles over time, and a coder who wants a titled health information manager position adds the degree on top of that experience later.

If you are weighing the two occupations against each other first, our comparison of health information management versus clinical coding covers the day to day differences.

The short version: pick your route, complete its qualification, then apply for entry-level roles in a hospital or health service health information unit. In more detail:

1. Choose your route. A university degree qualifies you directly for titled health information manager roles; starting in clinical coding qualifies you for clinical coder roles first, with progression into senior coder, auditor, educator and clinical coding manager positions, and the degree added later if you want a titled health information manager role.
2. Degree route. Enrol in an accredited health information management degree; only La Trobe University’s bachelor and master were found open to new students for 2027.
3. Coding route. Complete the HLT50321 Diploma of Clinical Coding, then apply for clinical coder roles and build experience.
4. Build the skills employers list in their position descriptions: accurate coding, case mix knowledge, clear communication and confidentiality.
5. Give it realistic time. Three years of full-time study for the degree, 12 months for the diploma, plus whatever experience the roles you want ask for.

For depth on both routes, see our health information management hub, and our health information management courses guide compares what is on offer.

One university was found open to new health information management students for 2027: La Trobe University in Victoria. Queensland University of Technology wrote to members of the field on 21 April 2026 to say that, subject to final approvals, its Bachelor of Health Information Management will be discontinued and taught out (QUT letter, 2026). Western Sydney University’s former health information management degree URL now leads to a general information technology degree (WSU, 2027). Our health information management degrees in Australia page walks through that changing landscape course by course.

The bachelor

Full-time, the Bachelor of Health Information Management at La Trobe takes 3 years, or the part-time equivalent, with the next intake in Semester 1, March 2027 (La Trobe, 2027 intake). It is taught multi-modal at Melbourne (Bundoora) or online, and includes 55 days of supervised professional placement (La Trobe, 2027 intake). Entry asks for VCE Units 3 and 4 English with a study score of at least 25, or 30 for English as an Additional Language, and the lowest published selection rank for the Melbourne offering is 62.15 based on the January 2026 ATAR profile (La Trobe, January 2026 profile).

The master

Over 2 full-time years, the Master of Health Information Management runs online with placement or intensive blocks, and starts in March 2027 (La Trobe, 2027 intake). Entry requires an Australian bachelor degree or equivalent, and applicants without anatomy and physiology complete a self-funded bridging course first (La Trobe, 2027 intake).

Both course pages state that the bachelor and the master are accredited by the Australian professional body for health information management (La Trobe, 2027 intake; La Trobe, 2027 intake).

What the degree costs

Both La Trobe courses offer Commonwealth supported places, which are usually deferred through HECS-HELP and repaid through the tax system once income reaches the compulsory threshold (Australian Taxation Office, 2026-27). La Trobe publishes an indicative Commonwealth supported fee of $9,235 per 120 credit points for the bachelor, which works out to about $27,705 across three full-time years at the 2027 rate, before annual indexation (La Trobe, 2027). For the master, the indicative supported fee is $11,145 per 120 credit points, about $22,290 across two years at the 2027 rate, before indexation, and the same page also lists a standard full fee of $33,400 per 120 credit points, so check which place type you are offered before you enrol (La Trobe, 2027).

The coding route leads into coder roles, not straight into titled health information manager positions. Jobs and Skills Australia rates the clinical coder occupation at a mid-level vocational qualification, compared with university level for health information manager (Jobs and Skills Australia, OSCA 2024; Jobs and Skills Australia, OSCA 2024). Queensland Health names the Diploma of Clinical Coding as an entry qualification for coding roles in its health information workforce (Queensland Health, July 2026). If you want the picture of the day job first, start with what a clinical coder actually does and our guide on how to become a clinical coder.

At TalentMed (RTO 22151), the diploma runs 12 months, self-paced, 100% online, with daily intakes. The HLT50321 Diploma of Clinical Coding at TalentMed has one tuition fee of $4,995 (as at October 2026; see the course page for current fees), and students also need a coding reference: Solventum Codefinder ($495, optional add-on), TurboCoder ($572) or the printed IHACPA books ($330 plus delivery). That puts the tuition under $5,000.

From coder to health information roles

Queensland Health’s careers site lists clinical and medical coders, educators and auditors among its health information management workforce (Queensland Health, July 2026). The Clinical Coders’ Society of Australia (CCSA) describes advanced and senior coder duties that include educating other coders, auditing coding accuracy and managing a team of clinical coders (CCSA). Canberra Health Services advertises a combined clinical coder educator and auditor position that requires at least 3 years’ recent clinical coding experience in a tertiary hospital, lists tertiary qualifications or equivalent in health information management as essential (with eligibility for full membership of the health information management (HIM) professional body as an alternative), and reports to a Clinical Coding Manager (Canberra Health Services). Those steps are mapped in more detail on our clinical coding career pathway page.

Where coders are in shortage

Jobs and Skills Australia’s 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates clinical coder as in shortage nationally and in every state and territory (Jobs and Skills Australia, 2025 list). Health information manager does not appear on that list (Jobs and Skills Australia, 2025 list).

Later study, if you want it

A Queensland health information workforce taskforce whose members include QUT and Queensland Health named clearer postgraduate progression pathways, especially for clinical coders, as a priority in its 2026 advice (QUT letter, 2026). La Trobe assesses credit for prior study case by case through its credit database, so ask the university directly about your circumstances (La Trobe, 2026).

Employers look for accurate coding to the standards, case mix and funding knowledge, coding audits, teaching and mentoring, liaison with clinicians and practical workplace skills such as communication and confidentiality. The two position descriptions this page draws on are coding-side roles: Canberra Health Services’ clinical coder educator and auditor, and Goulburn Valley Health’s combined health information manager and clinical coder entry role. Between them they list:

• Accurate clinical coding: coding to Australian Coding Standards in the Goulburn Valley Health position description (Goulburn Valley Health, April 2026), and using the current ICD-10-AM edition across a broad range of case mix, plus clinical coding principles and standards, in the Canberra Health Services description (Canberra Health Services).
• Case mix and funding knowledge: Canberra Health Services’ position description asks for determining appropriate Diagnosis Related Group allocation (Canberra Health Services), and Goulburn Valley Health’s asks for an understanding of the Victorian Casemix Funding Model (Goulburn Valley Health, April 2026).
• Coding audits and data quality, from reviewing coded records to running accuracy audits and acting on the findings (Canberra Health Services; Goulburn Valley Health, April 2026).
• Teaching and mentoring, expected of senior and educator roles: training new coders, assessing their education needs and supporting the coding team (Canberra Health Services).
• Liaison with clinicians about clinical documentation, so the record supports the coding (Canberra Health Services; Goulburn Valley Health, April 2026).
• Practical workplace skills: relevant computer skills, effective written and verbal communication, time management, teamwork, and strict confidentiality with health records (Goulburn Valley Health, April 2026).

Count on about 3 years of full-time study before you can apply for a titled health information manager role through the degree route, and 12 months of study before you can apply for clinical coder roles through the coding route.

Degree route

About 3 years of full-time study: the bachelor takes 3 years, with the next intake in March 2027, and the master adds 2 years on top of an existing degree (La Trobe, 2027 intake; La Trobe, 2027 intake). The bachelor includes 55 days of supervised professional placement inside that time (La Trobe, 2027 intake). Queensland Health lists a university degree as the entry requirement for its health information manager roles (Queensland Health, July 2026), so the first paid titled role comes after graduation rather than during study. Starting salaries sit in the award tables our health information manager salary page sets out.

Coding route

About 12 months of study before you can apply for clinical coder roles: the diploma runs 12 months, self-paced and 100% online, with daily intakes. Once you are working as a coder, experience accumulates towards the senior, auditor, educator and clinical coding manager roles described above, and our clinical coder salary page shows what those rungs pay. Vacancy counts differ between the two occupations too: a SEEK keyword search counted 24 “clinical coder” jobs and 8 “health information manager” jobs Australia-wide at a single point on 10 October 2026, though only 4 of those 8 job titles were health information manager roles, so keyword counts overstate the real number of HIM vacancies (SEEK, October 2026; SEEK, October 2026).

Neither route hands you a job on graduation day. Timelines depend on vacancies in your state, your interview performance and, for titled health information manager roles, the qualifications the employer asks for. Our health information manager jobs page shows where roles are advertised. If you are still choosing a direction out of school, our guide for school leavers considering alternatives to a nursing degree is a useful starting point, as is our trainee clinical coder explainer for the coding entry point.