How to become a dietitian

Discover how you can build a rewarding career in nutrition and dietetics.

Students from our health professional programs learning in UNSW Medicine & Health’s facilities

As a dietitian, you can improve people’s lives through the power of nutrition. With your expertise, you can help guide individuals and communities to make healthier choices, manage medical conditions and enhance overall wellbeing.

Keep reading to learn more about how you can become a dietitian, what skills you need to succeed and what to study to start your career. You’ll also have the chance to get advice and insights from our academics and a current student.

What is a dietitian?

A dietitian is an expert in food and nutrition. They work across health, research and community settings, using evidence-based nutrition to improve wellbeing at both individual and population levels. They also support people living with conditions including diabetes, cancer or obesity, helping them improve their diet to support overall health and wellbeing.

What does a dietitian do?

In a typical day, a dietitian might:

meet with clients to assess their diet and health needs
provide practical advice on nutrition and healthy eating
develop meal plan that suit budgets, lifestyles and personal preferences
review how meal plans are working and adjusting them when needed
promote healthy eating by presenting to groups on nutrition and how food supports long-term health
write clear reports to track client progress
keep learning through training and professional development
contribute to programs, research or community initiatives that support long-term public health outcomes.

What’s the difference between a dietitian and a nutritionist?

In Australia, all dietitians are qualified nutritionists, but not all nutritionists are dietitians, unless they have a dietetics qualification. Both roles are qualified to work in research, public health, teaching or in the food industry. However, dietitians are qualified to work in medical centres, private medical practices or hospitals.

In Australia, dietitians must complete an accredited degree and meet professional standards to practice and join the Accredited Practicing Dietitian (APD) program. The APD program is run by Dietitians Australia and is the only qualification for dietitians that’s recognised by government and private health insurers.

To keep your APD status, you’ll complete ongoing training throughout your career.

Are dietitian jobs in demand?

According to Your Career, dietitians are in very strong demand. NSW Health also projects that the sector will need to have significant growth by 2040 to meet the increasing community demand, with demand for nutrition and dietetics services forecasted to grow between 1.7% and 2.4% depending on the demand scenarios. Dietitians play a growing role in shaping more sustainable and preventative health and food systems, helping communities and businesses respond to changing health and nutrition needs of individuals, communities and whole populations.

What skills does a dietitian need?

Successful dietitians combine strong nutrition knowledge with the ability to work with people, communities and complex health challenges.

During your studies, you may gradually build skills such as:

active listening and critical thinking
interviewing and communication
culinary techniques and food preparation with a chef
problem solving and adaptability
writing
initiative and innovation
planning and organisation
teamwork and collaboration
leadership
negotiation and conflict-resolution.

Dr Mark Booth and Associate Professor Sara Grafenauer also share that you may develop other skills like:

dietary data collection and analysis
food systems analysis
diet and menu analysis
motivational interviewing
rapport building
academic writing and presentation
diet and menu analysis
food regulation
new product development.

Anna Cheng, a fourth year dietetics student shares that the key skills she’ll use in her future dietitian career include translating complex nutrition science, providing individualised advice, and how to ensure person-centred care. Click here to read our Q&A with Anna.

How to become a dietitian in Australia

To become a dietitian in Australia you’ll need to:

Study a degree in nutrition and dietetics
The Bachelor of Nutrition / Master of Dietetics and Food Innovation is a five year program designed to prepare you to apply nutrition science and dietetics in ways that respond to real community needs and emerging health challenges.
Gain practical experience
As part of your studies, in your fifth year you’ll complete 100 working days (800 hours) of placements in clinical, community, private and industry settings to gain hands-on experience. These placements help you understand how nutrition supports individuals, communities and industries in real-life contexts.
Apply for accreditation
To become a registered dietitian, you’ll need to be accredited by Dietitians Australia. This involves applying for APD status and meeting the professional and ethical standards. To maintain your APD status, you’ll need to renew your registration annually and complete training to ensure your skills and knowledge are updated.

Learn more about careers in nutrition and dietetics.

Advice for students interested in becoming a dietitian

If you're interested in becoming a dietitian, our academics and a current student share their advice.

Dr Booth: Keep an open mind about potential career paths because placements may introduce you to areas/paths you had never considered that you may enjoy. Careers change over time so always be open minded and keep looking for opportunities to upskill. Also pay attention to any training on communication skills, they are your most important tools.

A/Prof. Grafenauer: We encourage students to consider the question: “What kind of dietitian do you want to be?” Career pathways are highly diverse, and graduates may not always hold the title “dietitian”. Dietitians develop strong communication, strategic thinking and innovation skills, making them well suited to a wide range of professional environments through their highly transferrable capabilities. If people would like more information, come along to Open Day in September to hear more about the program. I love speaking with and inspiring potential students and their families.

Anna: Be open to learning and networking. Seek opportunities outside of the classroom, gain insights from industry professionals. Be prepared to challenge your assumptions, continuously learn and critically think. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and be open to all areas of dietetics. You never know if something else sparks your interest!

Click through below to hear more from Anna and her experience with studying dietetics.

I wanted to study Nutrition and Dietetics at UNSW because the strong and longstanding reputation the Medicine and Health faculty has. I had interest in combining health, my love of food and helping people improve their wellbeing. This degree was perfect as it starts with a Bachelor of Nutrition, so we are able to learn about the nutrition aspect from the beginning, with science integrated, rather than other universities where I would have had to study a Bachelor of Science, with elements of nutrition. I liked how it was an integrated Masters so we could be streamlined into this pathway. I liked the hands-on clinical opportunities and placement opportunities, as well as the high-quality teaching from industry professionals. I was also motivated to study at UNSW, from hearing about the social student life and diverse opportunities.

A key highlight during my studies was attending a two day rural clinical placement experience in my 3rd year. Being able to be in a new environment (Wagga Wagga), observing and seeing patients, while working within a multidisciplinary healthcare teams was such a great experience. It reinforced to me my interest in making a meaningful impact in the health sector through nutrition and helped me develop a greater appreciation for health care and the importance of equitable access.

A large misconception/something I was not very clear about was that the main job you will get at the completion of your degree was clinical/hospital work. There is the misconception that a role of a dietitian is just to create a meal plan and “tell people what to eat”, but that is far from the truth. Dietitians [work] across endless sectors in hospitals, private practice, community health, research, food industry, sports, aged care, social media and so much more! As food underpins our everyday lives, it’s not just necessary for everyday function but plays a major role in our health outcomes and is important for connection and culture.

I plan to work in a clinical setting after graduation, or with a food company in product development! I am extremely interested in. pursuing Sports Dietetics soon after I graduate with my Masters, so I do intend working towards that. I have a broad scope of interest in entrepreneurship and would like to be in the social media space to dismantle nutrition misconceptions and educate! I am open to many opportunities and am grateful for the broad scope of options there are when I graduate!

Meet Dr Mark Booth

Lecturer in the School of Health Science.

Meet Associate Professor Sara Grafenauer

Program Lead for Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Innovation.

Meet Anna Cheng

A fourth year Bachelor of Nutrition / Master of Dietetics and Food Innovation student.

Shape your future in dietetics at UNSW

At UNSW, you’ll be supported to build a career that makes a difference.

Through industry-connected learning, research-led teaching and strong community partnerships, you’ll graduate ready to improve health outcomes and contribute to positive change in Australia and beyond.

Study dietetics at UNSW

Frequently asked questions about becoming a dietitian

To become a dietitian, you’ll need to study a dietetics degree like the Bachelor of Nutrition / Master of Dietetics and Food Innovation at UNSW.
According to Seek, the average annual salary for dietitians in Australia ranges from $95,000 to $115,000, depending on experience and location.
Dietitians work in a range of fields including aged care and hospitals, community and public health, the food industry, research and teaching, private practice and consultancy, and sports nutrition.
Becoming a registered dietitian usually takes around five years of study and training. This includes completing a degree in nutrition and dietetics.

At UNSW, you’ll complete 100 days of supervised practical placement as part of your studies. These experiences help you understand how theory, research and practice come together to create real-world impact.