The gold standard in Australian climbing instruction.
The Australian Climbing Instructors Association (ACIA) is the peak body for climbing instruction in Australia. An ACIA qualification is the recognised standard for anyone working professionally with climbers – from school groups and corporate teams through to independent guiding operations.
The Climbing Company is an approved ACIA course provider in Victoria. All courses are run by current Instructor Trainer Assessors (ITAs) with extensive real-world guiding and teaching experience.
If you want to work as a climbing guide in Australia, this is the qualification you need.
The ACIA certification pathways.
The ACIA certification pathway is structured, sequential and deliberate. Some qualifications stand alone, such as the TRG and SCI, which are useful credentials in their own right and don’t require further progression. Others build on each other, with SPG, MPG, and CI forming a connected ladder that leads to the highest rock climbing qualification available in Australia. Each qualification requires both a Training Course and an Assessment to complete.
Here’s what each one covers and what it qualifies you to do.
THE ACIA LINEUP
ICG: Indoor Climbing guide
Guide, teach and supervise climbing activities at indoor and outdoor artificial climbing wallsand towers, including top roped climbing, bouldering and auto belayed climbing.
ICI: Indoor Climbing Instructor
Instruct, teach and supervise people
developing independent skills on indoor / artificial walls, including teaching lead climbing and associated skills.
TRG: Top Rope Guide
Guide and supervise clients on top-rope climbing and abseiling at single pitch crags. The foundation qualification for anyone starting out in professional guiding.
SCI: Sport climbing Instructor
Teach individuals to lead climb independently at single pitch sport crags. Primarily relevant outside Victoria but a solid standalone credential.
SPG: Single pitch guide
Guide clients on all aspects of single pitch climbing including trad routes. The first qualification that covers real outdoor guiding in its full complexity.
MPG: multi pitch guide
Guide clients across longer, multi-pitch routes in committing terrain. A significant step up in scope, responsibility, and technical demand.
CI: climbing instructor
The gold standard. Teach skills that clients will apply independently in the real world: trad leading, multi-pitch, complex rescue, and everything in between.
HOW the pathways can WORK FOR YOU
Indoor Focus
You are focused on indoor climbing instruction. ICG and ICI are for you.
→
Outdoor Educator
You work in schools or youth programs and need a recognised qualification to run climbing activities safely.
Experienced Climber → Guide
You’ve been leading trad for years and want to formalise your skills into a professional guiding credential. The historic ACIA outdoor rock guide pathway, used for decades to set the standard in Australia.
→
→
Less Experience → Building toward CI
You’re earlier in your climbing journey but serious about reaching the full Climbing Instructor qualification over time.
→
→
→
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Interstate / SPORT CLIMBING Focus
You’re based outside Victoria where Sport Climbing prevails
How the pathway is structured.
Each qualification has two components: a Training Course and an Assessment. Training courses build your knowledge and skills. Assessments verify you can apply them to the required standard. Importantly, there is a minimum consolidation period of three months between completing a training course and sitting its assessment: time spent logging real climbing days and observing working guides with clients. This ensures knowledge is retained and tested in practice, not just recited immediately after training.
Qualification
Training
Assessment
Indoor Climbing Guide
Requires:
Active involvement with climbing at multiple venues
Unlocks:
- ICG Assessment
Requires:
✔️ ICG Training completed
+ consolidation period
Unlocks:
- ICI Training
Indoor Climbing Instructor
Requires:
ICG or SPG or above.
Unlocks:
- ICI Assessment
Requires:
✔️ ICI Training completed
+ consolidation period
Top Rope Guide
Requires:
No prerequisites. Open entry.
Unlocks:
TRG Assessment
Requires:
✔️ TRG Training completed
+ consolidation period
Unlocks:
This is a stand-alone credential
SINGLE PITCH Guide
Requires:
Recreational trad climbing skills*
*TCC’s Recreational Skills Courses can help you get there.
Unlocks:
- SPG Assessment
- MPG Training
Requires:
✔️ SPG Training completed
+ consolidation period
Unlocks: Together with MPG Training
- MPG Assessment
- CI Training
Multi PITCH Guide
Requires:
✔️ SPG Training completed
Unlocks: Together with SPG Assessment
- MPG Assessment
- CI Training
Requires:
️✔️ SPG Assessment passed
✔️ MPG Training completed
+ consolidation period
Unlocks: Together with MPG Training
- MPG Assessment,
- CI Training
gold standard
Climbing INstructor
This is the highest rock climbing qualification available in Australia.
Requires:
✔️ SPG Assessment passed
✔️ MPG Training completed
Note: same prerequisites as MPG Assessment. Either may be completed first.
Requires:
️✔️ MPG Assessment passed
✔️ CI Training completed
+ consolidation period
A SUMMARY OF Understanding responsibility at each stage of the pathway
One of the most important and least discussed aspects of becoming a climbing guide is understanding how professional responsibility changes as your qualification level increases. This resource outlines how duty of care generally works at each stage, from complete beginner through to Climbing Instructor.
This is an educational overview only and does not constitute legal advice.
stage 1
Complete beginner
Under the direct supervision of a qualified guide. No prior skills or knowledge assumed or expected.
minimal personal liability
stage 2
Recreational Climber
Climbs independently with partners or friends. Has developed sufficient skills to manage personal risk in appropriate terrain without professional supervision.
self responsible
stage 3
Assistant / Trainee Guide
Operating under supervision. Gaining practical experience with real clients in a supported environment, and working toward formal qualification.
SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
stage 4
Climbing Guide
A qualified professional leading clients in real terrain. Responsible for client safety through planning, decisions, risk management, and direct supervision throughout the activity.
SPATIAL responsibility
stage 5
Climbing Instructor
Qualified to teach skills that students will apply independently and unsupervised in the real world. Frequently confused with “Guide” — but the distinction in responsibility is fundamental.
Temporal responsibility
build a career of adventure, learning and connection
Guiding offers an extraordinary opportunity to inspire others, share your expertise, and make a meaningful impact while adventuring in the great outdoors. As a guide, you’ll develop unparalleled skills, create life-changing experiences for others, and join a community of professionals who are committed to safety, education, and the profound connection between humans and nature.
A career built around what you love
Turn time on the rock into a profession that’s as rewarding as the climbing itself.
Real skills, properly developed
ACIA certification is built on demonstrated competence, not just hours logged.
A community worth joining
Working as a guide connects you with a network of passionate, highly skilled outdoor professionals.
A great office
Victoria’s crags, ranges and alpine terrain are your workplace. It’s hard to beat.
just in case you’re wondering
If you have any specific questions, please reach out to our team at info@theclimbingcompany.com.au – we’re happy to help!
Approved Course Providers are appointed by ACIA based on their expertise and track record delivering climbing programs across all levels.
All courses are run by a current Instructor Trainer Assessor (ITA), with additional staff who are either ITAs or highly experienced, fully qualified guides working toward ITA status.
It depends on your starting point. See the scenarios section above for a clear breakdown.
If you’re still not sure, get in touch and we’ll have a quick conversation about where you’re at and where you want to go.
For the scenarios presented above, you have to complete all training and assessment courses in order.
The only exception is experienced recreational trad climbers who can enter at Single Pitch Guide level rather than starting at Top-Rope Guide.
Unless you hold an equivalent qualification from another recognised standards body, there are no shortcuts through the pathway.
For an experienced recreational climber, a minimum of two years is realistic, and often it takes a bit longer.
Each level requires interim training and real-world experience before progressing. The pathway is designed to build genuine competence, not fast-track people through it.
The Indoor Climbing Guide qualification is for you! If that doesn’t quite fit, please see the Consulting page for a bespoke option for your team.
Yes.
There are two sides to being a great guide: technical skills and the ability to think like – and often for – your clients. Experienced climbers are often strong on one but not the other.
The courses are specifically designed to develop both, and the assessment process verifies you can apply them to the required standard in real environments.
No it is not.
A committee discussion caused some confusion a while back. The Climbing Company definitely teaches students how trad gear works… and we certainly place trad gear very often when building our anchors, at least here in Victoria!
Ready to start the pathway?
Browse available courses, pick your starting point, and take the first step toward your ACIA certification. If you’re not sure where to begin, get in touch and we’ll point you in the right direction.