Australia: New online refresher training for NSW liquor and gaming workers

Hospitality Magazine

By Madeline Woolway

June 24, 2016

The state’s 400,000 liquor and gaming workers can now renew their competency cards and undertake refresher training online, as part of a new NSW Liquor & Gaming initiative.

Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) training is compulsory for everyone who sells, serves or supplies alcohol, while workers in hotels or registered clubs who have gaming machine duties must undertake Responsible Conduct of Gambling (RCG) training.

The first five year photo competency cards will start expiring from 22 August 2016. Holders of photo competency cards who wish to continue to work in the industry will be required to pay a $35 prescribed fee to undertake online refresher training prior to their expiry date, and will then be issued with a new five year competency card.

Refresher training was a recommendation of the 2013 independent review of the Liquor Act to keep skills up-to-date.

Five year photo competency cards have been issued since August 2011 to staff who completed RSA and RCG training to work in the liquor and gaming industries.

Prior to that, RSA/RCG holders were issued with paper certificates, which have been progressively phased out with holders required to do new training to upgrade to a photo competency card. The last paper certificates will expire on 30 June, 2016.

Holders of expiring photo competency cards will be sent reminder notices via SMS and email to undertake online refresher training prior to their card expiry date.

If card holders have changed their contact details since receiving their card they should update them via this weblink on the L&GNSW website.

Licensees are urged to remind staff to ensure their contact details are up-to-date and they complete online refresher training prior to the expiry of their photo competency cards.

More information on competency cards is available here.