About training
Licensee Training (LT) and Advanced Licensee Training (ALT) courses are for most licensees, approved managers, and club secretaries to:
- help you meet your greater responsibilities and obligations under the NSW liquor laws.
- better prepare you for the challenges of operating a licensed business, while ensuring a vibrant and safe hospitality scene.
Who should complete this training
Check whether you need to complete Licensee, Advanced Licensee, or Licensee Refresher training – depending on your job role in our mandatory training list:
Check which Licensee course you need to complete
Summary of who needs to do the training
Licensee training is mandatory for most licensees, approved managers, and club secretaries granted a new liquor licence or transfer of existing licence to another person or premises (from 1 September 2018).
Advanced Licensee training is an additional course for people who operate a business in a higher risk environment. This includes licensed premises:
- authorised to trade after midnight on more than 12 occasions in any 12-month period
- that are certain business types, such as nightclubs and karaoke bars
- subject to a regulatory scheme
- directed by Liquor & Gaming NSW or Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority.
Licensee refresher training – For people needing to refresh an existing licensee or advanced licensee endorsement.
Also see ‘How to apply and check requirements’ below for important information for specific competencies and job roles.
What you'll learn
Licensee training covers a range of topics:
- Overview of liquor regulation in NSW
- Managing your liquor licence
- Your responsibilities to manage alcohol-related harms
- Best practice strategies to prevent alcohol-related harms
- Compliance and enforcement.
Advanced Licensee training covers topics including:
- Overview of liquor regulation in higher-risk environments in NSW
- Build a culture of compliance in your business
- Government and industry approaches to minimise alcohol-related harms
- Best practice strategies and minimising risk of alcohol-related harms in your business.
Course materials
Licensee and Advanced Licensee training course handbooks can be found here
How to apply for Licensee or Advance Licensee training
Read through the following before applying. There are different requirements that may affect when and how you do the course, and your existing competencies.
Check related requirements before you start.
This may affect when and how you do the training
Check the following, which may affect when and how you need to do the training.
| Your circumstance | Considerations |
|---|---|
| New liquor licence applicants | If you’re applying for a new liquor licence, ensure you have completed
Also see below this table: Check requirements for RSA and RCG competencies |
| Existing RCG competency card holder | If you will be working in gaming-related areas, you’ll need to do the RCG refresher course before you commence Licensee training – as the refresher must have been complete within 90 days before enrolment in the Licensee training. See details below. |
| Transfer of liquor licence | If you’re applying to transfer a liquor licence, you will need to complete the required Licensee and/or Advanced Licensee training no later than 60 days from receiving provisional approval. |
| Approved manager and club secretaries | If you notify us of your intention to appoint an approved manager or a club secretary, that person needs to complete the required Licensee and/or Advanced Licensee training within 60 days of lodging the application. |
Qualified interstate workers
| Interstate workers with an appropriate RSA qualification (see below) who are looking to become licensees, approved managers, or club secretaries in NSW, or simply wishing to upskill, can skip the NSW RSA Bridging course and simply complete Licensee Training to gain both their NSW RSA and Licensee Training competencies. Appropriate interstate RSA qualifications include:
|
Check requirements for RSA and RCG endorsements
Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) endorsement
- To enrol in Licensee training you must have an RSA endorsement.
- Completing Licensee training will automatically renew your existing RSA endorsement.
Responsible Conduct of Gambling (RCG) endorsement
- Completing licensee training does not automatically renew your RCG competency.
- Your must renew your RCG training within 90 days before enrolling in Licensee training:
- To enrol in Licensee training you must present an RCG Interim certificate, RCG Refresher Interim Certificate or an RCG Refresher Completion Certificate issued within the last 90 days.
- If you renewed your RCG competency before 90 days before enrolling: You will need to do the refresher course again. Doing this will ensure your RCG competency remains current once you finish Licensee training - and that in future it will expire on the same date as your other competencies.
Surrendering your endorsement: If you’re not intending to work in gaming-related areas, you may choose to surrender your RCG endorsement using the RCG Surrender Form. Provide the completed form when enrolling in Licensee training with an Approved Training Provider.
How to renew your RCG endorsement on time
These are different contexts where you may or may not receive a link to do the RCG refresher.
Before your RSA/RCG card expiry
- Use the link in your email/SMS renewal reminder notice to refresh your RCG online and receive your RCG Refresher Completion Certificate.
- Please ensure you take your certificate to an Approved Training Provider when enrolling in Licensee training.
If you're doing Licensee training because you've been provisionally approved as a licensee, appointed as a manager, approved as a secretary of a club, or you wish to apply for a new liquor licence
- Once you’re provisionally approved or approved you’ll receive a link from us via email to access the online RCG Refresher training.
What happens if I don’t get an RCG course link via email?
What if you didn’t receive the email, or you’re applying for a new liquor licence, or completed or renewed your RCG competency more than 90 days ago, or you’re completing the licensee training voluntarily? In all these cases, you may not have automatically received an emailed course link. In these cases:
- Email competency.card@liquorandgaming.nsw.gov.au and provide your Competency Card Holder (CCH) number, full name, and date of birth.
- We’ll email you a link to complete the online RCG refresher.
- Complete the training and take your certificate to an Approved Training Provider and enrol in Licensee training.
Finding a training provider and completing the course
To obtain a Licensee and/or Advanced Licensee endorsement, you need to complete a Licensee and/or Advanced Licensee course through an Approved Training Provider.
Courses may be offered in a classroom, via virtual classroom, or online.
Find an Approved Training Provider
Cost
The price charged for Licensee and Advanced Licensee courses varies between Approved Training Providers. The amount you pay includes the cost of your NSW competency card.
Licensee Refresher Online Course
The Licensee Refresher online course is a 60-to-90-minute course covering the requirements for licensees, approved managers, and club secretaries to renew their RSA, Licensee, and Advanced Licensee endorsements.
Who should do this course
The Licensee Refresher online course is designed for licensees, approved managers, and club secretaries with existing Licensee or Advanced Licensee endorsements.
You must complete this course to retain endorsements on the competency card and renew them for a further 5 years.
What you’ll learn
The Licensee Refresher online course is a 60-to-90-minute program that refreshes knowledge of requirements for licensees, approved managers, and club secretaries. It consists of six learning modules with assessments throughout. Topics include:
- Overview of liquor regulation in NSW
- Managing your liquor licence
- Your responsibilities to manage alcohol-related harms
- Best practice strategies to prevent alcohol-related harms
- Compliance and enforcement
- Building a culture of compliance in your business
- Risk management framework
- Responsible service of alcohol
How to apply and do the course
Liquor & Gaming NSW is the only provider of the Licensee Refresher online course.
The NSW competency fee schedule lists course fees. One fee covers renewal of the Licensee, Advanced Licensee, and RSA endorsements.
Before commencing, read through these paragraphs - including important information about RSA and RCG endoresements.
Accessing the course
You can access the refresher course in a link we send you via email or SMS.
If your contact details are up to date, you’ll start receiving reminders by email and SMS to renew the endorsements on your competency card approximately 3 months before your card is due to expire.
If you hold more than one endorsement on your competency card, all expire on the same date. (See Existing RSA and RCG endorsements below for important information on this).
Missing course access emails: If you don’t receive an email with the course link, check your junk/spam folders or confirm email address accuracy. If unresolved, contact Liquor & Gaming NSW at competency.card@liquorandgaming.nsw.gov.au for assistance.
Completing the course
Click the course link in the email or SMS notification (described in Accessing the course above) to access and launch the course.
The course can be done on desktop, laptop, smartphone, or tablet.
- Avoid refreshing your web browser during the course
- You can resume from your last point if the connection is lost.
Assessments are integrated into the online modules, including a 10-question final module.
Unlimited attempts are allowed for all questions, which must be answered correctly to pass the course.
The course also contains links to the Licensee and Advanced Licensee course handbooks for reference.
Existing RSA and RCG endorsements
In NSW, all endorsements expire on the same date, calculated five years from the first endorsement gained. When you complete the Licensee Refresher online course, your competency card expiry period will reset.
At this time, you must also renew your RCG/ARCG endorsement to continue working with gaming activities.
Completing the Licensee Refresher online course will automatically renew your existing RSA endorsement; however, it does not automatically renew your existing RCG endorsement.
To renew your RCG endorsement, including any ARCG endorsement, you will need to complete the RCG refresher course at no additional cost. You can also choose to surrender the RCG endorsement using the RCG Surrender Form
When you complete the course
After you’ve successfully completed the course and paid the required fee you’ll receive:
- an interim certificate via email
- an automatic update to your digital competency card
- a mailed physical competency card, if applicable, sent to your address on file.
Ensure your contact details are up to date. At any time you can email Liquor & Gaming NSW at competency.card@liquorandgaming.nsw.gov.au for assistance.
Access training resources
We provide the workbooks and other useful training resources in our searchable library.