How do you get a food handler certificate in NSW?

Why get your food handler certificate?

Be ready for the job. Cafes, restaurants, pubs and takeaways have to make sure everyone who handles food is trained. Walk in with your certificate and you can show a new employer you already are.

Take it with you. Your certificate never expires and counts in every state and territory. Change jobs, move cities or travel around Australia, and it comes with you to every food job.

Take on more responsibility. Every food business covered by the rules must appoint a certified Food Safety Supervisor to oversee food safety. That is the next step up, and the Food Safety Supervisor course builds on the same unit you complete here.

Who needs food handler training in NSW?

Since 8 December 2023, a national rule, Standard 3.2.2A of the Food Standards Code, has covered food service, catering and related retail businesses. In NSW that includes cafes, restaurants, takeaways, caterers, school canteens, children's services, mobile food vendors, supermarkets and delis.

In these businesses, anyone who handles unpackaged, ready-to-eat food that can go off quickly must have done a food safety course, or have the skills and knowledge to keep that food safe, before they start.

The duty sits with the business, not with you. In practice, a certificate is how you show you have done the training, which is why employers ask new starters for one. That covers jobs like cook, kitchen hand, cafe and takeaway counter staff, catering, and bar and food service roles where you handle food.

Is a food handler certificate the same as a Food Safety Supervisor certificate?

No. Food handler training is for everyone who handles food. Each business must also appoint a Food Safety Supervisor to oversee food safety, and that role needs its own course. See Food Handler or Food Safety Supervisor: which course do you need?

What the course covers

The course teaches the hygiene practices every food handler needs:

• following hygiene procedures at work
• spotting food hazards
• reporting health issues that could affect food safety
• preventing food contamination and cross-contamination, including correct hand washing

SITXFSA005 meets the Standard 3.2.2A food handler training requirement.

How to get your certificate online

1. Book and pay online.
2. Get a confirmation email with your student portal login.
3. Work through the modules at your own pace. You have 2 months to finish.
4. Complete the online assessment.
5. Receive your Statement of Attainment. It is emailed to you when you finish, and always available to download from your student account.

What do you need before you start?

• One valid photo ID: Australian-issued, or an international passport.
• A Unique Student Identifier (USI).
• Basic English reading and writing. Interpreters are not allowed.
• A computer or tablet with an internet connection.

You also complete a short language, literacy, numeracy and digital skills test before you enrol.

How much does a food handler course cost in NSW?

Choose NSW on the Food Handling course page to see the current price of the online course.

How long does a food handler certificate last?

Your Statement of Attainment does not expire, and it is recognised nationally, so there is nothing to transfer if you move interstate.

No set refresher period applies to food handlers. Businesses must keep their food handlers' skills and knowledge up to date, and regular refresher training is good practice.

Working in Victoria?

Prefer a classroom in Melbourne? Send us an enquiry from the Food Handling course page.

Next step

Choose NSW on the Food Handling course page to start the online course today.