How Long Does an RSA Last? State-by-State Guide

There is no single answer, because there is no national RSA. One national training unit, SITHFAB021 Provide responsible service of alcohol, sits inside eight separate state and territory schemes, and each one treats currency differently. In two jurisdictions your certificate never expires. In three it lapses after three years. In one, the thing that expires is not your certificate at all.

The short version

Where you work	How long it lasts
Queensland	Valid RSA training generally has no expiry; training completed before 2002 must be replaced.
Western Australia	Keep the RSA certificate as training evidence; approved-manager cards have separate renewal requirements.
Victoria	Victorian RSA Refresher every three years.
Northern Territory	NT guidance gives a three-year limit for interstate certificates and directs holders to a refresher; check current renewal guidance.
Australian Capital Territory	Three years from course completion, then an ACT-approved refresher.
New South Wales	NSW competency card: five years. Interstate concessions have separate eligibility and certificate-age requirements.
South Australia	No routine RSA renewal period stated in the cited CBS guidance; check applicable licence conditions.
Tasmania	No RSA expiry date in the regulator’s FAQ; an employer may request updated training.

Current regulator guidance: NSW, VIC, SA, QLD, WA, NT, ACT, TAS.

So a Victorian RSA and a Queensland RSA do not age at the same rate, and neither automatically works in New South Wales.

The five-year myth

A lot of published guidance states that RSA in Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania "lasts five years". It does not.

The five-year figure is real, but it belongs to a different rule. It is the window in which New South Wales will accept a certificate from one of those four states as the basis for its bridging course. It is an entry condition for a NSW pathway, not an expiry date imposed by Queensland, WA, SA or Tasmania.

In Queensland, the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation is explicit: you only need to complete accredited RSA training once. There is no expiry attached to the Statement of Attainment. The single exception is training completed before 2002, which is not valid and has to be redone. Western Australia likewise sets no expiry.

If you took your RSA in Brisbane in 2019 and you still work in Brisbane, nothing has lapsed. If you move to Sydney in 2026, your 2019 certificate is now outside the five-year window and the bridging course is closed to you. Both things are true at once, and confusing them is the most common mistake on this topic.

Victoria — three years, and the certificate has two stages

Victoria's scheme is administered by Liquor Control Victoria, established on 1 July 2022 under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998. The approved course delivers SITHFAB021 and must be taken with an LCV-approved RSA provider.

This is the point at which currency and provider approval interact, and it is worth being blunt about. A course that is not LCV-approved yields only an RSA Statement of Attainment, and LCV states plainly that this does not allow you to supply alcohol in Victorian licensed venues or locations. There is nothing to keep current, because there was never a Victorian certificate to begin with. Check the provider against LCV's published list before enrolling, and look for the approved-provider wordmark LCV publishes for that purpose.

What expires is the RSA Certificate of Completion, and that document only exists after a second stage. Completing the course gives you a nationally recognised Statement of Attainment. LCV then emails you a certificate number, which you use to create an account on the LCV Learning Hub and complete three components: a pre-training survey, the module Sexual Harassment and Assault: Recognise, Prevent and Respond, and a post-training survey. Only then can you download the certificate.

The certificate is current for three years. Keeping it current is done with the RSA Refresher, which is free, online, takes about 90 minutes, and requires your original certificate number.

Two things about the refresher are commonly stated too narrowly.

First, it binds every certificate holder, not only licensees. LCV's wording is that you must do the free RSA Refresher course every three years to keep your RSA certificate current. There is a separate obligation on licensees under s 108AA of the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 to complete an approved program within three years of last completing one, and a further duty under s 108AC for the licensee to ensure each person who sells, offers for sale or serves liquor does the same. Those are licensee duties on top of the individual's own three-year currency, not a substitute for it.

Second, the sexual harassment and assault module is part of the refresher too. LCV states that RSA training, including the RSA Refresher course, now includes a module to help you recognise, prevent and respond to sexual harassment and assault at a licensed venue or location. It is not confined to initial certification.

If you have lost your certificate number, you do not need to redo the course. Email contact@liquor.vic.gov.au with your full name, date of birth, when you completed the original course and the name of the training organisation. LCV verifies the details and provides the number. The number itself is printed at the top or bottom of the certificate, which is why it is worth photographing the certificate the day you download it.

Note also that Advanced RSA training is a separate thing in Victoria, required only for certain licence types rather than for all staff. It is not a renewal of the ordinary RSA certificate.

See can I renew my RSA online in Victoria and the Melbourne RSA update.

New South Wales — five years, and it is the card that expires

NSW works differently in a way that catches people out. What authorises you to work is not the training certificate. It is a NSW competency card with a current industry RSA endorsement, issued through Service NSW on the authority of Liquor & Gaming NSW.

Document	Issued by	Valid
Statement of Attainment for `SITHFAB021`	An Approved Training Provider (ATP)	Not a licensing document on its own
Interim certificate	The ATP, and only the ATP	90 days
Competency card with RSA endorsement	Service NSW, on L&GNSW authority	5 years

Four NSW rules worth knowing:

A bare Statement of Attainment from a non-ATP RTO does not produce a competency card and does not authorise work in NSW. The provider must be an Approved Training Provider.
Renewal is by refresher. Completing a full course through an ATP before your card expires does not extend the card's expiry date. Only the refresher renewal does, and L&GNSW cannot extend a card expiry date on request. People waste money on this regularly.
If your card carries more than one endorsement, they all expire five years from the earliest endorsement received — not each on its own clock.
L&GNSW notifies cardholders by email or SMS 90 days before expiry, and renewal can be started at that 90-day mark. If no reminder arrives, contact L&GNSW rather than assuming you have longer.

On completion of a refresher renewal, the endorsement updates automatically in the Service NSW app for digital cardholders, and a physical card is mailed — allow up to a month. The refresher course itself is not charged; what you pay is the competency card issue fee.

Do you actually need a NSW card if you are only visiting?

This is worth stating carefully, because it is often written too broadly.

Permanent movers to NSW do need a card, reached through the bridging course.

Non-residents working temporarily in NSW do not need the bridging course, provided all of the following hold: they do not live permanently in NSW, they hold approved RSA certification from another state or territory, they can produce evidence of it when required, and they understand their obligations under NSW liquor law.

Two exceptions override that. Anyone working in security or performing RSA marshal duties at NSW licensed premises must complete the NSW bridging course and hold a NSW competency card with RSA endorsement whether or not they live in NSW.

The Territories — three years each, but different refreshers

Northern Territory. Licensing NT accepts RSA evidence from RTOs registered to deliver the unit, including interstate certificates, and provides a free refresher. Its current page gives a three-year limit for interstate certificates and a five-year refresher interval. Confirm the applicable renewal date with Licensing NT if your circumstances are unclear; do not rely on an old summary of a proposed amendment. See current NT guidance.

Australian Capital Territory. Certificates expire three years after the day the person satisfactorily completes the course, under section 194(2) of the Liquor Act 2010 (ACT). That applies equally to ACT-issued certificates and interstate certificates — an interstate certificate is recognised under section 193(2) but still expires three years from original completion, not three years from your arrival in Canberra.

On expiry you complete an ACT-approved refresher, not the full program. That was a deliberate 2022 reform so interstate holders could stay compliant without repeating everything. The ACT refresher must run at least one hour excluding assessment, is capped at 30 participants for face-to-face delivery, must cover ACT-specific legislative content, and must include procedures for checking that the person completed a full ACT-approved program, a recognised interstate program, or a program recognised under the Act's transitional arrangements. Providers need approval from the Commissioner for Fair Trading, renewed annually by 30 June.

South Australia and Tasmania — currency is not the issue

Neither jurisdiction publishes a renewal period in the material we hold. What matters in both is who delivered your training, not how old it is.

South Australia runs a closed list. Since 1 November 2020, RSA training must be delivered by an RTO approved by the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner and published on the Commissioner's website. There is no interstate recognition pathway at all — no bridging course, no exemption. Either your RTO happens to be on the SA list, or you retrain with one that is. Training completed before 1 November 2020 is grandfathered.

Tasmania splits the rule. Serving staff may hold RSA from any Australian jurisdiction. Licence holders — anyone exercising effective control over the sale, service and consumption of liquor — need a course from an RTO approved by the Commissioner for Licensing, containing Tasmanian legislative content and a practical assessment of RSA skills. Tasmania is the only one of the eight to attach a practical-assessment condition explicitly.

The credentials above RSA expire on their own clocks

If your role is a management one, the thing that lapses may not be your RSA at all.

Credential	Where	Currency
RSA Statement of Attainment	Queensland	No expiry
RMLV — Responsible Management of Licensed Venues	Queensland	3 years from issue
RSA course	Western Australia	No expiry
Approved manager card	Western Australia	5 years, renewable online without re-sitting the training

The Queensland pairing is the one that surprises people. RSA in Queensland never expires, but RMLV does, after three years — and because a licensee or approved manager holding a current RMLV certificate does not need a separate RSA certificate, letting the RMLV lapse can leave a manager with no current credential at all. RMLV is developed and delivered by OLGR through OLGR-approved trainers; that approval requirement belongs to RMLV, not to RSA.

In Western Australia the approved manager card attaches to the manager tier rather than to RSA, runs for five years, and renews online without repeating the training. A national police clearance no more than three months old is part of the application.

Moving between states

NSW bridging eligibility uses the following age limits for approved interstate certification. Eligible temporary interstate workers may have a separate concession; security and RSA marshal roles are excluded from it. See NSW’s rules.

Trained in	Accepted if issued within
QLD, WA, SA, TAS	5 years — national RSA Statement of Attainment
VIC, ACT, NT	3 years — Statement of Attainment or RSA refresher certificate

For workers who need a NSW competency card, certification outside the bridging eligibility windows means completing the full NSW RSA course. Eligible temporary interstate workers may use the separate concession. After bridging, attend Service NSW with your bridging completion certificate, proof of identity and interstate RSA certification. See NSW’s application guidance.

Coming into Victoria, an interstate certificate does not carry over. LCV is explicit that to supply alcohol in a Victorian licensed venue or location you cannot rely on an interstate RSA certificate. The route in is the free bridging course — which is the RSA Refresher — and completing it gives you a Victorian RSA certificate. Eligibility requires RSA training approved by a state or territory liquor licensing authority, original training completed within the last three years, and that you were living interstate or overseas if you completed the course online. Applications that do not meet the criteria are declined, and processing takes about 10 working days. Separate exemptions exist for interstate staff supplying alcohol at a producer's event.

An RSA Statement of Attainment is a national training record, but permission to serve alcohol depends on the destination’s rules. NSW permits eligible temporary interstate workers; permanent movers and security or RSA marshal roles must meet NSW training and competency-card requirements, using bridging where eligible. Victoria offers bridging to eligible interstate holders. SA applies approved-provider rules to training from 1 November 2020, with earlier training not required to be repeated solely for that change. QLD and WA require suitable national RSA evidence. Tasmania distinguishes staff from licence holders; the ACT and NT have local currency and refresher requirements. Check the regulator before your first shift. See RSA recognition by jurisdiction, NSW’s rules and SA’s rules.

One more thing about direction of travel. The NSW competency card is a NSW instrument and confers nothing elsewhere. What travels interstate is the underlying Statement of Attainment for SITHFAB021 that the ATP issued in its capacity as an RTO, which other jurisdictions then treat on their own terms.

Why the periods differ

Because RSA is state liquor law, not a national training rule. The unit is common to all eight. What each regulator does with it is not: some run an approved-provider scheme, some issue their own card, some impose a refresher, some do none of these. The training is national. The authorisation is not.

Practical advice

Diarise the shorter of the two periods if you work across a border.
Record your Victorian certificate number. You need it for the refresher three years later, and recovering it means emailing LCV with your name, date of birth, completion date and training organisation.
In NSW, check whether you need the refresher or a full course before paying. A full course does not extend a current card.
Do not assume a Queensland or WA certificate has lapsed. It has not, in Queensland or WA.
Do not assume it is still usable in NSW, SA or Victoria. All three want something more than the certificate itself.
If you manage a venue, diarise the management credential separately. RMLV in Queensland and the WA approved manager card have their own clocks.

See the RSA page for the position in each jurisdiction, who needs an RSA, and how to get an RSA certificate.

About us

We are Complete Hospitality Training, RTO 3722, CRICOS 04242E. Level 3, 28 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne VIC 3000, and 410 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010. Contact melbourne@cht.edu.au or +61 3 9654 1554.

We link to the relevant course and regulatory sources in this guide. Check those sources for current requirements, and confirm course availability, delivery, fees and entry requirements with us before enrolling.

Source records and further guidance

We link the unit records and regulator guidance relevant to this page below. Check the current source before making an enrolment, licensing or employment decision.

Does my RSA expire?

It depends where you work. Not in Queensland or Western Australia. After three years in Victoria, the NT and the ACT. In NSW it is the competency card that carries a five-year clock rather than the training.

Does the Statement of Attainment itself expire?

No. A Statement of Attainment is a permanent record of a completed unit, and it is recorded against your USI. What lapses is its currency for licensing purposes in the jurisdictions that impose a refresher.

Is the Victorian three-year refresher only for licensees?

No, and this is worth correcting because it is often written that way. LCV requires the free RSA Refresher every three years of anyone holding a Victorian RSA certificate. Licensees carry additional obligations of their own under sections 108AA and 108AC of the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998.

Does the refresher include the sexual harassment and assault module?

Yes. LCV states that RSA training, including the RSA Refresher course, includes the module on recognising, preventing and responding to sexual harassment and assault at a licensed venue or location. It is not limited to initial certification.

I trained in Queensland five years ago. Do I need to redo it?

Not to keep working in Queensland. You would need something further to work in NSW, South Australia or Victoria.

Can I just redo the course in NSW to extend my card?

No. Completing a full course through an ATP does not extend an existing card's expiry date. Only the refresher renewal does, and L&GNSW cannot extend the date on request.

My NSW card has two endorsements with different dates. When does it expire?

Five years from the earliest endorsement you received, for all of them. They do not run on separate clocks.

I have an interstate RSA and I am starting work in Sydney.

If you are moving there, check your certificate's age against the three-year or five-year rule for the state you trained in, then do the bridging course and get a card. If you are working there temporarily and living elsewhere, your interstate certification is enough — unless you are doing security or RSA marshal duties.

I have an interstate RSA and I am starting work in Melbourne.

You cannot rely on it. Victoria requires a Victorian RSA certificate, and the way in is the free bridging course, which is the RSA Refresher. Your original training must have been approved by a state or territory liquor licensing authority and completed within the last three years. Allow about ten working days for processing.

I trained before 2002. Is that still valid?

Not in Queensland. OLGR treats pre-2002 training as invalid and requires it to be redone.

How do I renew in Victoria?

The RSA Refresher: free, online, about 90 minutes, and it asks for your original certificate number. Do it before the three years is up.

I lost my certificate. Do I have to do the course again?

No. For the underlying unit, ask the RTO that issued it for a re-issue — your completion is recorded against your USI. For the Victorian certificate number specifically, email contact@liquor.vic.gov.au with your full name, date of birth, when you completed the original course and the name of the training organisation, and LCV will verify and provide it.

Is the refresher free everywhere?

No. Victoria's is free, and Licensing NT runs a free one. In NSW the refresher course itself is not charged but you pay the competency card issue fee. The ACT position is not stated in the regulator material we hold.

Does my expiry date change if I move interstate?

It can. The ACT expires an interstate certificate three years from its original completion date, not from your arrival. Moving to a no-expiry state does not retrospectively remove a lapse that already happened elsewhere.

I am a manager in Queensland. What expires for me?

Your RMLV certificate, three years from issue. RSA in Queensland does not expire, but because a current RMLV removes the need for a separate RSA certificate, an expired RMLV can leave you without a current credential. Diarise it separately.

Does my employer have to keep a copy?

In Victoria, yes. Under sections 108AD and 108AE of the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 the licensee must keep RSA certificates on the premises and produce them on request by a police officer or liquor inspector, each carrying a penalty of five penalty units. LCV also notes employers can be fined for not keeping the certificate, and that what they need is the RSA Certificate of Completion rather than the Statement of Attainment the course provider issues.

What about gaming work?

Different scheme entirely. Victorian Responsible Service of Gaming runs on its own module-and-refresher cycle, is delivered free by government, and is not satisfied by any nationally recognised unit. See how to get a bar and gaming licence (/news/how-do-i-get-my-bar-gaming-license/).