The ACT Government has amended the regulatory processes for Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) certification and training, to make it easier for interstate hospitality staff to work in the ACT.

Interstate RSA certificate holders can now complete the ACT refresher course instead of the ACT full course when their interstate certificate expires.

This will help local businesses to recover from the impacts of COVID-19, Tara Cheyne, ACT Minister for Business and Better Regulation, said.

“Reviewing and amending the RSA certification regulatory process was identified as one way to support businesses, particularly those in the hospitality industry. Now an interstate worker only has to do the refresher course, costing them less and taking fewer hours to complete.

“By streamlining the time businesses, particularly small businesses, and potential employees spend on government administration, we hope to make it easier to do business and work in the ACT.”

Craig Shannon, CEO Of ClubsACT, welcomed the news, but called for the ACT, state and territory, and Federal governments to implement a national standard, so vocational requirements are common and consistent across Australia.

“We welcome any flexibility that the ACT Government’s prepared to embrace into the vocational training area,” Mr Shannon said.

ClubsACT is concerned, Mr Shannon explained, that there is no consistency of standards or training requirement between jurisdictions, particularly along the eastern seaboard, in “a very basic vocational training requirement in the hospitality sector”.

“That’s inhibiting free movement of workers in the hospitality space from jurisdiction to jurisdiction,” Mr Shannon said.

“This is a good first step by the ACT Government to address those matters, but we hope that they will more forcibly advocate for equivalency standards between the ACT and NSW.”

Currently, NSW and the ACT have different standards for RSAs, so there is no automatic recognition of training requirements.

“We do not need different models for [Responsible Service of Alcohol] RSA when we’re embedded right in the middle of NSW,” Mr Shannon said.

Some states have no expiry dates on their RSAs; Mr Shannon believes they should be regularly updated, and considers the ACT Government’s approach of refresher training modules “a step in that direction”.

The Commissioner for Fair Trading has declared that an ACT refresher course is sufficient to achieve the objectives of the ACT Liquor Act 2010 and the harm minimisation and community safety principles for interstate RSA certificate holders when their interstate certificate expires.

This regulatory change is part of a broader move by the ACT Government’s Better Regulation Taskforce to put in place the best settings for business recovery, longer-term growth and regulation in the ACT, Ms Cheyne said.

“Cross-border regulation is something that the business community has highlighted as an issue when it comes to getting workers into the ACT. By reducing and removing unintended barriers to occupational mobility, we hope to support local business as they look to recruit and retain qualified staff.

“Reciprocal recognition of licences to support occupational mobility from interstate is identified in the Better Regulation Report.

“The Better Regulation Report has provided an agenda for ways the government can support businesses in the ACT. It’s about finding the right balance between regulatory settings and good outcomes for business, consumers, and the community.

“Reviewing interstate reciprocated recognition of licences is just one of many steps we’re taking to streamline processes and approvals to make it easier to start up, run, and grow a business in the ACT,” Ms Cheyne said.