Work with us: training for employers

Employers come to an RTO for two different reasons, and they lead to different answers. One is compliance — a legal requirement your business must meet. The other is capability — staff who can do more. This page separates them.

Training that discharges a legal obligation

Several hospitality obligations sit on the business, not the worker, and training is how they are met.

Two traps worth knowing before you buy:

RSA does not transfer freely between states. If you operate in more than one state, staff certificates may not carry across. Recognition is conditional everywhere: New South Wales accepts approved interstate RSA for eligible temporary interstate workers, but requires its own training and competency card for permanent movers and for security or RSA marshal roles, and South Australia requires a Commissioner-approved RTO for training completed from 1 November 2020. See RSA.

Food handler training is not Food Safety Supervisor certification. They are different units and different obligations, and in New South Wales the FSS certificate must come from an RTO approved by the NSW Food Authority. See food handling.

Training that builds capability

For staff development, the question is which qualification and how much of it is fixed.

• Certificate III in Hospitality — 15 units, broad, suits general floor staff
• Certificate III (Restaurant Front of House) — 20 units, with RSA, food safety and cash handling as core
• Certificate IV in Hospitality — 21 units, the supervision step: rostering, budgets, conflict, WHS
• Certificate IV in Leadership and Management — 12 units, transfers across industries

The full set with unit counts, core ratios and delivery states is on workplace training.

Where recognition of prior learning saves real money

This is the most under-used option in workplace training.

If your staff have years of experience but no formal qualification, recognition of prior learning assesses that experience against the units directly. RTOs are required to offer it under Standard 1.6, and credit transfer under Standard 1.7.

It matters most on the larger qualifications. Certificate IV in Kitchen Management is 33 units; an experienced chef may already demonstrate many of them. RPL is a genuine assessment against the same evidence, not a shortcut — but for the right cohort it is faster and cheaper than teaching what people already know.

Raise it at the pre-training review, which each learner completes individually before enrolling.

Delivery is state-restricted

An RTO may only deliver within its registered scope, and CHT's is not uniform. This matters for multi-site employers.

Beyond hospitality

Worth noting because the name does not suggest it: CHT also delivers business qualifications (Certificate III and IV, Diploma) and community services qualifications covering individual support, ageing support, and leisure and health — all available in every state and territory.

Migration skills assessment

Separately from training, CHT is appointed by Trades Recognition Australia to conduct migration skills assessments for Chef (ANZSCO 351311) and Cook (351411) under the TSS and Offshore programs. Relevant if you are sponsoring skilled staff. See TRA assessment.

Note the applicant, not the employer, is TRA's customer, and TRA approves the outcome that the RTO recommends.

What to have ready when you enquire

• The qualification or units you need, if known
• How many staff, and in which states they work
• Whether the driver is compliance or capability
• Whether staff have existing experience or units that might attract RPL or credit transfer

Common questions

Can you train our staff on site?

Workplace delivery is available for qualifications on CHT's scope, subject to the state restrictions above. Contact CHT to discuss.

Will one RSA certificate cover staff in every state?

No, and no state accepts one unconditionally. Queensland accepts a Statement of Attainment for the nationally accredited RSA course but not an attendance certificate; Western Australia accepts the RSA certificate but not an interstate card alone; Victoria requires an LCV-approved provider plus its own second stage; New South Wales requires its competency card, with bridging where eligible; South Australia requires a Commissioner-approved RTO for training completed from 1 November 2020.

Can experienced staff skip parts of a qualification?

Potentially, through RPL or credit transfer. Both must be offered, and both are assessments rather than waivers.

Do we need a Food Safety Supervisor?

If you are a category 1 or 2 food business, yes, and the certification must be renewed every five years. The rules differ by state — see Food Safety Supervisor.

What do staff receive?

A qualification testamur for a full qualification, or a Statement of Attainment for units. Both appear on the individual's national training transcript.

What you must keep on site, by state

Holding the certificate is the worker's half. Retaining the evidence is the employer's, and the requirement differs by jurisdiction.

South Australia and Western Australia are the two that catch interstate operators out, because both require a record kept at the venue rather than evidence produced on request later.

Can international staff enrol?

Only in the three CRICOS-registered courses, and only if they hold a student visa. Other visa types have different rules.

Contact

Complete Hospitality Training, RTO 3722, CRICOS provider code 04242E Level 3, 28 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 Sydney: 410 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 melbourne@cht.edu.au | +61 3 9654 1554

See workplace training, all courses or express an interest.

Scope verified against training.gov.au for RTO 3722 as at September 2026.