If you haven't yet seen a sign on a local cafe or restaurant that says 'Closed due to staff shortage' - you may be in the minority.

It seems a shortage in hospitality staff across NSW means the NSW Government is now offering free Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) training to get more eligible workers skilled up and into the industry. 

When the Lismore App saw that 5,000 fee-free RSA courses were up for grabs, we investigated to see what was available for Northern Rivers locals.  

Many hospitality roles require current RSA competency and RSA courses are advertised as being available through TAFE NSW - and private providers who already offer government subsidised programs.

The Lismore App visited the government website to check to see who was eligible and to apply.

In the course of investigating the closest locations, we discovered that the closest private training provider was in Grafton.

Locally however, TAFE NSW said Wollongbar TAFE (but not Lismore) is offering the course, but is already full for February's course. If you want to get in for the March course, you'd better contact TAFE and get in quick.

We rang the closest private training provider CHS Training and discovered that if you are prepared to take a drive down to Grafton the next course will be taking place on Monday, March 6 – and it’s already half full.

If you are keen to take up the offer, you should be over 17 and a NSW resident. You must not have previously held an RSA competency card that has expired and is currently due for renewal.

RSA training takes about 6 hours to complete (excluding breaks) – so you'll be trained in less than one day.

Even if you are currently employed, you can still apply for fee-free RSA training and earn extra income – and it also gives you new ways to volunteer at team and community events.

Jobs that require RSA training

• Bar staff
• Bottle shop attendants
• Licensees
• Managers
• Security officers
• Event staff
• Function staff
• Cruise ship staff
• Volunteering at clubs and community venues that offer, serve or sell alcohol.

Am I eligible?

You must be aged 17 and above.

You must be an Australian/New Zealand citizen, resident or humanitarian visa holder living or working in NSW.

Refresher RSA courses will also be available free of charge until the end of June if your RSA competency card has expired within the past two years or will expire before 30 June.

Note: If your competency card has expired in the past two years or will expire before 30 June, you can access free refresher training by visiting the Liquor & Gaming NSW online refresher page.