Responsible service of alcohol (RSA)

If you are involved in the sale, service or supply of alcohol in the Northern Territory (NT), you must have a responsible service of alcohol (RSA) certificate.

This means you are qualified to serve alcohol in a licensed venue.

You must get a certificate within seven days of starting work at a licensed premises.

How to get a certificate

To get an RSA certificate, you must complete the responsible service of alcohol course (as at 2 March 2023 - SITHFAB021)  from an accredited training provider. This competency unit may be subject to changes.

Go to the Australian Government's training.gov.au website to find:

• a list of accredited training providers
• current unit of competency.

Once you have completed the course, you will need to renew your RSA certificate every 3 years.

If you already have a certificate

If you already have an RSA certificate from another state or territory, it will only be accepted for use in the NT if it was issued by an accredited Australian training provider.

For a current certificate to be accepted, it must be:

• issued by a body accredited by the Australian Skills Quality Authority or
• approved by the Liquor Commission.

If your RSA certificate is more than three years old, you must do a refresher course.

This course must be done every 3 years and can be done online via the NTrefreshRSA website.

Rules for licensees

You must keep an RSA register on the premises, with a copy of each staff member's RSA certificate and refresher course certificate included.

Get the approved record of employees with an RSA register form.

Record of employees with an RSA register form PDF (140.6 KB)
Record of employees with an RSA register form DOCX (60.3 KB)