Guidelines for developing an RSA course
Our guidelines can help you develop a Responsible Service of Alcohol course that meets our requirements.
On this page
- Registration and scope
- Course duration and class size
- General course requirements
- Online requirements
- Trainer qualification and experience
- Example course outline
Registered training organisations need our approval for their Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) course to be recognised as an approved RSA course in Victoria.
If approved, the RSA Certificate of Completion can be used in Victorian licensed venues and locations.
Follow these guidelines to develop a Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) course that:
- meets our requirements
- gives learners (students) a strong understanding of how to serve alcohol responsibly, to help reduce alcohol-related harm in the community.
Find out how to get your RSA course approved.
Registration and scope
You must be a registered training organisation (RTO) to apply for course approval. You can register with either the:
You must have SITHFAB021 Provide responsible service of alcohol listed as part of your scope of training on training.gov.au.
Course duration and class size
The in-person course must take at least 6 hours, excluding breaks. For in-person training, the class size cannot be more than 25 learners.
The online course is self-paced, allowing learners to work through the material at their own pace.
There is no limit on the number of learners you can enrol in an online course.
General course requirements
These general requirements apply to both in-person and online courses.
Open all
- Requirements for all courses
Course content
Course content must:
- reflect the elements, performance, and assessment requirements of the SITHFAB021 Provide responsible service of alcohol
- include a robust and recurrent message on the learner’s role in harm minimisation, including information on drink spiking and not using prone restraint
- include information on the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 and Liquor Control Reform Regulations 2023
- be engaging and interactive using various training activities such as role plays, scenarios, videos, break-out groups or industry experiences
- consider the needs of learners and different learning styles
- be written in plain language.
Assessment requirements
You must assess that a learner is competent to serve alcohol responsibly.
You could consider:
-
the use of randomly-generated or varied ‘banks’ of assessment material to ensure learners do not complete the same assessment
-
providing learners with information about assessment requirements and processes
-
tailoring communication and support to all learners, including learners with a disability, learners from non-English speaking backgrounds and learners in remote locations
-
providing learners with real-time support through phone calls, emails from qualified assessors, online meetings and surveys to get feedback on satisfaction with the course. A learner must actively demonstrate they can:
-
prevent intoxication
-
refuse service of alcohol to an intoxicated person. You must observe them doing this, for example, in a role play (in person or recorded) or by observing them in the workplace.
It does not meet the requirement if, for example, learners only write about how they would do this.
Final assessment
For the final assessment test:
-
the pass mark is 100%
-
if a learner fails 3 times, they must repeat the course. During the test, the trainer must not:
-
help a learner answer a question
-
provide a learner with the correct answer before the test is over
-
advise an answer is incorrect before the test is over.
- Victorian legislation
Your course content must reference theLiquor Control Reform Act 1998, specifically:
- Section 3, Definitions
- Section 3A and 3AA, Amenity
- Section 3AB, Intoxication
- Section 4, Purpose of the Act
- Part 2, Licence categories (overview)
- Section 18C, off-premises request
- Part 7A, Barring orders
- Part 8, Offences and enforcement
- Website references
You must refer to the Liquor Control Victoria (LCV) website, specifically:
- Responsible service of alcohol training
- Managing intoxicated customers
- Drink spiking
- Under-18s at licensed venues or locations
- Acceptable forms of identification
- Supplying liquor to a person who makes an off-premises request
- Responsible alcohol advertising and promotions
- Liquor offences and fines
- Signs you must display where you supply alcohol.
- Video content
You can use these videos as part of your course:
- Alcohol and the impacts on our community
- Erratic drinking
- Bartenders on refusing service
- Intoxicated customer with no food
- Intoxicated customer who is emotionally distressed
- Intoxicated customer who is under the effect of illicit drugs You can use other videos if they support Victorian liquor law and regulations.
Online requirements
If you want to deliver RSA training through an online learning management system, you must also meet these requirements.
Open all
- General online learning requirements
Your online course must:
- have a structure that’s easy to navigate and is broken down into sections
- have an introduction page that outlines the purpose, course content, assessment requirements, certification gained and how to get help if needed
- provide content in context, to meet the requirements of industry and workplaces
- include real-time support, including by telephone or email
- randomise assessment questions and scenarios, so learners do not complete the same assessment if they need to retake the course.
- Minimise fraud
You must be able to minimise the potential for fraudulent activity.
To do this, you can:
- capture learners’ IP addresses
- monitor course activities to flag when different learners give the same free text answers to assessment questions
- restrict access within your organisation to change learner details after verifying a learner’s identity
- contact learners directly during the course
- email us about trainers or learners engaging in suspicious behaviour at lcv.education@justice.vic.gov.au.
Trainer qualification and experience
You must employ trainers with the required training and qualifications.
In this section, the trainer is the person who delivers the training unit and the person assessing learners’ competency.
Open all
- Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
The trainer must have evidence that they have completed the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or an equivalent course.
We cannot register the trainer in our database without this evidence.
Evidence can be a copy of any of these:
- TAE40116/TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.
- Diploma or higher-level qualification in adult education.
- TAE40110 Certificate in Training and Assessment plus TAELLN411 or TAELLN401A and either TAEASS502, TAEASS502A or TAEASS502.
- A credential issued by a higher education provider, as defined by section 16-1 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003.
- SITHFAB021 course completion
A copy of the current RSA certificate can be either a current:
- Statement of Attainment
- LCV Certificate of Completion (initial training)
- LCV Certificate of Completion (RSA Refresher course).
- Industry experience
A statement from the trainer, such as a resume, that outlines the dates and details of their experience:
- in a role involving the responsible service of alcohol, including the type of role and type of licensed venue
- working for a liquor licensing enforcement agency.
Example course outline
This is an example of how you could organise your course content.
You can deliver the course in a different order.
Open all
- Introduction
- Purpose of the training
- Benefits of RSA training (for staff, customers, community, business)
- Victorian RSA requirements
- Module 1: Liquor laws
Impact of alcohol supply in Victoria
- Alcohol consumption and the industry
- Impact on the community
- Impact on government agencies (Victoria Police, health services, road services and local government)
- Impact of excessive drinking (premises, staff, other customers, family, friends, colleagues, local community)
Victorian liquor laws
-
Liquor Control Regulations 2023
-
Liquor Control Reform (Prohibited Supply) Regulations 2025 Liquor Control Reform Act 1998:
-
main objectives of the Act
-
key obligations (minors, intoxicated, drunk or disorderly)
-
offences and non-compliance with regulation.
Liquor licences
- Liquor licences overview
- Understanding a liquor licence
- Trading hours
- Amenity (monitoring noise and disturbance in and around licensed premises)
Victorian liquor regulators
- Liquor Control Victoria
- Victoria Police
- Module 2: Consuming alcohol (effects/impact)
- How alcohol enters and leaves the body
- Blood Alcohol Concentration and drink driving limits
- Effects of alcohol on a person (emotional impact, physical alertness, health)
- Impact of excessive drinking on an individual
- Customers at heightened risk from alcohol use
- Module 3: Intoxication
Definition
- Definition of intoxication
- Penalties linked to intoxication and drunk customers
Preventing intoxication
- Know what you are serving (standard drink)
- Provide information to customers
- Products that are banned or undesirable when responsibly selling or serving alcohol
- Visual and verbal reminders
- Observe and engage with customers
- Non-alcohol and low-alcohol drink options (free drinking water, food options, slow down the supply of alcohol, refuse multiple shots)
Signs of intoxication
- Physical signs of intoxication
- Reasonable belief
- Recognising other drugs, conditions, and medications can mimic signs such as intoxication
- Early indicators – erratic drinking
- Drink spiking
- Monitoring patterns of purchase in a bottle shop
- Recognising signs of intoxication in a bottle shop
- Module 4: Refusal of service
- Procedure for refusing service: T-A-K-E-C-A-R-E or another approach (you must list communication and conflict resolution skills)
- Getting help when refusing service
- Recording refusal of service
- Responding to a mental health episode
- Customer safety when refusing service or entry
- Refusing entry to licensed venues (getting help from other team members), the rights of venues, banning and barring
- Barring process
- Module 5: Underage (minors)
- Laws relating to minors and penalties
- Impact of alcohol on young people
- Minors on licensed premises
- Responsible adult
- Secondary supply
- Proof of age requirements
- Checking ID
- Victorian digital licence
- Secondary supply
- Module 6: Alcohol delivery
- Laws relating to the online delivery of alcohol and offences
- Restrictions on the supply of online alcohol delivery
- Obligations of online alcohol delivery
- Instructions to delivery people
- Module 7: Harm minimisation
- Principles of harm minimisation
- Strategies to assist responsible service of alcohol
- House policies and procedures
- Venue management plan
- Responsible alcohol advertising and promotions
- Current promotional and strategic community education campaigns
Updated 9 December 2025
About the VIC Government
- The Premier and ministers
- Find a Vic Gov department, agency or service
- Strategies and policies
- Inquiries and royal commissions
Grants and programs
Jobs and careers
Arts, culture and heritage
Business and the workplace
- Mentally Healthy Workplaces Framework
- Portable Long Service Authority
- Victoria’s racing industry
- Workforce Inspectorate Victoria
- Liquor licensing, sale and supply
Communities
- Children
- First Peoples - State Relations
- Finding records
- Gender equality & women’s leadership
- LGBTIQA+ equality
- Multicultural communities
- Seniors Online
- Veterans support and commemoration
- Volunteering in Victoria
- Youth Central
Education and training
- Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority
- Early childhood education – information for professionals
- Kinder: Best Start, Best Life
- Education – information for parents
- Schools.Vic - information for schools
- Education grants, programs, awards and events
- PROTECT
- TAFE, training and universities sector
- TAFE Victoria
- Victorian Skills Authority
- Apprenticeships Victoria
- Learn Local
Environment, water and energy
Finance and economy
Health and social support
- Family violence reform
- NDIS Worker Screening Check
- NDIS and disability services and support in Victoria
- Patient Review Panel
- Transforming Trauma Victoria
Housing and property
Law and justice
- Adoption
- Births, deaths and marriages
- Honorary justices
- Machete ban
- Safeguarding Victorians against terrorism
- Stolen Generations Reparations Package
- Victims of Crime
- Victorian Racing Tribunal
Safety and emergencies
- Emergency Recovery Victoria
- Victorian Emergency Relief and Recovery Foundation
- Emergency Recovery Resource Portal
- How well do you know fire
- Fire Services Reform
- Water safety
- Marine Search and Rescue
Science and technology
- Data sharing and open data
- Data.vic - discover and access Vic Gov open data
- Developer.Vic - portal for API developers
- Go.vic URL shortener
- Vic Gov IT project dashboard
- Victoria’s free public wi-fi network
- Cyber security in the Victorian Government
Sport and recreation
Traffic and transport
- Cameras Save Lives
- Transport Fines
- Getting Around
- Transport Planning
- Transport Future
- Climate Change and transport
- Future Directions For Transport
- Transport projects
- Ports and Freight
Working in the Victorian Government
- Single Digital Presence home
- Accommodation and Library Services
- Executive employment in the Victorian public sector
- Budget, procurement and funding
- Careers in the Victorian Government
- Council and Regulator Toolkit
- Guidelines for working in government
- Join a government network
- Standards and guidelines
- VicFleet CarPool
- Victorian Government style guide