Every food organisation in NSW has a responsibility to make sure its staff are properly trained in food safety.

To meet this requirement and to make sure that all food safety tasks are properly carried out, most food retail and hospitality businesses will need to nominate at least one staff member to perform the role of Food Safety Supervisor.

The NSW Food Authority is the state’s regulatory body when it comes to food safety. The Authority established a Food Safety Supervisor Program to help reduce the number of foodborne illnesses occurring in the state’s hospitality and retail foodservice sectors. One way this program aims to achieve this is by improving the skills and knowledge of all Food Handlers.

In NSW, the food safety legislation is a little different to the other states and territories. For a Food Safety Supervisor to be qualified to work in NSW, the Food Authority requires not only a Statement of Attainment which shows that the required units of competency have been completed but also an authorised NSW Food Safety Supervisor Certificate.

This additional certificate must have been issued by an approved training provider and needs to be redone every five years. You can renew your Food Safety Supervisor training through our NSW Recertification Course.

Another role of the Food Safety Supervisor Program is to provide food businesses with the necessary resources to be able to engage in high quality and consistent training undertaken through approved Registered Training Organisations (RTOs). This means that only Registered Training Organisations on the approved training provider list are authorised to issue the NSW Food Safety Supervisor Certificates - such as the Australian Institute of Food Safety.