NSW Food Safety Supervisor Online Course

To become a Food Safety Supervisor, you must complete this nationally recognised training course – SITSS00069 Food Safety Supervision Skills Set which includes the mandatory key focus areas for NSW. This accredited course covers essential topics such as safe food handling practices, hygiene procedures, and regulatory compliance. The training includes theoretical and practical components, and upon successful completion, candidates receive an official statement of attainment (also known as a Food Safety Certificate) that qualifies them to be appointed as and work as a Food Safety Supervisor.

A Food Safety Supervisor’s key responsibilities include:

• Recognise food hazards and take actions to prevent or manage them
• Supervise and give direction to others to other food handlers within the business
• Create a positive food safety culture.
• Be reasonably available to other food handlers and the local government when the business is operational.

Anyone within the business can be an FSS as long as they meet the following criteria:

• They aren’t an FSS for another business
• They can train, supervise, and advise other food handlers to ensure food safety standards are maintained.
• They are easily contactable by phone.

Generally speaking, small businesses appoint the owner as the Food Safety Supervisor. Larger companies tend to appoint a few to ensure the position is covered if one of the appointed FSS is unavailable or on annual leave.

All food Safety Supervisors are required to renew their certificates every five years.

The certificate must be renewed before or within 30 days of expiry.

If the individual is not planning on renewing their certificate, the business must appoint someone else as the Food Safety Supervisor for the premises.

If recertifying within 90 days of expiry, you must only undertake the refresher course. This course focuses on providing up-to-date knowledge about food safety practices and foodborne illnesses and recognising and refreshing existing skills.

If recertifying after 90 days of certificate expiry, you must undertake the entire course again.

Only a NSW-approved RTO can provide your FSS Certificate. Students must ensure they are trained by an approved training organisation.

A complete list of training organisations can be found on the NSW Food Authority Website.

CTA Training Specialists is an approved training provider for this course in NSW.

Our FSS course is delivered online and can be completed at your own pace over a three-month period. The course content includes all the learning outcomes from the Level 1 and level 2 food safety courses.

The course includes both online and practical assessments. The online assessments are in the form of quizzes and can be done as many times as required. The practical assessment must be completed with a supervisor. The supervisor must complete and sign your supervisor report.

A supervisor must have 12 months of experience working with food and can be:

• Someone you work with
• Someone you have worked with in the last 12 months
• Someone you volunteered with.

It is important to ensure that the supervisor completing your report observes you doing everything listed on it on three separate occasions.

We understand that it can be hard to find a supervisor if you are new to the industry or country. If this is the case, you can do the following:

• Ask a friend or family member in the food industry to sign off on your practical assessment. Just ensure they have at least 12 months of experience in the industry.
• Get a list of local food-based charities from the council. Volunteer there and get one of the regular volunteers to sign off on your practical assessment.