Is my NSW RSA valid in Queensland? Yes, with the right document, and the top-ranking guide is wrong on Victoria, Tasmania and the NT

Type "is NSW RSA valid in" into Google and it autocompletes with every state and territory. The guide at the top of those results answers that certificates "are generally not recognised across state borders". Read the eight liquor regulators instead and the answer is better than that: Queensland accepts the national Statement of Attainment outright, NSW lets a visiting worker serve on an interstate RSA, and Victoria hands interstate holders a free bridging course.

What matters is which piece of paper you kept. A NSW RSA course issues two things: a NSW interim certificate that becomes a photo competency card, and a national Statement of Attainment for SITHFAB021, the unit every Australian RSA course is built on. The card is a NSW document. The Statement of Attainment is the one that travels.

The short version: Queensland's OLGR accepts an interstate RSA qualification with the national Statement of Attainment, and gives new staff 30 days to hold one. Liquor & Gaming NSW says a worker who hasn't moved to NSW permanently doesn't need its bridging course. Liquor Control Victoria recognises an interstate certificate through a free bridging course if the original training is under 3 years old, then asks for a free refresher every 3 years. General information, not legal advice.

What the top-ranking guide says, and where the regulators disagree

RosterElf's state-by-state guide (updated 3 July 2026) sums itself up in one sentence: "Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania issue RSA certificates with no expiry, while NSW and Tasmania renew every 5 years and the ACT and NT every 3 years. Certificates are generally not recognised across state borders." Tasmania is in both halves of that sentence. The regulators' own pages settle the rest.

State by state: what to show, your deadline, and when it runs out

Every row comes from the regulator's page or the Act, read in October 2026. "Deadline" is how long a new starter has to hold the certificate after they begin, where the regulator sets one.

Two patterns fall out of that table. Queensland, WA, SA, Tasmania and the NT want the national unit from a registered training organisation and don't much care where you sat it. NSW, Victoria and the ACT run their own provider lists and their own clocks, with a bridging or refresher step for new arrivals. WA names the trap plainly: your interstate card proves nothing there, so hand over the certificate.

The NSW rules, in both directions

Coming into NSW for the summer? Liquor & Gaming NSW says you don't need the bridging course if you hold an approved interstate certificate, can show it when asked and understand your NSW obligations, as long as you haven't moved to NSW permanently. Moved for good? The bridging course is online and self-paced, and you're eligible with a Queensland, WA, SA or Tasmanian Statement of Attainment issued within the last 5 years, or a Victorian, ACT or NT one within the last 3. Service NSW issues an interim certificate that covers 90 days of work, the card follows within up to 5 weeks, and the card is valid for 5 years.

Leaving NSW with a NSW RSA? Find the Statement of Attainment your training provider issued beside the card. That's what Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart and Darwin ask for, and what you upload to Victoria's bridging application. One catch for the NT: its web page still says an interstate certificate is "no longer valid after 3 years", a line the Act has overtaken. Section 137 of the Liquor Act 2019 now puts the refresher at 5 years, and the free NT refresher site agrees.

The venue's check before rostering someone on an interstate RSA

1. Ask for the Statement of Attainment, not the state card. Look for the unit code SITHFAB021, or an older one such as SITHFAB002, which Queensland and WA both still accept. A statement of attendance isn't a Statement of Attainment.
2. Check the date against your state's clock. NSW cards run 5 years; Victoria and the ACT want a refresher every 3; the NT once the certificate passes 5. A 2019 certificate is fine in Brisbane and expired in Canberra.
3. Check the provider where a list exists. SA accepts training only from a CBS-approved RTO since 1 November 2020; NSW, Victoria and the ACT keep lists too. Queensland, WA, Tasmania and the NT accept any registered training organisation.
4. Keep a copy where the regulator says. Queensland, WA (a $5,000 penalty) and the NT want it on the premises, Tasmania wants it retained, and SA's code requires evidence within 7 days of an authorised officer asking.
5. Know your new-starter deadline. The NT gives you 7 days, WA 28, Queensland 30, Victoria a month, SA and Tasmania 3 months. NSW staff can't serve until they hold the interim certificate or card.

The RSA sits beside the rest of the first-shift paperwork, so run it with the hiring checklist. For working-holiday staff, the ones most likely to arrive with a Queensland or Victorian certificate, the work-rights check matters just as much: see rostering student and working holiday visa staff.

Where Shiftly fits

Summer is when venues roster people they met last week. Shiftly is the roster that fills itself: free rostering and award-aware timesheets for your own team, with an on-demand staffing network built in, coming soon and starting in Sydney, so an open shift is offered to nearby workers instead of the group chat. Workers upload their own credentials, including an RSA, and Shiftly doesn't verify them: identity and right to work are the checks it runs, and sighting the certificate and keeping the copy stays with the licensee. The table above is that check. Get started with Shiftly.

Frequently asked questions

Is a NSW RSA valid in Queensland?

Yes, if you hold the national Statement of Attainment for the RSA unit (SITHFAB021, or an older code such as SITHFAB002) that your NSW training provider issued alongside the card. Queensland's OLGR says an interstate qualification can be used with that document, and that valid certificates don't expire. The NSW card on its own isn't what Queensland asks for, and staff have 30 days from starting to hold a Statement of Attainment.

Is a Queensland RSA valid in NSW?

If you haven't moved to NSW permanently, Liquor & Gaming NSW says you can work on your Queensland certificate without the bridging course, provided you can show it when asked and understand NSW liquor law. If you've moved permanently, you complete the online bridging course, which accepts a Queensland Statement of Attainment issued within the last 5 years, and you get a NSW competency card valid for 5 years. Security and RSA marshal roles need the NSW card regardless.

Does a Victorian RSA expire?

Liquor Control Victoria says you must do the free RSA Refresher every 3 years to keep the certificate current, so a Victorian certificate with no refresher behind it stops being current after 3 years. Outside Victoria, NSW's bridging course and the ACT both treat a Victorian certificate or refresher as valid for 3 years from issue.