Do Aged Care Workers Need a Food Safety Supervisor Certificate?

Yes — in most cases, aged care facilities in Australia are required to have at least one certified Food Safety Supervisor on staff. Aged care providers serve some of the most vulnerable members of our community, making food safety compliance not just a legal obligation but a moral one.

Under Standard 3.2.2A of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, any food business that handles unpackaged ready-to-eat food — including aged care facilities — must ensure at least one staff member holds a nationally recognised Food Safety Supervisor Certificate. The certificate consists of two units: SITXFSA005 and SITXFSA006. These cover temperature control, personal hygiene, cross-contamination prevention, and proper food handling practices.

Melbourne Tech Institute (RTO #45799) offers this qualification 100% online for $129. Aged care managers, kitchen supervisors and care workers can complete the course in their own time - most people need about 6-8 hours. Your nationally recognised certificate is marked by a qualified assessor and emailed to you within 1 business day of the last piece landing - your assessment and your observer's report. If your facility serves meals to residents and doesn't yet have a certified Food Safety Supervisor, now is the time to act: enrol here or see what the course costs.

Exactly how that plays out depends on your state. Victoria classifies aged care as a class 1 premises — one that serves food to vulnerable people — and requires Victorian aged care kitchens to appoint a Food Safety Supervisor, with no fixed renewal period under the state's current guidance. New South Wales applies its rule to any retail or hospitality business serving unpackaged, ready-to-eat food, requiring at least one supervisor per premises, and layers its own NSW Food Safety Supervisor certificate on top of the national units — see how that affects aged care providers in NSW. In Queensland, every category 1 and category 2 licensed food business needs a certified supervisor holding the nationally recognised units, which is exactly the position Queensland aged care facilities are in, and Western Australia and South Australia apply the equivalent category 1 and 2 rule under Standard 3.2.2A, in force in both states since 8 December 2023 — our WA and SA aged care pages set out what each expects. One detail worth checking before you enrol: this course delivers the hospitality units SITXFSA005 and SITXFSA006, which is what NSW aged care providers need, but some other states' health and community-services settings instead require the HLTFSE food safety units — contact us first if you're not sure which applies to your facility.

Ready to get certified? Melbourne Tech Institute (RTO #45799) delivers the nationally recognised Food Safety Supervisor course (SITXFSA005 & SITXFSA006) 100% online for $129 — with your certificate issued within one business day.

More detail for your sector: Food Safety Supervisor requirements for aged care →

Enrol now — $129 →