In Australia, Food Handler training requirements are mandated under Food Standard 3.2.2A. The Food Handling Certificate course is designed to meet that legal requirement, as well as protecting customers and food businesses from the sometimes lethal consequences of food safety incidents.
NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY.
The Food Handling Certificate course is an introduction course for those getting started in the food industry, or people who just need to meet the minimum requirements for food safety training. The lessons cover everything mandated under Food Standard 3.2.2A including personal hygiene, safe food handling and how to identify food safety hazards.
NATIONALLY RECOGNISED.
The Food Handling Certificate course is nationally recognised, which means that upon successful completion, your Statement of Attainment is valid across all of Australia. What's more, you can use this Statement of Attainment towards a further qualification such as Food Safety Supervisor recognition or a Certificate in Commercial Cookery.
QUICK AND EASY TO COMPLETE.
Food Safety First courses are all fully interactive and straightforward to complete. The Food Handling Certificate (Level 1) course only takes a few hours to finish, and you'll receive your Statement of Attainment within a few business days of completing the course, if not sooner!
Do you need your assessment to be processed even faster? Consider adding Express Certification to your order during checkout. Learn more.
Thinking of doing this course as a stepping stone to Food Safety Supervisor (Level 2)?
That's a great idea, but did you know that you can save money if you do Levels 1 and 2 at the same time? Check out our Food Safety Supervisor (Level 1 & 2) course for more details.
Ready to Enrol?
- NATIONALLY RECOGNISED
- VALID IN ALL STATES
- ONLINE COURSE
- 12-MONTH ACCESS
- SECURE ONLINE PAYMENT
The Food Handling Certificate (Level 1) course is designed for people who prepare, handle or serve food as part of their job. It can be taken as a stand-alone course to meet the Australia-wide legal requirement that all Food Handlers are trained in food safety, or it can be a stepping stone to becoming a Food Safety Supervisor in the Hospitality industry.
Course Content
The content of our online food handling course ensures that individuals are aware of their responsibilities as a Food Handler, and provides comprehensive information about personal hygiene and best practice for ensuring food safety. At the end of the Food Handling Certificate course, students are expected to be able to identify food safety hazards in the workplace and know what to do if a food safety incident occurs.
NSW Special Considerations
If you’re in NSW, you can upgrade to a Food Safety Supervisor later by completing Level 2 training, although special conditions apply.
If you have completed the Food Handling Certificate (Level 1) course for Hospitality then you will have a Statement of Attainment issued by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) that lists the unit SITXFSA005 – Use hygienic practices for food safety.
However, to obtain an NSW Food Safety Supervisor Certificate, you must have completed SITXFSA005 with Food Safety First within the last five years. The NSW Food Authority requires both units of competency to be completed with the same training provider.
If you completed Level 1 with another provider, you will need to enrol in the full Food Safety Supervisor (Level 1 & 2) NSW course instead.
Hospitality Sector
The Food Handling Certificate course for Hospitality is split into 13 lessons, one case study and an Observer Report. The lessons in the course are:
- Lesson 1 - Food Safety Laws & Responsibilities
- Lesson 2 - Food Contamination & High-Risk Groups
- Lesson 3 - Biological Contamination
- Lesson 4 - Other Types of Contamination
- Lesson 5 - Food Allergies
- Lesson 6 - Cleaning & Sanitising
- Lesson 7 - Hand Washing
- Lesson 8 - Personal Hygiene & Workplace Behaviour
- Lesson 9 - Illness & Onsite Injuries
- Lesson 10 - Time & Temperature Control
- Lesson 11 - Working with Food Safely
- Lesson 12 - Serving Food Safety
- Lesson 13 - Food Safety Programs & Reporting Responsibilities
Health & Community Sector
The Food Handling Certificate course for Health & Community is split into 17 lessons, one case study and an Observer Report. The lessons in the course are:
- Lesson 1 - Food Safety Laws & Responsibilities
- Lesson 2 - Food Contamination & High-Risk Groups
- Lesson 3 - Biological Contamination
- Lesson 4 - Other Types of Contamination
- Lesson 5 - Food Allergies
- Lesson 6 - Cleaning & Sanitising
- Lesson 7 - Maintaining Food Premises
- Lesson 8 - Hand Washing
- Lesson 9 - Personal Hygiene & Workplace Behaviour
- Lesson 10 - Illness & Onsite Injuries
- Lesson 11 - Time & Temperature Control
- Lesson 12 - Receiving & Storing Food
- Lesson 13 - Working with Food Safely
- Lesson 14 - Serving Food Safely
- Lesson 15 - Food Safety Programs
- Lesson 16 - Identifying Food Safety Hazards
- Lesson 17 - Controlling & Reporting on Food Safety Hazards
The assessment for the Food Handling Certificate (Level 1) has three parts:
Part 1 – Lesson Quizzes
At the end of each lesson you need to complete a multiple-choice quiz. Once you've scored 100% you're able to move onto the next lesson. You have five attempts at each quiz, but don't worry if you use up all your attempts - just get in touch and we can help you out at no extra charge!
Part 2 – Case Study
Once you've finished all the lessons, there is a short case study to complete. The purpose of this is to check that you can apply what you’ve learnt to a real-life situation. Simply read the text and answer a series of multiple-choice questions about the best way to handle the scenario.
Part 3 – Observer Report / Declaration
To assess practical skills such as handwashing, you’ll need to ask someone you work with, or someone else working in the food industry, to complete an Observer Report. This form is completed by someone who has seen you perform food safety tasks. It can be completed online or downloaded and filled out manually.
The unit of competency you attain is dependent on the industry you choose.
Hospitality
The unit of competency attained upon successful completion of the course is SITXFSA005 - Use hygienic practices for food safety (this supersedes old unit SITXFSA001 - Use hygienic practices for food safety).
This unit is from the Tourism & Hospitality training package. This means that if you later wish to upgrade to Food Safety Supervisor, then your Statement of Attainment for this course can be used towards Food Safety Supervisor recognition in the hospitality industry.
To upgrade, you would need to successfully complete the Food Safety Supervisor (Level 2) course and attain the unit of competency SITXFSA006 - Participate in safe food handling practices.
Health & Community
The unit of competency attained upon successful completion of the course is HLTFSE001 Follow basic food safety practices (this supersedes old unit HLTFS207C - Follow basic food safety practices).
We're here to help! Our most frequently asked questions about the Food Handling Certificate (Level 1) course are listed below.
If you still can't find what you're looking for, why not visit our dedicated FAQ page? Alternatively, contact us for more information or further details about any of our courses.
The Food Handling Certificate course is suitable for anyone that prepares, handles or serves food as part of their job. In fact, it is a legal requirement under Food Standard 3.2.2A that all Food Handlers are trained in food safety.
Example jobs could be chefs, kitchen hands, serving staff or people working in food factories. But there are lots of other jobs where food handling may not be the main focus but is a part of the role. For example, child care or aged care workers may serve food to people in their care. Service station attendants may be responsible for the sale of pies and sausage rolls. In any job where food handling takes place, food safety training is a must.
The Food Handling Certificate (Level 1) course has been designed to meet this legal requirement, whilst also ensuring that Food Handlers are well trained on how to prevent food safety incidents in the workplace.
You can work through our Food Handler course online at your own pace. The duration of the course varies depending on your existing knowledge of Food Safety and your understanding of the English language.
On average, most people complete the lessons and associated quizzes within about three to four hours. The other parts of the assessment can take anywhere between ten minutes to two hours depending on who you choose to complete your Observer Report and whether you need any extra assistance with the course content.
It’s not unusual for students to sign up and complete the course on the same day, but we do give you up to 12 months to complete everything.
Don’t forget that you don’t need to do the entire course in one go – you can log on and log off as many times as you need. Some students choose to study for half an hour each day or an hour per week until they’ve finished.
A Food Handler is anyone that prepares, handles or serves food as part of their day-to-day job. There are many professions that handle food in some capacity even if it is not the main focus of their job and under Australian law (Food Standard 3.2.2A), they must be trained in food safety.
A Food Safety Supervisor is a little different. According to Food Standard 3.2.2A, it's a legal requirement that at least one person from every food business is nominated as a Food Safety Supervisor. This is necessary in order for food businesses to obtain a food business licence, which is required to operate legally.
Food Safety Supervisors need to undertake more comprehensive food safety training than Food Handlers. This training can also delivered via an online short course. Food Safety Supervisors require Level 1 and Level 2 training - whereas Food Handlers only need Level 1 training, or its equivalent.
For those who work in Hospitality, have already done Level 1, and wish to complete Food Safety Supervisor training, they only need to complete the Level 2 part of the course.
Food Safety First offer both Food Safety Supervisor (Level 2) and Food Safety Supervisor (Level 1 & 2) training, as well as the Food Handling Certificate (Level 1) course.
Note: Health & Community students must undertake the full Food Safety Supervisor (Level 1 & 2) course to become a Food Safety Supervisor (the upgrade option is not available).
When you've completed all of the quizzes and finalised your Observer Report, you need to complete a form on the course page called the ‘Final Submission’. This only takes about five minutes - we need to ask you a few questions and confirm that you completed the course without assistance.
Once you've done this, we will process your assessment within 1-2 business days. You will then receive a copy of your Statement of Attainment by email. And if you requested a copy to be posted to you, we will print this onto premium certificate paper and you should receive that a day or so later too.
If you are concerned about the language, literacy or numeracy requirements of this course, or if you require additional support during the enrolment and course delivery process then we encourage you to contact us in order to discuss your individual needs with a student support representative.
In order to complete this course you should be able to perform everyday tasks such as:
- Reading and responding to online postings in chat rooms
- Taking minutes in a community meeting
- Attending and participating in a community meeting
- Creating a personal weekly budget in a spreadsheet
If you have any concerns about whether you have the skills required to participate in this course, please contact us and we'll be happy to discuss your requirements.
Upon enrolment we give you 12 months of access to complete the entire Food Handling Certificate course. You can start and stop as often as you like.