Overseas Students in Australia on a ‘subclass 500 Student Visa’ cannot undertake RSA training, and therefore cannot legally work in licensed venues in Australia.
The reason being, that students on this visa may only enroll in full-time courses which is registered with The Commonweal Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOs) as per the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000.
Training providers in Australia cannot currently register a short course, such as Provide Responsible Service of Alcohol with CRICOs.
The exception to this, is – if a student is enrolled in a CRICOS approved course for hospitality or the like, and requires the student to have an RSA as part of that course, then they may obtain an RSA as part of that course thereby enabling them to work in Australia. The VISA allows students to work 40 hours per fortnight when courses are commenced, or an unlimited number of hours during course breaks.
Other classes of Student VISAs may be able to obtain RSA.
A representative for the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs advised that this applies only to new applications, and that any student who obtained RSA prior to the legislation change could continue to work in licensed premises.
The reason for the legislation changes is to regulate the hospitality industry.
There is a petition to change the legislation
