A Sydney based RSA training provider has been ordered to pay over $11,000 in fines and costs, after a Liquor and Gaming NSW investigation found it had been giving students answers to exam questions.
According to Liquor and Gaming NSW, tests, exams and assessments for RSA certification must be conducted with integrity, and trainers must not provide students with answers before a test is over. The investigation into the company found several instances where students were either given correct answers or help with answering questions during exams.
In August 2018, a trainer was seen during an exam telling students the correct answers either verbally, or by using a pen to point at the right option on the paper.
Then in February and March 2019, Liquor and Gaming NSW inspectors went undercover and enrolled in RSA courses at the company. They found trainers giving students exam answers multiple times, including by noting the question number next to the answer on a PowerPoint slide, and even leaving students unsupervised in an exam.
The case was heard at Downing Centre Local Court by Magistrate Susan McIntyre, who said it was a “woeful failure” by the training provider.
“Excessive consumption and non-responsible service of alcohol can lead to harm, injury and death,” Magistrate McIntyre said.
The company was fined $7,500 and ordered to pay legal costs of $3,675.
Liquor and Gaming NSW Director of Compliance Operations, Sean Goodchild, said the integrity of the RSA training and certification process is vital to the NSW Government’s efforts to curb alcohol-related harm.
Goodchild said: “The vast majority of RSA training providers do the right thing and take their responsibilities very seriously, but this case shows rogue operators who try to cheat the system will be caught and face serious consequences.”