Fake Training Certificates: How to Verify One With the RTO

Most businesses have a folder of training certificates. First aid, working at heights, traffic management, the forklift ticket. They were handed over at induction, scanned, and filed. Very few were ever checked with the organisation that supposedly issued them.

Tilt-shift miniature of a site office where a figure holds a training certificate up to a lamp while a worker in hi-vis waits at the door — A certificate on file is a record. It becomes evidence of competence when someone has confirmed it with whoever issued it.

This week WorkSafe Victoria gave employers a reason to start.

Short answer

To check a training certificate, look up the training provider (the RTO) and the unit code on training.gov.au, then confirm the certificate with the RTO using the contact details from training.gov.au, not the ones printed on the certificate. Alternatively, ask the worker to share an online USI transcript and scan its QR code. For high risk work licences, search the state regulator’s licence register or sight the original card. For tasks where a mistake could seriously hurt someone, run a practical verification of competency as well.

What happened this week

On 13 October 2026 WorkSafe Victoria said it was investigating after intelligence shared by other agencies showed individuals had allegedly sought fraudulent qualification certificates, which may have been used to claim competencies they do not have. It gave first aid, implementing traffic management plans and working safely at heights as examples of where a false qualification creates risk. These are not high risk work licences, and the certificates cannot be used to obtain a WorkSafe licence, but WorkSafe said any high risk work licence holders linked to the alleged fraud would be audited. It issued a safety alert telling employers to verify qualifications with the relevant registered training organisation and to report suspected fraud to police.

The same day, Victoria Police’s Taskforce Hawk charged a Mount Martha man with 232 counts of making a false document over false construction and workplace qualifications. Neither WorkSafe nor police has said the two matters are connected.

It is not a Victorian problem. In 2025 Workplace Health and Safety Queensland referred suspected forged high risk work licences to police, and two people were charged.

Why a certificate is not evidence until someone checks it

Clause 7.2 of ISO 45001 and ISO 9001 asks you to retain documented information as evidence of competence. A certificate in a personnel file looks like exactly that, and most audits sample the file and move on.

But a document is only evidence if it is true. A forged first aid certificate does not make anyone able to do CPR, and a fake heights ticket does not teach anyone how to inspect a harness. The record exists; the competence does not. And under the WHS laws, the duty to make sure workers are trained and competent sits with the business, not with whoever printed the certificate.

So the question for your system is simple: for the certificates you rely on, has anyone confirmed them with the issuer? Our guide to clause 7.2 competence covers the rest of the clause.

How to check a training certificate, step by step

1. Check the RTO and the unit on training.gov.au

Every nationally recognised certificate or statement of attainment should show the RTO’s name and code and the code of each unit or qualification. Look them up on training.gov.au, the national register.

Does the RTO exist, with that code and that name?
Is the unit or qualification real, and was it current when the certificate was issued?
Was it on the RTO’s scope of registration at the time? An RTO generally cannot issue a qualification or unit that is not on its scope (ASQA).

A mismatch at this step is a red flag before you have even picked up the phone.

2. Confirm it with the RTO

Contact the RTO and ask it to confirm the certificate was issued to that person, for that unit, on that date. Use the contact details from training.gov.au or the RTO’s own website, never the phone number or email printed on the certificate, because a forger controls those. Expect the RTO to need the worker’s consent before it discusses their records, so build consent into your induction paperwork.

If the RTO has closed, it should have handed its student records to the regulator. ASQA keeps a list of closed RTOs whose records it holds, although not every closed RTO is on it.

3. Or ask for a USI transcript

Every student doing nationally recognised training has a Unique Student Identifier. Workers can log in and share an online VET transcript for anywhere between one week and six months. The PDF carries a QR code and link you can use to confirm the records online.

Two limits: it only covers nationally recognised training completed since 1 January 2015, and the worker has to choose to share it. A worker who will not share a transcript for a certificate they say they hold is telling you something.

4. Check high risk work licences on the regulator’s register

High risk work licences (forklift, boom-type EWP of 11 metres or more, scaffolding, rigging, dogging, cranes and the rest) are issued by state and territory regulators, not RTOs, so check them with the regulator:

NSW: search the register through Service NSW by name or licence number. It shows current, expired, suspended and cancelled licences.
Queensland: use WHSQ’s online high risk work licence register, and sight the original physical card. WHSQ says not to accept electronic copies.
Northern Territory: NT WorkSafe has an online licence check.
Elsewhere: if your regulator does not offer a public search, contact its licensing team and sight the original card.

5. Know the red flags

An RTO code or name that does not match training.gov.au.
A unit code that was superseded, or not on the RTO’s scope, at the issue date.
Dates that do not add up: a course completed before the unit existed, or a certificate older than the worker’s time in the industry.
A generic template, inconsistent fonts or a low-quality scan of something that should be a crisp original.
Reluctance to share a USI transcript or produce the original licence card.

Contractors and labour hire

The same checks apply to people you did not hire directly. Under ISO 45001 clause 8.1.4 you need to control the risks contractors bring, and that includes whether the people on your site are actually competent. Decide, in writing, who does the checking: you, or the labour-hire provider under contract. If it is the provider, ask for the evidence that they did it, not just a promise. Our articles on contractor management and ISO 9001 clause 8.4 and ISO 45001 clause 8.1.4 cover the wider process.

Even a genuine certificate is not the end

A real certificate proves someone passed a course, sometimes years ago, somewhere else, on different equipment. For tasks where a mistake could seriously hurt someone, a practical verification of competency on your own plant shows whether they can actually do the job here. Our free VoC assessment form is in the clause 7.2 guide.

Building it into your system

Record the check, not just the certificate. Note who issued it, how you verified it, who did it and when.
Verify before you rely on it. Make the check part of onboarding for anyone whose certificate permits higher-risk work.
Sample it at internal audit. Pick a handful of certificates and verify them with the issuer. An internal audit that only reads the file will never find a forgery.
Decide in advance what happens if a check fails. Stop the person doing that task, record it, and report suspected fraud to police.

Our free training and competency register now includes an Evidence Log tab for exactly this: one row per certificate or licence, with the issuer, the verification method and the result. A failed check shows up in black on the register so nobody can miss it.

Fake training certificates: FAQs

How do I check if a training certificate is real?

Look up the RTO and unit codes on training.gov.au, then confirm the certificate with the RTO using contact details from training.gov.au, or ask the worker to share an online USI transcript and scan its QR code.

Can an RTO refuse to confirm a certificate?

An RTO may decline to discuss a student’s records without the student’s consent, for privacy reasons. Get written consent at induction so verification is routine rather than awkward.

What if the RTO has closed?

Closed RTOs are meant to transfer student records to the regulator. Check ASQA’s list of closed RTOs whose records it holds, or ask the worker for a USI transcript, which covers training completed since 2015.

Do we have to re-check existing workers?

There is no rule that says you must, but if you have never verified the certificates that allow people to do higher-risk work, start with those roles. WorkSafe Victoria’s advice to employers is to verify qualifications with the relevant RTO.

What should we do if a certificate turns out to be fake?

Stop the person doing the work that relies on it, record what you found, and report suspected fraud to police. Then check whether anyone else’s certificates came from the same source, and review your onboarding so it cannot happen the same way again.

How Streamline can help

Streamline builds and audits ISO 45001 and ISO 9001 management systems for Australian organisations, and you deal directly with an experienced ISO Lead Auditor. Our internal audits test competence records against the issuer, not just the file, and ISO mentoring helps your own people build checks like these into the system. If you would like a hand, get in touch.

General information only, not legal advice. Licensing arrangements and verification services differ between states and territories and change over time; check with your regulator.

Sources

Published 14 October 2026 | Facts checked 16 October 2026 | Next review April 2027 | Jurisdiction: Australia, with state licensing differences noted | Edition: ISO 45001:2018 and ISO 9001:2026

General guidance only. This article is general information, not legal, financial, safety or compliance advice, and it does not take account of your specific circumstances. Streamline ISO Consultants are ISO management-system consultants, not lawyers or licensed advisers. Standards, laws and regulator guidance change, and details were correct only at the time of writing. Always seek professional advice before acting. See our full Disclaimer.