Want to expand your career in food production?


The Australian horticulture industry employs 60,000 permanent employees and 100,000 contractors during peak harvest. With 15,000+ producers and borders open again to migrant workers post the pandemic, there are plenty of opportunities!


What matters most to producers when hiring new workers?


Achieving excellence in food safety and quality assurance.  Ensuring a deep food safety culture to avoid food recalls and their costly impacts to brand reputation and bottom line.


Whether you want to be a grower, farm hand, packer, processor, or retailer, you need the food safety and quality assurance knowledge that the horticulture industry is looking for. 


How do you acquire the skills you need:

  • quickly and conveniently 100% online

  • with a digital badge to verify your learning, and 

  • at an affordable price?


With Assurance Essentials – your industry-led solution for food safety standards awareness and compliance.

Start today

Are you a business wanting to upskill your team with food safety training?

Click this banner to learn how Assurance Essentials can benefit your business with a tailored training package.

Course Outline

Assurance Essentials is broken down into an Introduction and five key learning Units, covering everything from documentation to audit requirements. 

You'll learn about the importance of training and development for staff, how to ensure traceability through the supply chain, and best practices for internal and external audits. We'll also teach you about incident management and recall procedures, so you'll be well-prepared in the event of an emergency.

The course is 100% online with 12 months' enrolment to allow a flexible learning schedule for busy people. 

Each Unit takes approximately 2 - 4 hours to complete and can be done in any order at your own pace. 

  • Unit 1 – Documentation Outlines the principles of good documentation and records management

  • Unit 2 – People, Training, and Development Explores how good documentation links to business operations through people and continuous improvement

  • Unit 3 – Supporting Food Safety Covers the major risks to food safety and tools to manage the risks

  • Unit 4 – Traceability, Incident Management, and Recall Outlines how to ensure batches of product can be identified and tracked through the supply chain, essential in incident management and product recall situations.

  • Unit 5 – Internal and External Audits Shows how to prepare and conduct essential audits and address Corrective Action Records (CARs) wth corrective and preventative actions

  • Each unit in the course takes approximately 2 hours to complete and can be done in any order at your own pace. Enrolments are valid for 12 months

Endorsed by Freshcare

Assurance Essentials was developed in partnership with Freshcare Limited – the Australian industry-owned organisation providing internationally recognised assurance standards for the fresh produce and wine grape industries. 

The course is richly illustrated with downloadable examples of documentation used in Freshcare standards and has been extensively tested by industry professionals with excellent feedback. 

The course is 100% online with 12 months' enrolment to allow busy people a flexible learning schedule.

Upon completion, you'll receive a secure, verifiable digital badge aand certificate endorsed by Freshcare demonstrating your commitment to excellence in food safety and quality assurance. The badge can be shared on your CV for your employer.

Graduate Testimonials

Our growing community of Assurance Essentials graduates have experienced many exciting opportunities by completing the course. Here’s what they say:

Take your career to the next level

Make a smart investment in your professional development with Assurance Essentials and experience these benefits and opportunities:

  • Gain practical knowledge and skills...

    Access comprehensive training on meeting food safety and quality standards, including examples of documentation, people management, food safety, traceability, incident management, and audit

  • Meet industry standards.....

    Demonstrate your food safety and quality assurance acumen with a Freshcare endorsed digital badge, recognised throughout the Australian and international horticulture and wine industries

  • Enhance your career prospects...

    Wherever you are in the supply chain – from manufacturing, distribution, to retail – or if you’re completely new to the industry, gain a competitive edge in the job market and improve your career prospects.

2 Payment Plans

You can pay upfront or spread your payment over 3 months

Sample Lessons

Click on this banner to experience Assurance Essentials in action with our sample lessons.

Find out more...

Click on this banner for our food safety videos