RCG on Your Resume: Pub, Club and Gaming Jobs in Australia

If you're job hunting in Australian pubs and clubs, you'll keep seeing three letters in the ads: RCG. Plenty of newcomers have an RSA ready and still miss out on interviews because the ad said "RSA and RCG" — and their resume only showed one. This guide covers what the RCG is, who actually needs it, and exactly where to put your RCG on your resume so it gets seen in the first scan.

This guide builds on the full guide to the Australian resume format, and pairs with where to put your RSA — the two tickets usually travel together.

What an RCG is — in plain English

RCG stands for Responsible Conduct of Gambling. It's a short training certificate for people who work in venues with gaming machines (the "pokies") — mainly in New South Wales, where a huge share of pubs and registered clubs have a gaming room. The course covers the rules around gaming: signage, payouts, helping patrons who show signs of problem gambling, and what staff legally can and can't do.

Here's the practical part: in NSW, a venue generally can't roster you in the gaming room without it. And because a casual shift in a pub often moves between the bar, the floor and the gaming room, many venues simply screen for both tickets — RSA for the bar, RCG for the gaming room — even if the ad's headline is just "bar staff".

One honest note: gaming rules are state-based, and the names differ outside NSW. Other states run their own versions with their own course names, and some interstate roles don't need a gaming ticket at all. Before you book anything, check the ad and the liquor & gaming authority for the state where you'll actually work.

Where to put your RCG on your resume

Exactly where your RSA goes — near the top, in plain text:

• In a Certifications or Licences line, high up. Right under your contact details or summary:
  • Certifications: RSA (NSW), RCG (NSW) — both current
• In your one-line summary. For example: "Hospitality all-rounder with current RSA and RCG, comfortable across bar, floor and gaming, available nights and weekends."

The same three details that matter for the RSA matter here:

• Name the state — "RCG (NSW)", not just "RCG".
• Say "current" — it tells the venue you can be rostered immediately.
• Plain text, never inside an image. Scanning software (an ATS) reads text; a ticket buried in a graphic can be invisible to it. If you're not sure what software sees in your resume, run the free resume checker and look at what it picks up.

And the golden rule of ads: mirror the exact words. If the ad says "RSA & RCG essential", your resume should contain "RSA" and "RCG" — those exact tokens — near the top.

RSA + RCG: why the pair beats either one alone

Think of it from the roster manager's side. A Friday night shift might need someone on the bar at 7pm, clearing the floor at 9pm and covering the gaming room at 11pm. A worker who holds both tickets can do all three — one name on the roster instead of two. That's why "RSA + RCG" candidates can be easier to place, and why many NSW job ads treat the pair as the entry ticket.

If you're choosing what to get first: get the RSA first (it unlocks the most doors in hospitality), then add the RCG if your target venues are pubs and clubs — especially outside the big-city café scene, where gaming rooms are common. Many training providers bundle the two on the same day, often with a package discount. As always, costs and formats vary by state and provider — treat prices you see online as a rough range and check an approved provider directly.

Never list a ticket you don't hold

Same firm rule as every certificate: only list an RCG you actually hold and can prove. Venues check — often on your first shift. If a role needs it and you don't have it yet, the honest move is also the fast one: book the course (it's short), then update your resume the same week.

Put it all together

A gaming-ready NSW resume top looks something like this:

Maria Silva · Bondi, Sydney NSW · 04xx xxx xxx · maria@email.com Hospitality all-rounder with current RSA and RCG, cash handling and POS experience, available 7 days. Certifications: RSA (NSW), RCG (NSW) — both current

Tickets up top, in plain text, state named, "current" stated — then let your experience do the rest. If you want the whole resume in that shape without fighting a template, the builder does it in the correct Australian format, and you can preview it free.