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Free online course · New Zealand

Transitional Facility Health and Safety

Working Safely with MPI. Free training for anyone working at a New Zealand Transitional Facility: know your health and safety duties, handle imported goods safely, and work within MPI's requirements with confidence.

Free Self-paced online For Transitional Facility teams Working Safely with MPI

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A Transitional Facility is where imported goods and sea containers are held and unpacked under the oversight of the Ministry for Primary Industries. It is busy, physical work, and the people doing it carry real health and safety duties. This free course gives Transitional Facility teams the knowledge to work safely with imported goods and within MPI's requirements, in short online lessons on any device.

Who is this course for?

It is for operators, staff and contractors working at a New Zealand Transitional Facility: the people who receive, unpack and handle imported goods and sea containers. It suits new starters at induction and whole sites completing a health and safety refresher. No prior knowledge is needed.

Workers in hi-vis checking in at the entrance of a New Zealand Transitional Facility with container trucks and loading docks behind

Where you work

Built for the Transitional Facility floor

Transitional Facilities sit at the front line of New Zealand's border. The course is written for that setting: real tasks, real hazards, and the shared duty of care between the site operator, every worker, and MPI. It keeps things practical so each person knows what safe looks like on their site.

Working safely with MPI

What the course gives your team

Four things every Transitional Facility worker needs to be clear on. Tap each card to see what it covers.

Tap or select a card to flip it.

What the course covers

Short, focused lessons take your team through the essentials of working safely on a Transitional Facility:

  1. Health and safety on a TF siteYour obligations at an MPI-approved Transitional Facility
  2. Receiving and handling goodsSafe procedures for imported goods and sea containers
  3. Working within MPI's requirementsThe operational rules that apply on site
  4. Roles and responsibilitiesWho does what under MPI oversight

Why it matters

Every imported container opened on your site is both a health and safety task and a biosecurity moment.

Getting the handling right protects your people and helps keep unwanted pests out of New Zealand. This course sets the baseline for both.

A supervisor and a worker reviewing paperwork on a laptop in a New Zealand facility, planning safe handling on the floor behind them

Shared duty of care

Everyone on site has a part to play

Working safely on a Transitional Facility is a shared responsibility between the operator, every worker and MPI. The course makes each person's role clear, so induction, refreshers and day-to-day work all point the same way, and your training records show it.

Handling imported goods also means watching for biosecurity risks. Warm your team up with the free Border Watch pest-spotting challenge, or pair this with the free Biosecurity Awareness course.

Is this the Accredited Person qualification?

About this course: this is free workplace health and safety awareness training for working safely on a Transitional Facility. It is not the formal Accredited Person (AP) accreditation, which is a separate paid pathway delivered by QCONZ. If you need AP status to inspect and oversee container unpacking, see the QCONZ AP course. Completion of this course is recorded so you have documented evidence for your training records.

Enrol your team, free

Free to enrol, NZD

Enrol one worker or your whole site at no cost. Access is immediate, the lessons are self-paced, and every completion is recorded for your training records.

Start the free course

Free · self-paced · works on any phone, tablet or laptop

Common questions

Who should do this course?

Anyone working at a Transitional Facility: operators, staff and contractors who receive, unpack or handle imported goods and sea containers under MPI oversight.

Is it really free?

Yes. It is free to enrol, for one worker or a whole site, and completion is recorded so you have documented evidence for your training records.

How is this different from Biosecurity Awareness?

Biosecurity Awareness focuses on spotting and reporting unwanted pests. This course focuses on health and safety while working on a Transitional Facility under MPI's requirements. Many sites do both.

Do we get something for our records?

Yes. Every completion is recorded, giving you practical evidence for your health and safety and training files.

Related: Pair with the free Biosecurity Awareness course, read why warehouse and freight teams are NZ's biosecurity front line, or browse the full course library.