Which Biosecurity Training Do You Need? Awareness, Accredited Person, or TFO
"Biosecurity training" isn't one thing. For New Zealand businesses working with imported goods, there are three distinct courses — biosecurity awareness, Accredited Person, and Transitional Facility Operator — each for a different role and obligation. Here's how to tell which one applies to you.
Three types of training, three different jobs
People often use "biosecurity training" as a catch-all, but the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) recognises three separate things, and they are not interchangeable. Choosing the wrong one wastes money — or worse, leaves a compliance gap. The three are:
Biosecurity awareness — the baseline understanding every person working at a transitional facility needs.
Transitional Facility Operator (TFO) — for the person responsible for running an approved facility.
Accredited Person (AP) — for the person who checks imported containers for biosecurity risk.
The quickest way to see the difference is side by side.
Biosecurity Awareness
Transitional Facility Operator (TFO)
Accredited Person (AP)
Who it's for
All staff working at a transitional facility
The person responsible for operating the facility
The person who checks imported containers for biosecurity risk
What it covers
What biosecurity is and how it is managed at the facility
Operating an approved facility in line with MPI requirements
How to check a container for biosecurity risks and MPI reporting requirements
How you complete it
MPI's biosecurity awareness training module
Complete and pass an approved operator training course
Complete and pass an MPI-approved Accredited Person course
MPI approval needed?
No formal MPI approval — the operator signs off completion
Yes — you must also be approved by MPI
Yes — you must be approved by MPI
Proof / record
Printable certificate from the module, filed by the operator
MPI operator approval
MPI accreditation
1. Biosecurity awareness — the baseline for everyone on site
All staff working at a transitional facility need to understand what biosecurity is and how it is managed. This awareness training is available free online: QCONZ offers the MPI Biosecurity Awareness module itself, while the Capability Solutions Biosecurity Awareness course covers the same essentials plus additional practical content of its own.
This is the lightest-touch training of the three. There's no separate MPI approval step — instead, the transitional facility operator signs off that each staff member has completed it. The module produces a certificate at the end that staff can print, and the operator files it as proof of completion. If you work in, drive into, or move around a transitional facility, awareness training is your starting point.
2. Transitional Facility Operator (TFO) training
The Transitional Facility Operator is the person responsible for running an approved facility. To become one, MPI requires that you complete and pass an approved operator training course and be approved by MPI. The operator carries the day-to-day responsibility for the facility meeting its biosecurity obligations — so this training goes well beyond awareness into how an approved facility actually has to be run.
If you're standing up or taking over responsibility for a facility, this is the training tied to your role. For the wider picture of what that responsibility involves, see our guide to what a transitional facility is and what operators must do.
3. Accredited Person (AP) training
An Accredited Person is authorised by MPI to carry out specific biosecurity activities — most commonly, checking imported sea and air containers. To become one, you must complete and pass an MPI-approved Accredited Person course. These courses outline what to do when checking a container for biosecurity risks, and the MPI reporting requirements that go with it.
Any transitional facility that receives sea or air containers must have an approved Accredited Person available. If checking containers is part of your job, AP training and MPI approval is what you need.
Start with Transitional Facility Health & Safety Training
Our online course helps staff understand biosecurity and how to work safely with MPI requirements at a transitional facility — a solid foundation before, or alongside, formal AP or TFO accreditation.
You work in or around a transitional facility (any role) → start with biosecurity awareness. It's the minimum everyone on site needs.
You're responsible for operating the facility → you need TFO training and MPI operator approval.
You check or inspect imported containers for biosecurity risk → you need Accredited Person training and MPI accreditation.
Key Point
Many people need more than one. A small operation might have a single person who runs the facility and checks containers — that person needs both TFO and AP training. One individual can hold both the operator and the Accredited Person roles.
Where to get MPI-approved training
Biosecurity awareness is available free online — QCONZ offers the MPI awareness module, and Capability Solutions offers its own awareness course. TFO and Accredited Person training, however, must be delivered by an MPI-approved training provider. MPI publishes the list of approved providers — including QCONZ Training, SPS Biosecurity, IVS, the New Zealand Biosecurity Academy, and Biosecurity & Training South — as a register maintained under the Biosecurity Act 1993.
Awareness training does not make someone an Accredited Person, and AP training does not make someone an approved operator. Each role has its own training and, for TFO and AP, its own MPI approval. Don't assume one covers another.
Key Takeaway
Awareness is for everyone on site, TFO is for whoever runs the facility, and AP is for whoever checks the containers. Map each person's role to the right course, remember that some people need two, and use an MPI-approved provider for the TFO and AP training.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between biosecurity awareness and Accredited Person training?
Biosecurity awareness is the baseline understanding every staff member at a transitional facility needs, delivered through MPI's awareness module. Accredited Person training is a separate, MPI-approved course for people who check imported containers for biosecurity risk, and it requires MPI approval. Awareness training does not make someone an Accredited Person.
Does every transitional facility worker need training?
Yes. All staff working at a transitional facility need to understand what biosecurity is and how it is managed. MPI provides a biosecurity awareness training module for this, and the facility operator signs off that each staff member has completed it.
What training does a transitional facility operator need?
To be a transitional facility operator you must complete and pass an approved operator training course and be approved by MPI. This is more in-depth than awareness training because the operator is responsible for the facility meeting its biosecurity obligations.
Can one person be both the operator and the Accredited Person?
Yes. One individual can hold both roles, but they need the training and MPI approval for each — TFO training and operator approval, plus Accredited Person training and accreditation.
Who provides MPI-approved AP and TFO training?
MPI publishes a register of approved providers, which includes QCONZ Training, SPS Biosecurity, Independent Verification Services (IVS), the New Zealand Biosecurity Academy, and Biosecurity & Training South. Contact a provider directly for course locations and dates.