The Australian Sport Commission have available two free online courses that offer recognised accreditation and may currently be a component of your sport's coaching or officiating (referees/umpires) accreditation. For example, the Offciating Course is now a requirement of the Level 1 Umpire accreditation for Netball and the Coaching Course is equivalent to Coaching General Principles Level 1.

FREE Online officiating course

• A major benefit of the online course is that officials can complete it in their own time, from the comfort of their home.
• The Introductory Officiating General Principles online course has been developed to assist officials in learning the basic skills they will need to officiate effectively.

The online course is initially available free of charge to Australian officials.

Enrolling
To enrol in the course go to the Australian Sports Commission’s online learning portal at https://learning.ausport.gov.au. From the portal you can obtain further information on the course requirements, including viewing some ‘taster’ pages. If you have any problems enrolling, email officialonline@ausport.gov.au for assistance.

About the course
The course contains three modules, which cover a range of general officiating topics, including ethical responsibilities of officials, preparation for officiating, safety, communication, dealing with conflict and people management. The course takes approximately four hours to complete, and there is assessment included within the course. Officials have six months to complete the course after they register.

FREE Online coaching course

The Beginning Coaching General Principles online course has been developed to assist coaches to learn the basic skills of coaching. It is especially aimed at people coaching children.

The online course is currently available free of charge to Australian coaches.
Enrolling
To enrol in the course go to the Australian Sports Commission’s online learning portal at https://learning.ausport.gov.au. From the portal you can obtain further information on the course requirements, including viewing some ‘taster’ pages. If you have any problems enrolling, email coachonline@ausport.gov.au for assistance.

About the course
The course contains five modules, covering a range of general coaching topics including; the role and responsibilities expected of a coach, planning, safety, working with parents, communication, group management and inclusive coaching practices when working with people with a disability or special population groups.

The course takes approximately six hours to complete, and there is assessment included within the course. Coaches have six months to complete the course after they register. The online course can be used as part of the training for coaches within the Active After-school Communities program.

Becoming an accredited coach
The online course can provide the first step towards accreditation. Your national or state sporting organisation can provide more information on the sport specific requirements to achieve National Coaching Accreditation Scheme (NCAS) accreditation.