Quick answer
Coaching roles, fines and registration
FNSW's Coaching Qualifications 2027 & 2028 document sets the minimum licence for every coaching role, and the rules around those roles: which ones a club must fill, what one person may combine, and what happens when a coach falls short. The minimums themselves are in What coaching qualifications are required for my staff? and, for senior leagues, What coaching qualifications do senior coaches need?.
- Technical Director: mandatory in every league, including the Mixed and Girls' JDL.
- Head of MJDL and Head of GJDL: mandatory.
- Head of Boys' Youth League and Head of Girls' Youth League: optional. If the club appoints one, they must meet the minimum (a B Diploma).
- Head coach: mandatory for every grade of every league.
- Assistant and goalkeeping coaches: optional. If appointed, they must meet their role's minimum.
Everyone in these roles must be registered through the National Registration System. The club's Technical Director can also be a Head of Program, as long as they meet that role's minimum too.
A full-time Technical Director or Head of Program can take on up to two additional roles, as long as the main role isn't compromised.
A part-time Technical Director may take on one of these in addition:
- coach one U13–U18 team;
- coach one MJDL or GJDL team;
- Head of Program for MJDL and GJDL;
- Head of Program for BYL or GYL;
- head coach of one grade plus assistant coach of one grade.
A part-time Head of MJDL/GJDL or Head of BYL/GYL has the same choice, with the other Head of Program role in place of their own.
A head coach may also coach one MJDL or GJDL team, or be the Technical Director for MJDL and GJDL.
On the FNSW scorecard, a coach who fills two Technical Qualifications roles scores half points for the second. That is the Club Standards rule, separate from what FNSW permits here.
FNSW fines the club the cost of the course the coach needs. FNSW's own example: a coach who needs a B Diploma for the 2027 season but holds a C Diploma brings a fine of $2,350. If a B Diploma course runs later that football year (April, say) and the coach enrols, the fine goes towards that course.
If a coach in a mandatory role leaves, the club has up to four weeks to appoint a fully accredited replacement. After that, FNSW fines the club the cost of the course the vacant role requires.
All coaches must be registered through the National Registration System by close of business Monday 1 February 2027. Coaches must be qualified to receive their Coaching ID card.
Tell FNSW's Competitions Department by email within 7 days of any roster change: a coach leaving, a new appointment, an updated accreditation, or a newly submitted SIA certificate.
FNSW won't accept an expired licence, and the coach can't get a Coaching ID card on it, until it is reinstated. There are two ways:
- Do the course again. For example, complete the FA C Diploma.
- Complete 15 hours of CPD set by Football Australia. Up to 13 hours can be online modules, depending on the qualification: 13 hours are available for an A Diploma, 10 for a B and 5 for a C. The rest are Coach Approved Workshops (2 CPD hours each, in person or online).
Both are booked through the FA Learning Centre. The online modules are under Training Library → Football Australia Expired Qualification CPD Modules, and the workshops under Training Event, searching for Coach Approved Workshop. You can enrol in workshops run by other member federations.
In Clubhouse, a licence past its expiry date no longer counts towards What FNSW requires on the coach's Qualifications tab: the role it would cover is marked Expired. Once it's reinstated, edit the qualification and update its expiry date.
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