Become A Referee

There are so many different reasons to become a referee. It’s a great way to:
1. Earn some extra money
2. Give back to the game you love 
3. Stay fit and active 
4. Build leadership skills like effective communication and decision-making. 

To become a referee, you must be 13 years of age or over and you will need to complete the Football Australia Online Laws of the Game Course as well as completing a Level 4 Referee Course.

1. Complete your “Learner Registration – Referee” on PlayFootball – REGISTER HERE ($0).
– Please note this registration provides access to the online Learning Centre (etrainu) and is not a registration for the NSFRA
2. Complete the Football Australia Online Laws of the Game – this is a free online course that provides an introduction to the Laws of the Game to help you on your journey to become a referee – see FNSW guide HERE
3. Complete a Level 4 Referee Course with the NSFRA. This involves online theory modules as well as an in-person practical course – course dates can be found below.
4. Register with the NSFRA through the PlayFootball link above and pay the $155 registration cost (not including the $30 payment to Football Australia to do the course)
5. Collect your uniform (3x shirts, shorts, socks, whistle, linesman flags, cards and notebooks) from the NSFA office in Pymble on Friday afternoons between 3-5pm.  

Detailed information and how to complete all of the above steps will be provided once courses for 2026 have been finalised. Please note that Referees must have completed all online training modules to be eligible to enrol and attend the Level 4 course in person.

1. Sunday 15th February @ Warrimoo Oval (9am-3pm) – ENROL HERE
2. Sunday 22nd February @ Warrimoo Oval (9am-3pm) – ENROL HERE
3. Sunday 8th March @ Montview Oval (9am-3pm) – ENROL HERE
4. Saturday 21st March @ Berowra Oval (9am-3pm) – ENROL HERE

*Note: All pre-requisite training modules and enrolment must be complete in the Learning Centre to be able to attend the course. New Referees must attend at least 1 of these dates for the entire scheduled time.
*Update: The Football Australia Learning Centre is currently not working on Google Chrome and can only be accessed from other browsers (or Google Chrome in Incognito Mode). To access these links, please copy them to another browser.

All Junior Referees registering with the NSFRA in 2026 are required to apply for a Working With Children exemption in the PlayFootball registration process.
Please follow the attached guide (HERE) for details on how to do this and how to edit a registration once it is submitted.

SENIOR REFEREE WWC INFORMATION
All Senior Referees (18+) are required to supply a Paid WWC Number from Service NSW
Please follow this guide (HERE) if you need to edit your registration to provide a Paid WWC Number.

NSFRA Referees are paid according to the FootballNSW Community Football Match Payments.
Note: a 10% levy is taken out of referee payments to fund the operations of the NSFRA including providing support to registered referees.