Become a master composter

Are you an experienced and passionate composter who would like to inspire others in your community?

Brisbane City Council offers a free two-day advanced training course in composting to help you gain further skills and knowledge so that you can encourage others in your local community (e.g. retirement village, apartment complex, local school, kindy etc.) to take up composting.

About the course

The Master Composter course is a combination of online learning modules and 1.5 days of in-person sessions. Following the completion of the course, participants are required to use their new skills by completing 20 hours of volunteer work (within 12 months of completing the training) on food recycling in the community before receiving their Master Composter certificate.

The course provides in-depth training on:

  • the science of composting
  • composting methods
  • other food recycling techniques (such as worm farming, bokashi, and black soldier fly larvae)
  • troubleshooting
  • facilitation skills 
  • helping others learn about composting.

Master Composter course booklet

This course book is designed to be a reference which accompanies the course. The course will follow part of the material in this booklet and in roughly the same order.

Download the booklet in your preferred format:

Eligibility requirements

To be considered for the course you must:

  • have current working knowledge of composting or worm farming, either composting at your own home or at a community garden
  • be willing and able to attend 1.5 days of in-person training 
  • be willing and able to complete 20 hours of volunteer work (within 12 months of completing the training) which promotes and assists composting in the community.

Examples of volunteer work include:

  • volunteering at a community composting hub 
  • volunteering at a school, retirement home, workplace, or community centre to help with composting
  • running compost workshops
  • providing information to the public on composting at community events (e.g. fetes, fairs).

After completing your volunteer hours, you will receive a certificate of completion.

Course dates

Dates to be confirmed in early 2025.

Online learning modules openTo be advised
In-person training day 19am-12pm
In-person training day 29am-4pm

The Master Composter course is held twice yearly. Complete this online form to submit your expression of interest for the next course.

You will receive an email when the new course dates have been confirmed.

More information 

Last updated:
Topics: compost

Brisbane City Council acknowledges this Country and its Traditional Custodians. We pay our respects to the Elders, those who have passed into the Dreaming; those here today; those of tomorrow.