Food business classifications
The class 1 service sector includes food businesses that provide meals to vulnerable persons such as:
- children in child services
- aged care establishments
- patients in hospitals
The class 2 service sector that prepare and serve potentially hazardous food for example:
- cafes, restaurants & takeaway food outlets
- mobile food vehicles or food carts
- juice bars
The class 3 service sector that prepare and serve low risk foods such as:
- bars serving beverages
- bed and breakfasts preparing and serving low-risk food such as cereal and toast
- cafes preparing and serving low-risk food
- cake decoration shops (no baking)
The class 4 service sector that sell low-risk prepackaged food:
- confectionery shops selling prepackaged chocolate and sugar-based confectionery
- green grocers and fruit stalls selling whole or uncut fruit only
- liquor bottle shops
- newsagents and pharmacists selling prepackaged food such as gum, packaged confectionery, bottled water and soft drinks
- service stations selling low-risk prepackaged food such as gum and soft drinks
Please visit health.vic to obtain a more comprehensive list of some predetermined food business classifications.
Fixed
- Examples include: café, restaurant, kiosk and warehouse.
- If you are planning on renovating an existing business or starting a new establishment you will need to follow the application process.
- Please refer to information below to assist with renovating or constructing a fixed food premises.
Food Standards Code
Food Act 1984
Guidelines-for-the-Design-and-Construction-of-Food-Premises(PDF, 382KB)
Supplement-1-Wash-Basin-Requirements(PDF, 580KB)
Starting restaurant business video
Home based
- Home food business may include baking and food storage of items used for mobile food premises or market stalls.
- Home food businesses must comply with the requirements of the Food Act and Food Standards Code.
- Follow the application process to register your home food business.
- Please refer to information below to ensure your kitchen meets the requirements.
Home-based-food-busineses-A2584897.pdf(PDF, 866KB)
Starting home based food business video
Planning application fact sheet: Running business from home(PDF, 461KB)
Temporary & Mobile Vehicles
- All temporary food premises and mobile vehicles must be registered on Streatrader.
- Streatrader is the online system for businesses and community groups to register and notify their temporary and mobile food premises with their registering council.
- A temporary food premises is a structure that is not permanently fixed to a site. For example: tent, stall, marquee or use of a kitchen not owned or leased by the food business.
- A mobile vehicles can include food vans, carts, caravans or trucks, coffee vans or trailers.
- Once we receive your application on streatrader, an officer will be in contact with you to ensure the classification is correct and a fee will be generated based on the type of activity you will be doing.
- Mobile vehicles need to also follow our application process to ensure the vehicle complies with food standard codes.
Once you are registered with Council and Streatrader you need to lodge a ‘Statement of trade’ (SOT). This is letting Council know where and when you plan to sell food and/or drink. This is required under the Food Act 1984 (the Act) for operators who sell to the public from a temporary or mobile food premises. You must lodge a SOT prior to trading to have complied with your legal obligations under the Act. However, other laws may also apply to your trading. For example, you may need:
- permission from Council (Local Laws Department) to operate on council land, or if trading on a street, etc.
- permission from the land owner if you intend to operate on private land
- permission from the event organiser, if operating at events or markets
- other required licences – such as a liquor licence (if applicable).
Training & Record keeping