All businesses that sell or handle food must be registered with one of the suitable registration authorities, under the Food Act 1984.
The Department of Health have recently implemented changes to the Food Act legislation which may affect your current Food Act registration with Council. To find out if these changes affect your Food Act business registration please complete the eService online form
Most businesses should register with Council where their business is located or their food vehicle is garaged. This includes businesses such as supermarkets, restaurants, cafes, convenience stores, bakeries and fish and chip shops.
If your business is predominately involved in meat or seafood processing (such as butchers, boning rooms, and fish mongers), you must be registered with PrimeSafe.
PrimeSafe
PO Box 2057
South Melbourne VIC 3205
P: 9685 7333
F: 9696 5284
Visit the PrimeSafe website
If your business is involved in dairy processing or manufacturing (such as cheese, yogurt and milk manufacturers), you must register with Dairy Food Safety Victoria.
Dairy Food Safety Victoria
PO Box 8221 Camberwell North VIC 3124
P: 9810 5900
F: 9882 6860
Visit the Dairy Food Safety Victoria website
Follow these steps to prepare for food business registration:
Before opening the food business, one of Council's Environmental Health Officers will complete a final inspection. If the premises meets food safety standards you will be given an application to complete. The relevant fees are in the table below.
Please note: Council registers Food Act businesses for the calendar year that the business commenced operation. Fees will vary depending on the date the business opens.
A full fee is charged in the first six months of the year (from January to June), a pro-rata half fee is charged during the three months from July to September, and in the last three months of the year (October to December) a full fee is charged that will register the business till 31 December of the following year (a maximum of 15 months).
New Registration - Class 1 Food Business:
New Registration - Class 2 Food Business:
New Registration - Class 3 Food Business:
You need to do the following when providing us with plans for a new food business:
We will process your application within 14 days of receiving complete plans and specifications. We will then send you back:
We advise you not to begin any major work on setting up the new food business or premises until you receive the approved plan.
If you want to operate a food business from your home, you must register with us and meet certain requirements to ensure your business does not negatively affect your neighbourhood.
Before undertaking any works, you must:
Once all of the above requirements are addressed and satisfied, then approval may be granted to commence the suitable works to obtain registration under the Food Act 1984.
Alternatively, you can choose to lease a registered commercial kitchen that already meets the Food Act 1984 requirements.
To find out about kitchen availability at Council venues for hire, contact the relevant centre manager.
One of our Environmental Health Officers (EHO) will conduct progress inspections during the construction of your food business or premises to ensure it complies with the Food Standards Code.
Before opening the food premises, our EHO will complete a final inspection. If the business or premises meets food safety standards, you can then apply for Food Act registration with us.
A classification system exists to ensure the regulatory requirements match the level of food safety risk at different types of premises. For more information, visit the Food Safety Victoria website.
Premises under classes 1, 2 and 3 must register with us.
Class 4 premises are exempt from Food Act registration and simply need to notify us that they exist by completing a Notification of a food premises form.
All registered food businesses must renew their Food Act registration each year. We email business in mid-November with information on how to renew the registration using the Health Manager online portal system.
The business owner must inform us if details have changed in the last 12 months. You can do this by logging into your private and secure online portal account and reviewing your details. Once you have confirmed your details, the renewal form and payment may be submitted to us using the online portal system. The business will be issued with a certificate for the next year's registration once finalised.
Visit the Renew your food or public health business registration page for more information.
For more information about Food Act registration, see the Department of Health website.
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