Food businesses in NSW must either hold a licence from the NSW Food Authority or notify their business details to the relevant body.
Licensing
Certain producers and food handling businesses must hold a Food Authority licence to operate in NSW under the NSW Food Regulation 2015. These include:
egg producers (except small farms) and facilities
dairy producers, factories, stores and vendors
meat handling businesses - includes retail butchers
seafood handlers and wholesalers (excl. shellfish)
shellfish businesses that cultivate, harvest or depurate
plant product producers
food service to vulnerable persons in hospitals and aged care facilities
businesses that transport any of the foods above.
Notification
All retail food businesses must notify their local council before they begin to trade. These include:
restaurants, cafés and takeaways
mobile food outlets
food stall holders at regular, temporary or one-off events
grocery stores and supermarkets
businesses which sell food as a smaller part of their business such as chemists, cinemas, corner stores, petrol stations and sporting facilities
childcare providers that provide food
school canteens
importers of food or ingredients that retail the product from their business premises
seafood retailers (unless they hold a Food Authority licence).
Businesses that need to notify to the Food Authority include:
home-based food businesses that do not retail from the premises
food manufacturers or wholesalers that do not hold a Food Authority licence
importers that do not retail their product from their premises
small egg farms
small poultry meat farms
businesses that transport live poultry
retail food businesses in areas not governed by a local council.