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Overview


The main purpose of the Food Act 2006 is to ensure food for sale is safe and suitable for human consumption. This Act requires Council to monitor the standard of operations in food premises and this is achieved by providing for the licensing of particular food businesses. Compliance with the Act will assist you in providing safe food for your customers. If your specific questions are not answered on this site, refer to Council.
The applicant for a licence must be a legal entity (eg person(s) or Company).
Note - a business name or shop name is not a legal entity and cannot be the licence holder.

A mobile food premises is a vehicle from which a person sells unpackaged food by retail. A mobile food premises only requires licensing from one local Council area in Queensland from where it is based.

A mobile food business that conducts the following activities requires a licence from Council: NB: If you are unsure if your business requires a licence, contact Council.
Examples:
  • A food business that involves selling hamburgers from a motor vehicle.
  • Ice cream van.
  • Pie Van (Smoko truck).
  • Mobile snack trucks.
  • Mobile food trailers.
  • Domestic water carriers.
  • Unpackaged food from a vending machine.
Non Profit Organisations
Non-profit organisations are considered licensable food businesses if they provide meals at a particular place on at least 12 days each financial year. Examples:
  • A restaurant, open daily to the public, operated by a sporting club to raise revenue for the club
  • A non-profit organisation preparing and selling meals to homeless persons at a homeless persons hostel
  • The preparation of meals by Meals on Wheels
  • Mobile food van (providing meals) at a sporting ground
NOTE:  If the non-profit organisation is not deemed to be preparing a ‘meal’ as outlined below, then it is not considered a licensable food business.  This definition exempts sausage sizzles from being licensable activities.
    Food Act 2006 - Schedule 3
    meal means food that—
    (a) is, or is intended to be, eaten by a person sitting at a
    table, or a fixed structure used as a table, with cutlery;
    and
    (b) is of adequate substance as to be ordinarily accepted as a meal.
Even though a licence may not be required, you still have a responsibility to ensure the sale of safe and suitable food and an obligation to comply with the Food Standards Code. This includes the design, construction and fit out of your premises.

A food business that conducts ONLY the following activities does not require a food licence issued from Council but may need an approval from another Government agency:

  • Sale of pre-packaged food only
  • Production of primary produce under an accreditation granted under the Food Production (Safety) Act 2000, Part 5, eg an abattoir or dairy farm.
  • Sale of unpackaged snack food that is not potentially hazardous (biscuits or cakes, confectionary, corn chip, potato chips or nuts, and dried or glazed fruit).
  • Provision of whole fruit or vegetables.
  • Sale of seeds, spices, dried herbs, tea leaves, coffee beans, ground coffee and grinding of coffee beans
  • Sale of drinks, other than fruit/vegetable juice processed at the place of sale.
    • Examples:
    • Tea or coffee.
    • Soft drinks.
    • Alcoholic drinks.
  • Sale of ice including flavoured ice such as snow cones or bags of party ice.



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