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Guide 2 of 5 · Food stalls

Food stalls at events: registering with the council, state by state

A stall selling food at a market, fete or festival has to meet the same food safety requirements as any other food business, whatever its size and however often it trades, Food Standards Australia New Zealand says. The paperwork runs through local councils, and NSW, Victoria and Queensland each route it differently.

General information, not legal or food safety advice. The official places to check are the local council, the NSW Food Authority, FoodTrader in Victoria and Food Standards Australia New Zealand.

What counts as temporary food premises

FSANZ describes temporary food premises as structures “used to sell food at occasional events like a fete, market or show” and dismantled after the event, like a stall, tent or barbecue stand. They can also be parts of structures or land, or a permanent building the business does not own or lease and uses only now and then, such as a community hall. Victoria’s FoodTrader adds vehicles: mobile food premises are vans, trailers or carts from which food is sold.

New South Wales

Notify the council, and its way of doing it

The NSW Food Authority says food stalls at markets and temporary events need to give the local council details of the business and its food activity, and that how they notify depends on the council: it might be a service, a permit or approval, or a food business notification form. Councils are generally responsible for approving temporary events. Some require development consent, and some need the temporary site itself approved, for example under section 68 of the Local Government Act 1993.

One council, as an example. The City of Sydney asks new stallholders trading at a market or event in its area to register at least 28 days before they first trade there, and says unregistered stalls cannot trade. Its registration counts as notification to the NSW Food Authority, and an inspection fee applies once per financial year however often the stall is inspected.

Inside the stall, three NSW rules stand out:

  • A food safety supervisor per premises. A stall needs one if the food it prepares and serves is ready to eat and potentially hazardous (needing temperature control), unless it is sold and served in the supplier’s original package. One is appointed for each premises, such as the tent or stall structure, so a business with two stalls at one event needs two, and a copy of the certificate is kept at the stall.
  • Allergens. Businesses selling at markets and temporary events are legally required to give information on allergens that may be in their food, and a business not 100% certain it can provide an allergen-free meal must tell the customer.
  • Inspections. Council environmental health officers inspect stalls at temporary events, checking things like temperature control, cleanliness, hand washing and labelling. Councils take a risk-based approach, so small events selling low-risk food may not be inspected while large events with high-risk food are likely to be.

Victoria

FoodTrader and the Statement of Trade

Under Victoria’s Food Act 1984, every food premises, temporary and mobile ones included, registers with or notifies its registering council before selling food. A temporary or mobile premises can be registered with the local council using FoodTrader. From there, trading at an event takes a second step:

  1. The stall’s registration or notification is granted first. A Statement of Trade cannot be applied for while that application is still pending.
  2. For each new event, or each set of dates not applied for before, the operator lodges a Statement of Trade: a statement of intent to trade that tells the relevant councils when and where the stall will operate.
  3. It goes in at least one full day before trading starts, as the Food Act requires.
  4. The trading council reviews it and can accept or decline it. Once its status is “Current”, a certificate can be downloaded as proof of permission to trade.

FoodTrader is careful about its own limits: the statewide single registration scheme covers only the Food Act, and operating in a public place needs separate council approval.

Queensland

Council licences and one product rule

The Events in Queensland guidelines say local councils issue the licences and permits for temporary food stalls, catering and mobile food businesses. They also note that Queensland’s tobacco laws ban selling smoking products from temporary outlets such as market stalls, mobile vehicles, trailers, booths and tents.

The food safety rules every stall shares

Whatever the state, FSANZ’s page on temporary food premises sets out the same baseline, which includes:

  • The Food Standards Code must be met, including Standard 3.2.2, Food Safety Practices and General Requirements. Standard 3.2.2A, on food safety management tools, may also apply where a food service business handles food that is unpackaged, ready to eat and potentially hazardous.
  • Potentially hazardous food, such as food containing meat, egg or dairy, must be kept at 5°C or colder or 60°C or hotter while it is received, stored, displayed and transported.
  • Food cooked to safe temperatures, for example 75°C for poultry and minced meat.
  • Raw food kept apart from ready-to-eat food, for example with separate cutting boards.
  • The premises should be designed and fitted out so food can be handled safely without contamination.

On training, FSANZ says everyone handling food needs to know how to keep it safe, and that someone in the business may need formal training such as a certified food safety supervisor, a question for the local council. Fundraising events selling only low-risk food, like canned drinks or packaged lollies, or food cooked on site and eaten straight away, like a sausage sizzle, may be exempt from training; all food handlers still have to meet health, hygiene and other food safety standards requirements. Charities and community groups selling only low-risk food may not need to notify the council at all, again a question for the council.

For the detail, FSANZ points to Safe Food Australia, its guide to the food safety standards, which covers temporary premises in Appendix 9.

The organiser’s side

A stall’s permit and the event’s permit are separate. The City of Sydney, for one, says an outdoor event application may need further plans depending on what is proposed, including temporary food permits for events that serve food. If the event serves alcohol too, the liquor guide covers the licence, and the marquee guide covers the tents the stalls may stand in.