What type of licence do I need?
There are several different types of food licences, those being:
Fixed Food Premises
A fixed food business is one that that prepares or handles unpackaged food for retail sale in a fixed location, including:
- cafe/restaurants,
- takeaway food shops,
- bakeries,
- child care centres,
- food manufacture,
- caterer, and
- domestic kitchens, for further information please see Council's domestic kitchens fact sheet.
Food business premises must be constructed in accordance with the Food Safety Standards. For a copy of Queensland Health's Food Premises - Design, construction and fit-out guide please click here.
Mobile Food Premises
A 'mobile food vehicle' is defined as a vehicle propelled by a motor, which cannot be a converted bicycle or push cart, or a food vending machine.
A mobile food business that conducts the following activities is required to hold a licence with Council:
- food trucks
- 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.
The design, fit-out and type of mobile food vehicle that you plan to use may influence the acitvities that can be conduted and therefore influence the type of foods you can provide. For example, a van where all food handling is conducted on the outside of the van (i.e. on an attached benched under a door of the van), may be limited in terms of the items it can sell. This is due to a higher chance of contamination to food preparation surfaces.
The Food Act 2006 enables an operator of a mobile food vehicle to take the vehicle into any local government in Queensland and only requires licensing from one local council area in Queensland from where it is based.
Mobile vehicles can operate on private property in an itinerant way with the land owners permission. This means that the business arrives at a work places, sells food and then moves on. For operators of mobile vehicles that wish to sell food on private property on a permenat basis contact must be made with Council's Planning department on 1300 883 699 as the premises maybe considered a 'fixed premises' under the Council's planning scheme and require planning approval.
For mobile premises that wish to operate on Council land please visit Council's Commerical Use of Council land and roads webpage.
Temporary Food Premises
Market stalls and stalls at fetes are examples of a temporary food business.
If you operate your temporary business in more than one local government area, you are required to hold a food business licence with each of the local councils where you intend to operate.
To ensure that your temporary food stall is set up correctly please read and apply the below fact sheet - Temporary Food Stall Guidelines.
Fact Sheet - Temporary Food Stall Guidelines
A temporary food licence can either be held for a year (i.e. annual tmeporary food stall) or per event, also known as a one-off event.
Application - Temporary Food Stall
Application - Primary Producers & Taste Testing (one-off event)