Food Safety Records in Australia: Laws and Inspections

Australian food safety records explained: the Food Standards Code, council inspections, supervisors, 3-month records, allergens and digital records.

2026-10-31 · Chef Hygiene

Do food businesses in Australia need food safety records? It depends on the kind of business. The Food Standards Code says a "category one" business, such as a restaurant, café, takeaway or caterer, must keep records of temperatures and cleaning for 3 months. Every category one and two business must also have a certified Food Safety Supervisor and trained food handlers. Your local council inspects, and there is no national grade. This page explains how the federal Code and the state rules fit together, what inspectors look for, where businesses go wrong, and how digital records help.

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Every fact below comes from an official source. Where the rule differs by state, we say so. Where we could not confirm something, we say that, so ask your council.

## Contents

The law: federal Code, state Food Acts
Who inspects you, and how often
No national grade, but local star schemes
The records inspectors ask for
Where businesses go wrong
By type of business
Why digital records help in Australia
How Chef Hygiene helps
A fair price, on purpose
Less paper
FAQ
Official sources

## 1. The law: federal Code, state Food Acts

Federal versus state, in simple words. The rules themselves are written once, for the whole country, in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) writes the Code. But FSANZ does not inspect you. Each state and territory has its own Food Act that applies the Code, and local councils (or, in the ACT and Northern Territory, the territory health department) do the checking. So the standard is shared, and the paperwork and the officer are local.

Standard 3.2.2 (food safety practices). The basic duties: keep potentially hazardous food at safe temperatures, keep premises and equipment clean, stop contamination, and keep sick staff away from food (Standard 3.2.2, Federal Register of Legislation).
Standard 3.2.2A (food safety management tools). In force since 8 December 2023. It sets three tools for food service and catering businesses: a Food Safety Supervisor, trained food handlers, and records (Standard 3.2.2A; FSANZ: food safety management tools).
Category one and category two.
Category one: a caterer or food service business that makes ready-to-eat potentially hazardous food from unpackaged ingredients. This covers restaurants, cafés, takeaways and caterers. It needs a supervisor, trained handlers and records.
Category two: a business that sells unpackaged, ready-to-eat potentially hazardous food it did not make, such as a shop selling pre-made sandwiches. It needs a supervisor and trained handlers. The records duty in the Standard applies to category one.
Register with your council first. You register your food business with your local council before you start (with ACT Health in the ACT and NT Health in the Northern Territory). In Queensland a licensable business gets a licence from the council. In Victoria, Safe Food Victoria licenses dairy, meat and seafood businesses (since 1 July 2026), while councils still look after restaurants and cafés. Registration rules differ by state, and the FSANZ page does not cover them, so ask your council which form and fee apply.
A food safety program in some states. There is no national HACCP duty. But in Victoria a class 2 business doing the listed higher-risk activities keeps a food safety program, and most use the free FoodSmart template (Victoria: FoodSmart). In Queensland, caterers keep an accredited food safety program.
Temperatures. Potentially hazardous food must be kept at 5°C or below, or 60°C or above, on receipt, in storage, on display and in transport. You need a probe thermometer accurate to ±1°C wherever you handle such food (Standard 3.2.2). Other numbers in the Standard:
Cooling: from 60°C to 21°C within 2 hours, then to 5°C within a further 4 hours.
Reheating for hot holding: rapidly to 60°C or above.
Frozen food stays frozen. The Standard names no freezer number.
Cooking: the Standard sets no cooking temperature. It asks for a step that is reasonably known to make the food safe. 75°C in the centre is official advice.
The 2-hour / 4-hour rule. This is FSANZ guidance, one way to show food between 5°C and 60°C stays safe: under 2 hours, use it or refrigerate it; 2 to 4 hours, use it but do not refrigerate it; over 4 hours, throw it out (FSANZ: 2-hour/4-hour rule).
Food Safety Supervisor. A category one or two business appoints a supervisor before it starts. The person must be reasonably available, with a certificate issued in the last 5 years. In New South Wales the certificate comes from the NSW Food Authority. In the ACT every registered food business needs a supervisor (FSANZ: food safety supervisor).
Food handler training. Every food handler must have done a food safety course or be able to show the skills and knowledge for their work. There is no set number of hours (Standard 3.2.2A).
Staff who are ill. Staff with symptoms of a foodborne illness must report it and must not handle food. Someone diagnosed with a foodborne illness comes back only when a doctor says they are no longer sick or carrying it. There is no routine health certificate (Standard 3.2.2).
Allergens. The Code names the allergens you must declare (Plain English Allergen Labelling, "PEAL", in force since 25 February 2024): wheat and cereals with gluten, fish, crustaceans, molluscs, egg, milk, lupin, peanut, soy, sesame, added sulphites at 10 mg/kg or more, and each tree nut by name (almond, Brazil nut, cashew, hazelnut, macadamia, pecan, pistachio, pine nut, walnut). For food sold unpackaged, the information must be shown with the food or given when a customer asks (Standard 1.2.3; FSANZ: allergen labelling). We could not confirm an official rule for delivery orders, so ask your council.

## 2. Who inspects you, and how often

Your local council. Environmental health officers (EHOs) from your council inspect restaurants, cafés and takeaways. In the ACT and the Northern Territory, the territory health department does it.
Records can be in any form. For category one, the Standard says records may be kept in any form, including electronic. An officer may accept another way of showing safe practice, but can then ask for records.
How often. We could not confirm one national schedule. Councils set their own inspection plans, so ask your council.
Penalties. Penalties are set by each state's Food Act. We read one official figure: in New South Wales, a penalty notice for not following the Food Standards Code is $660 for a person or $1,980 for a company (NSW Food Authority: penalty notices). We have not confirmed the amounts in other states.

## 3. No national grade, but local star schemes

No national grade. Australia has no single hygiene rating for the whole country.
Voluntary star ratings. Some councils give a star rating after their normal inspection:
New South Wales: Scores on Doors (3 stars Good, 4 Very Good, 5 Excellent).
Queensland: the Eat Safe scheme run by councils.
South Australia: the Food Safety Rating Scheme.
What this means for you. Where a scheme exists, a good score is visible to customers, and good records help you earn it.

## 4. The records inspectors ask for

For a category one business, Standard 3.2.2A (clause 12) asks you to keep these records for 3 months, on site whenever you are open:

Receiving temperatures of deliveries.
Storage temperatures (fridges, freezers).
Cooking temperatures.
Cooling and reheating.
Display and transport temperatures.
Time out of temperature control.
Cleaning and sanitising.

Pest control reports and training records are good practice, not records Standard 3.2.2A asks for. Allergen information is a separate duty under Standard 1.2.3.

Category two businesses have no records duty in the Standard, but they still need the supervisor and trained handlers, and an officer can ask you to show safe practice.

## 5. Where businesses go wrong

Gaps. Days with no checks written down, or fewer than 3 months kept.
No action recorded. A fridge above 5°C with nothing written about what was done.
Expired supervisor certificate. The certificate must be from the last 5 years.
Training not shown. Staff were trained, but nothing proves it.
Cooling too slowly. Big pots of hot food left to cool without watching the 2-hour and 4-hour limits.
No thermometer, or one that is not accurate. The Standard asks for a probe thermometer accurate to ±1°C.
Allergens by word of mouth only. The Code says the information is shown with the food or given when asked, with the required names.
Not registering. Starting without registering with your council.

## 6. By type of business

The Code is the same everywhere. What you keep depends on what you make and sell.

Restaurant: category one. Supervisor, trained handlers, 3 months of temperature and cleaning records, allergen information.
Takeaway: category one. The same as a restaurant, including cooling and reheating records.
Café: category one if you make ready-to-eat food such as sandwiches and salads. Fridge and display temperatures, cleaning, allergens.
Bakery / cake shop: category one if you make cream cakes or savoury pastries that are potentially hazardous. Display temperatures, allergen information for every product, and labels for packed goods.
Dessert shop: fridge and freezer records, cooling and display temperatures, allergens for toppings and sauces.
Pub / bar / club: category one for the food you cook. Records for the kitchen, and allergen information for every dish.
Community hall / venue: if you serve food as a business, register with your council. Keep temperature and cleaning records for each event. We could not confirm one national rule for occasional community events, so ask your council.
Corner shop / grocery: category two if you sell unpackaged, ready-to-eat hazardous food you did not make. You need a supervisor and trained handlers. Fridge checks and delivery checks are good practice. Food you pack yourself needs allergen information.
School / nursery kitchen: the NSW Food Authority says school canteens are retail food businesses under the Code (NSW Food Authority: school canteens). Check your own state's rules for other states.
Caterer / food van: category one. The rules are the same. Notify the council where the vehicle is garaged, and maybe other councils where you trade (FSANZ: mobile food business). Victoria and Queensland have their own mobile registration routes, so check with them.
Home kitchen business: the same rules as any other food business. Notify your local council before you start and when your details change (FSANZ: home-based business). In the ACT, home kitchens are for low-risk food only.

## 7. Why digital records help in Australia

Officially allowed. The Standard says records can be in any form, including electronic.
Three months at your fingertips. You must show 3 months of records on site. A phone or tablet holds them without a folder.
No gaps go unnoticed. A missed check shows up the same day.
Problems come with their fix. When a reading is out of range, the record can ask what you did about it.
Nothing is lost, and all is ready for the EHO. No wet or missing pages.
Every staff member can take part. Staff can record checks on a phone or tablet, in their own language.

## 8. How Chef Hygiene helps

Chef Hygiene follows the Australian rules. It keeps your daily records; it does not register your business, and it is not approved by FSANZ, any state or territory, or any council. What it does:

Daily checks for fridges, freezers, cooking, hot holding, cooling, cleaning and deliveries, with the time, the staff member's name and photos. Saved records cannot be changed; corrections are added as new records.
Your country's rules built in, such as 5°C and 60°C, and the cooling steps from Standard 3.2.2. You choose your state or territory when you sign up.
Food safety plan ("safe methods"). About 20 minutes: answer questions, check each method, sign it, set a review date and print it. Earlier versions are kept.
Ready for inspection? Checks your last 4 weeks of records the way an inspector would and shows how many are ready.
Inspector's visits log. Write down each visit: date, type and officer.
Practice inspection. A free walk round of about 10 minutes, with questions for your type of business and a "Put it right" list. It shows the likely result in your local scheme.
Allergen chart, staff tablet view and labels. Every dish against the allergens, a view for the kitchen tablet, and labels for food prepacked for direct sale.
Staff training records.
Inspector pack. Print all your records as one pack, or share them by secure link.
40 languages. Staff can use the app in their own language. The app works in English in Australia.

## 9. A fair price, on purpose

Chef Hygiene costs A$2.99 a month per site (A$1.99 for bakeries, dessert shops and corner shops); the exact price is shown in your app store; unlimited staff, no contract, 14-day free trial.

We keep the price low on purpose. We want as many food businesses as possible, from a single food van to a busy restaurant, to keep good records and pass their inspections.

## 10. Less paper

One daily sheet per kitchen is 365 sheets a year, before you count delivery forms, cleaning rotas and training records. Digital records mean no record books to buy and fewer printed forms to throw away. That is less paper and less waste, and nothing to store in a back office.

## 11. FAQ

### Do I legally need food safety records in Australia?

If you are a category one business (restaurant, café, takeaway, caterer), yes: Standard 3.2.2A asks for temperature and cleaning records. Category two businesses have no records duty in the Standard.

### How long must I keep records?

3 months for category one, on site whenever you are open (Standard 3.2.2A, clause 12).

### Are digital records accepted?

Yes. The Standard says records can be in any form, including electronic.

### Who inspects food businesses in Australia?

Your local council's environmental health officers. In the ACT and the Northern Territory, the territory health department does it.

### Do I have to register my business?

Yes. Register with your council before you start. Queensland uses licences for licensable businesses. Rules differ by state, so ask your council.

### Is there a national hygiene grade?

No. Some councils offer voluntary star ratings, such as NSW Scores on Doors, Queensland Eat Safe and the South Australian Food Safety Rating Scheme.

### What is a Food Safety Supervisor?

A person with a certificate issued in the last 5 years who is reasonably available to your business. Category one and two businesses must appoint one before they start.

### Do all my staff need a food safety certificate?

No. Every food handler must have done a food safety course or be able to show the skills and knowledge for their work. There is no set number of hours.

### What temperature must my fridge be?

Potentially hazardous food must be kept at 5°C or below.

### What temperature must hot food be kept at?

60°C or above.

### What is the 2-hour / 4-hour rule?

FSANZ guidance for food between 5°C and 60°C: under 2 hours, use or refrigerate it; 2 to 4 hours, use it but do not refrigerate; over 4 hours, throw it out.

### How fast must I cool cooked food?

From 60°C to 21°C within 2 hours, then to 5°C within a further 4 hours.

### What allergen information do I need?

For unpackaged food, the information must be shown with the food or given when a customer asks, using the names the Code requires. PEAL has applied since 25 February 2024.

### Can staff work when they are ill?

No, not with symptoms of a foodborne illness. Someone diagnosed returns only when a doctor says they are no longer sick or carrying it.

### Do home-based businesses follow the same rules?

Yes. Notify your local council before you start. In the ACT, home kitchens are for low-risk food only.

### What are the fines?

Each state sets its own. In NSW, a penalty notice for not following the Food Standards Code is $660 for a person or $1,980 for a company. We have not confirmed other states.

### How much does Chef Hygiene cost in Australia?

A$2.99 a month per site (A$1.99 for bakeries, dessert shops and corner shops); the exact price is shown in your app store; unlimited staff, no contract, 14-day free trial.

## 12. Official sources

Chef Hygiene keeps your Australian food safety records ready for every inspection:

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play

Get it from Microsoft

Use it in your browser