Food business fit-out guide
If you are opening a new food business, or renovating an existing business, you will need to ensure that the fit-out complies with all current requirements. Queensland Health's design and fit-out guide for food businesses provides detailed information and can help you understand the requirements of fixed and mobile food business.
Step 1 – Complete the Food Business Licence Application, attach the relevant fee and return to council. This application assesses the suitability of the operator and whether they have the required skills and knowledge (including the right training) to safely prepare and sell food to the public. Every licensable food premises requires a Food Safety Supervisor, more information on Food Safety Supervisor can be found here.
The applicant for a licence must be a legal entity, i.e. a person or company. A business name or trading name is not a legal entity and cannot be the licence holder. The applicant applying for the food licence should be the person or company intending on operating the food business not the contractor building the food premises.
Step 2 – Assessment of application. Once your food licence application has been submitted to council with the appropriate fee it will be assessed by an Environmental Health Officer (EHO). Time frames for assessment may vary, however, please allow a minimum of 30 days for a full assessment. Further time may be required if the application does not meet the assessment requirements. A pre-approval will be issued. It is recommended that construction does not start until pre-approval is granted to ensure that the proposed business complies with current standards and to avoid the possibility of having to retrofit.
Step 3 - Final inspection. Once you have completed the fit-out of your premises and before you start trading, contact Council to arrange for an EHO to carry out the final inspection of your food premises. The EHO will need to be satisfied that the construction has been completed in accordance with the fit out information provided. Otherwise, your licence may not be granted and you will not be able to commence trading.