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Food safety legislationThe main pieces of legislation covering food safety in Queensland are the Food Act 2006 and the Food Regulation 2006. The national Food Standards Code also applies. Below are links to this legislation and a short summary of sections that relate to the duties and responsibilities of local councils and EHWs.
Please note: The summaries below are not legal opinions. They are guides only. It is the responsibility of EHWs to understand how legislation affects their roles and their councils’ responsibilities.
Because the Act and the Regulation refer to the Australian and New Zealand Food Standards Code, EHWs need to be familiar with parts of the Code. Please see About the Food Standards Code.
The Act requires people who sell food to make sure it is safe and suitable for people to eat, and tell customers the truth about the ingredients in their food (proper labelling). The Act also states that the Food Standards Code applies as law.
Section 23 of the Act sets out which parts are enforced by Local Governments. These are
More information about food business licensing can be found on the page 'Role of Local Government in food safety.
Food safety programs are currently only required by private hospitals, off-site caterers, some on-site caterers and any other businesses named in the Regulation. At present, the Regulation does not require any other food businesses to have a food safety program but this may change in the future.
A food safety program template is available for businesses to assist in developing a program.
Section 24 of the Act gives both Local Governments and the State power to ensure that only safe and suitable food is sold. This means that food should not be contaminated with anything that will cause illness or injury to a person who consumes it.
The Act also allows for the State to take actions on behalf of Local Governments if required. This can be done by agreement and can be used, for example, when a Local Government has no authorised person to carry out an enforcement activity.
The dictionary in Schedule 3 of the Food Act 1981 gives the meanings of terms used in the Act.
The Food Regulation 2006 supports the enforcement of the Act. The Regulation includes information on substances that must not be in food, licensing requirements for mobile premises and relevant definitions.
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