Module Scope
Does your organisation sell or serve food?
Does the organisation comply with the Food Standards Code?
Module Application
The FOOD SERVICES module informs businesses selling or serving food of their legislated legal obligations. The module also demonstrates effective practical advice and assistance to the business to implement procedures and processes that will ensure compliance and regulatory accountability throughout all levels of the organisation.
To fulfil its purpose the module focuses on providing practical assistance to the business selling or serving food intending to establish and maintain a robust foundational framework that determines:
- How the organisation will function
- Who is the responsible decision maker
- What matters are relevant to the decision-making process, and
- Whether the desired outcome has been achieved
The organisation, their employees and authorised individuals are all expected to be familiar with the broad landscape of legal obligations to which they are subject. The module should be subscribed by all businesses selling or serving food, their employees and authorised individuals. The aim of the module is to equip the subscriber with knowledge of their obligations and the skills they require to establish relevant systems and processes to ensure compliance.
State and territory regulators and in some cases local councils are responsible for enforcing and managing compliance with food service obligations. Each jurisdiction enforces obligations in their own way. The relevant regulators are:
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand (develops the national Food Standards Code but does not enforce it)
- ACT Health
- NSW Food Authority
- NT Department of Health
- SA Health
- Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services
- Victorian Department of Health and Human Services
- WA Department of Health
- Local councils of the Australia Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia
The broad scope of the module is to provide the business selling or serving food with answers to these questions:
- What are our legal obligations?
- From where are our legal obligations derived?
- How can we ensure that we are complying with our legal obligations?
- What are the consequences if we are not complying with our legal obligations?
The module comprehensively covers three areas:
- Legislation
- Obligations
- Consequences
1. The legislative and regulatory landscape from which the primary legal obligations are derived:
- Food Standards Code (Cth)
- Food Act 2001 & Regulations 2002 (ACT)
- Food Act 2003 & Regulations 2015 (NSW)
- Food Act 2004 & Regulations 2014 (NT)
- Food Act 2006 & Regulations 2016 (QLD)
- Food Act 2001 & Regulations 2017 (SA)
- Food Act 2003 & Regulations 2022 (TAS)
- Food Act 1984 (VIC)
- Food Act 2008 & Regulations 2009 (WA)
- Australia and New Zealand Food Standards Codes (FSANZ)
- National Construction Code
2. The specific areas where legal and regulatory obligations apply to businesses selling or serving food:
- Notification, licensing and registration requirements in each state and territory
- Appointment and training of food safety supervisors
- Establishing and maintaining food safety programs
- Food handling
- Design and construction of food premises
- Health, hygiene, cleaning and maintenance requirements
- Labelling and other information requirements, including for nutrition claims
- Auditing processes and requirements
- Food additives, pre-market clearance, contaminants, and microbiological limits in food
3. Significant consequences can apply to businesses selling or serving food found to have breached or not complied with their legal obligations. These consequences vary considerably depending on the nature and extent of the breach or failure. The module covers specific consequences in detail.
The FOOD SERVICES module does not cover the rights or entitlements of individuals who have suffered damages or losses due to breaches of obligations by businesses selling or serving food. The module does not cover the process that an entity or an individual would follow to report or seek compensation for the breach or their loss.
LexisNexis Regulatory Compliance is a legal obligations register and alerting solution that combines regulatory content with technology to empower you to take control of your compliance obligations.