Cottage food rules
Cottage Food Laws NSW: What Home Bakers Need to Know
What New South Wales asks of a home kitchen before you sell a single bake.
What to remember
- Preparing or storing food at home for later sale counts as a food business, and in-kind rewards count too.
- The food safety requirements are the same as for any other retail food business.
- Your local council must approve the activity before you start operating.
- Some councils may not approve home based operations that involve high risk foods.
- Food Authority officers and council Environmental Health Officers can inspect domestic premises.
If you are used to thinking of cottage food as a short, simple permission with a tidy list of approved bakes, this is a different picture. The NSW Food Authority points home based food businesses at the same standard as a shop with a counter, and that standard applies to your home kitchen just as it would to a shop. Two guides sit alongside this one and are worth reading before you plan a menu: what goes on your label and eggs and what you must check.
Get your council on side first
Before a home food business can start operating, owners need to make sure the proposed activities are approved by their local council. This is the step that stops most people, because approval is not automatic. Some councils may not approve home based operations that involve high risk foods, so the answer can be no before you have baked a single thing. Ask early, and ask in writing so you have the answer to hand later.
The same food rules as any shop
Like all food businesses, those based at home must meet the same food legislative requirements as other retail food businesses and comply with the relevant parts of the Food Standards Code. The rules do not relax because your kitchen is also where your family eats. You are running a food business in a domestic space, and that is how it will be treated.
Inspections are part of the deal. Food safety officers from the NSW Food Authority and Environmental Health Officers from the local council are entitled to visit and inspect domestic premises involved in a food business. Run your kitchen as though someone will look at it, because someone can.
Licence or notification
Only some types of businesses are required to hold a food licence to operate in NSW. All other businesses must notify their details to either their local council or the Food Authority. Do both if both apply to you, and do not treat one as a substitute for the other. If you are not sure which group you fall into, ring your council and ask. It is a short call, and it is cheaper than finding out later.
Take the council step first. Once approval is in place, the rest of the build, your menu, your prices and your labels, has something solid under it. Nothing here is meant to put you off baking for money. It is meant to make sure the box of brownies you hand over is made somewhere that has been checked and allowed.
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Common questions
Can I sell cakes baked in my home kitchen in NSW?
You can, but preparing or storing food at home for later sale is treated as a food business. Your local council must approve the activity before you start, and the same food safety requirements apply as for any other retail food business.
Do I need a food licence?
Only some types of businesses are required to hold a food licence to operate in NSW. All other businesses must notify their details to either their local council or the Food Authority.
Will my council always approve a home kitchen?
Not always. Some councils may not approve home based operations that involve high risk foods, so ask before you buy packaging or take orders.
Can inspectors come into my home?
Yes. Food safety officers from the NSW Food Authority and Environmental Health Officers from your local council are entitled to visit and inspect domestic premises involved in a food business.
Do free cakes or rewards count as selling?
Yes. Preparing or storing food at home for later sale, including in-kind rewards, is considered a food business under NSW rules.
What if I live in the City of Sydney?
Anyone wishing to operate a food business from a domestic kitchen in the City of Sydney must register with the council, and operating without obtaining development consent is an offence.
Sources
General information only, not legal advice. Rules and council requirements change, so confirm the current requirements with your local council and the NSW Food Authority before you sell.