Cottage food rules
Cottage Food Laws Tasmania: What Home Bakers Must Check
What Tasmania asks of a home baking business, and how to get ready before your first paid order.
On this page
What to remember
- Home based food businesses meet the same food safety requirements as any other food business, whatever their size or how often they sell.
- The Food Regulations 2022 were made by the Governor under the Food Act and cover the food safety obligations of a relevant food business.
- The regulations incorporate the Food Standards Code and set which agency enforces it.
- An assessment of a new food business looks at whether you can prepare and handle your proposed foods safely.
- Your local council publishes training, labelling and allergy resources for food business operators.
If you are planning to sell cakes, cookies, or sourdough from your kitchen, the first thing to sort out is what Tasmania expects of you. The answer is written down, and it is shorter than most people fear. Start with the permit and registration basics so you know what a food business is asked to show, then come back to the Tasmania detail below.
What the law actually says
Tasmania’s Food Regulations 2022 were made by the Governor under the Food Act. They deal with the short title, commencement and interpretation of the rules, the incorporation of the Food Standards Code, the food safety obligations of a relevant food business, and the appropriate enforcement agency for the Food Standards Code.
That last point matters more than it sounds. The Food Standards Code is not advice or a friendly guideline. It is built into Tasmanian law, and the national regulator is blunt that home based food businesses must meet the same food safety requirements as other food businesses, regardless of size or how often they sell food.
Getting ready before you take orders
Read the Department of Health fact sheet
Tasmania’s Department of Health publishes a fact sheet, dated 8 December 2016, on what to do when taking over or establishing a food business. Read it before anything else.
Check your council's food business pages
Councils publish their own resources for food business operators. The City of Launceston, for example, lists food safety training, labelling information, allergy information and food safety templates.
Match your menu to what you can handle safely
The assessment is about capability, not paperwork. Be ready to explain how you will prepare and handle each type of food you plan to sell.
Sort labelling and allergy information early
Labelling and allergy information sit alongside food safety training in council resources, so deal with them before your first order rather than after.
Take the consequences seriously
Tasmania has laws governing businesses that sell and produce food, including how to comply with them and the serious consequences of not complying.
None of this is designed to catch you out. It exists so that a customer who buys a box of your brownies gets the same safety assurance as a customer buying from a large bakery. Once the basics are in place, the rest of running a home baking business is the enjoyable part.
If you sell across a border, or you are simply comparing how different places treat home baking, our guides to NSW and Queensland look at how another state handles the same questions. Reading them side by side makes the Tasmanian position much clearer.
Where to check before you bake for sale
Rules get updated, and councils apply them in their own way, so confirm the current position with Tasmania’s Department of Health or your local council before you start selling. If you have read something online and you are not sure whether it is true, our guide to sorting fact from rumour is a useful next stop.
- Cottage food laws and permits: what to check first
- Cottage food laws NSW: what home bakers need to know
- Cottage food laws QLD: what home bakers need to check
- Cottage food laws on Reddit: how to check what is true
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Common questions
Does Tasmania have cottage food laws?
The rules for food businesses in Tasmania come from the Food Act and the Food Regulations 2022, which incorporate the Food Standards Code. Home based food businesses must meet the same food safety requirements as other food businesses, regardless of their size or how often they sell food.
Do the rules change if I only sell occasionally?
No. Home based food businesses must meet the same food safety requirements as other food businesses, regardless of the size of the business or how often they sell food.
What will an assessment of my new food business look at?
Tasmania's Department of Health says an assessment will consider whether the business can demonstrate it can prepare and handle the proposed types of food in a safe and suitable manner and in line with any specific legislative requirements.
Where should I start reading?
Start with the Department of Health's starting a food business fact sheet, dated 8 December 2016, and your local council's food business resources. The City of Launceston, for example, publishes food safety training, labelling information, allergy information and food safety templates.
What happens if I do not comply?
Tasmania has laws governing businesses that sell and produce food, including how to comply with them and the serious consequences of not complying.
Sources
- Food Regulations 2022 (Tasmania), as made
- Food Regulations 2022 (Tasmania), consolidated text
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand: home based food businesses
- Tasmanian Department of Health: starting a food business fact sheet (PDF)
- Tasmanian Department of Health: starting food businesses fact sheet
- Food Safety: Tasmania laws and requirements
- City of Launceston: starting a food business
General information only, not legal advice. Food rules change and councils apply them differently, so confirm the current requirements with Tasmania's Department of Health or your local council before you sell.