Cottage food rules
Cottage Food Laws in Victoria: What Home Bakers Must Check
A plain answer on who to call and what to file before you sell a bake from your home kitchen in Victoria.
On this page
What to remember
- Your local council registers and regulates most food businesses in Victoria, including home kitchens.
- All home based food businesses must apply for registration under the Food Act 1984.
- Depending on what you do, you either register with your council or notify it.
- Handling, preparing, packaging, storing, serving, supplying or conveying food all bring you under the Food Act.
- Larger volumes of potentially hazardous food may mean moving to a commercial premises.
If you have been reading about cottage food rules in other places, the words will feel familiar but the steps are different here. There is no single form you fill in once and forget. What you have is a council, a piece of legislation, and a short list of questions that need answers before you take your first paid order. The same care you would put into checking what home bakers can sell in the US applies here, just with different names on the paperwork.
Who regulates a home baking business in Victoria
Local councils are responsible for registering and regulating most food businesses in Victoria, and that includes a home kitchen. All home based food businesses must apply for registration under the Food Act 1984. The Act is broad: it requires all businesses that handle, prepare, package, store, serve, supply and repackage food and beverages to be registered with their local council. A tray of brownies baked in your own oven and sold to a neighbour falls inside that description.
What to do before you take a paid order
Call your council
Local councils register and regulate most food businesses in Victoria. Tell them you want to sell baked goods made in your home kitchen and ask what they need from you.
Find out if you register or notify
Depending on your activities, you either register with or notify your council. Get the answer in writing if you can.
Describe exactly what you make
The Food Act covers businesses that handle, prepare, package, store, serve, supply and repackage food and beverages. Be specific about your bakes and how you hand them over.
Be honest about volume
Some home based businesses that prepare larger volumes of potentially hazardous food may need to operate from commercial premises rather than a home kitchen. Say how much you plan to make.
Read the state guidance too
Business Victoria provides guidance on the requirements for starting a food business and the licences and registrations needed. Read it next to whatever your council sends.
When a home kitchen stops being enough
Volume is the thing that changes the answer. Some home based food businesses that prepare larger volumes of potentially hazardous food may need to operate from a commercial premises rather than a home kitchen. If your order book keeps growing, raise it with your council early rather than letting a busy season expose the problem for you.
Business Victoria provides guidance on the requirements for starting a food business and the licences and registrations needed, so use it as your second read after your council. If a forum thread or a friend’s advice contradicts your council, trust the council. Our guide to sorting real rules from rumour is worth ten minutes before you act on anything you read online, and this walkthrough of permits helps you see what a permit question usually turns on.
Open the free bake pricing calculator
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Paperwork worth keeping
Keep your registration or notification confirmation, every email from your council, and a simple record of what you sold and when. That file is what you reach for if anyone asks a question later. When you are ready to take orders properly, Brevl handles the money side without taking a cut: you take card payments through your own Stripe or Square account, plus Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and cash. It works on a computer and on a phone, and we set it up with you and move your old shop over.
Common questions
Do I need a cottage food permit in Victoria?
The guidance we checked does not describe a separate cottage food permit. All home based food businesses must apply for registration under the Food Act 1984, and depending on your activities you either register with or notify your local council.
Which council do I contact?
The council for the area where your home kitchen is. Local councils are responsible for registering and regulating most food businesses in Victoria.
Do I have to register if I only sell a few cakes?
All home based food businesses must apply for registration under the Food Act 1984. Ask your council whether registration or notification applies to what you plan to do.
Will I always be able to bake from my home kitchen?
Not necessarily. Some home based food businesses that prepare larger volumes of potentially hazardous food may need to operate from a commercial premises rather than a home kitchen.
Where can I read official guidance?
Business Victoria provides guidance on the requirements for starting a food business and the licences and registrations needed. Your local council can tell you what applies to your kitchen.
Sources
This is general information, not legal advice. Food rules in Victoria are set by the Food Act 1984 and applied by your local council, and requirements differ between councils and between businesses. Confirm what applies to you with your own council and with Business Victoria before you sell.