Cottage food rules
Selling Baked Goods From Home NSW: Rules and Labels (2026)
What NSW expects from a home food business, and how to label and price so your sales hold up.
On this page
What to remember
- Food safety rules apply to a home kitchen the same as any food business.
- Your labels follow the Food Standards Code, not a template you copied online.
- A free Food Handler Basics course is available from the NSW Food Authority.
- Price with ingredients, your time, and overhead before you quote anyone.
If you are selling baked goods from home NSW, the size of your kitchen does not change what is expected of you. The same standard applies whether you sell one cake a week or fifty. This guide covers what applies, how to label it, and how to price so the work actually pays.
Do food safety rules apply to a home kitchen in NSW?
Yes. Food Standards Australia states that a home based food business must meet the same food safety requirements as any other food business. That holds regardless of the size of the business or how often it sells food. A home kitchen is not a lighter category with softer rules.
So treat your bench, your fridge, and your cooling racks the way a shop would. Clean surfaces, a clear place to cool and pack, and a routine you can repeat on every bake. Write the routine down once and follow it, because a busy Saturday is not the moment to improvise.
What has to be on your label in NSW?
Labelling requirements for food sold in Australia are set out in the Food Standards Code, according to the NSW Food Authority. Chapter 1 of the Code holds the general labelling and information requirements that apply to all foods. Your cake box and your cookie bag sit inside that.
Do not copy a sticker from a market stall or a photo online and assume it is complete. Check the current Code requirements before you print a run. A wrong label means reprinting, and reprinting is money you never get back.
Treat the label as part of the product, not an afterthought. It is the first thing a customer sees when they open the box and the last thing they read before they eat. A clear label also saves you answering the same question five times a week.
What does a box of bakes really cost you?
Price from the whole cost of the bake, not from the flour. Ingredients, packaging, your time, and the overhead of running a kitchen at home all go in. Then add a margin. If the margin vanishes once you pay yourself, the price is wrong.
Overhead is the easy one to forget. It is the power for a long oven run, the foil and the tape, the trip to the supplier, and the phone you answer orders on. Small amounts, but they come out of every single bake.
For example, say a tray of 24 brownies uses $14 of ingredients and $6 of boxes and stickers. Two hours of your time at $15 an hour is $30. Power, foil, and the supplier trip add $10 of overhead. Total cost is $60, or $2.50 a brownie. At $4 each you take $96 and keep $36.
That $36 is your margin after ingredients, labor, and overhead. It is also the number that tells you whether a market day is worth it. Sell the same tray at $3.50 and you take $84 and keep $24. Same work, a third less pay.
How do you keep the price right when costs move?
Ingredient prices move, boxes move, and your hourly rate should move too once orders fill a weekend. Re-cost a recipe when a supplier invoice changes, not once a year in January. Ten minutes with a calculator beats a season of quiet losses.
Keep the old number next to the new one. If that brownie tray goes from $60 to $66 to make, a $4 price now returns $30 instead of $36. You either lift the price or shrink the box, and both decisions are easier when you can see the gap in front of you.
What mistakes cost home bakers money?
The third costly mistake is taking orders you cannot repeat. A one off request that eats a whole afternoon is a lovely gift. As a product it has to fit a price your customers will pay and a schedule you can keep through a busy month.
What should you set up before your first paid order?
Get the boring parts done first, then bake. The order below takes an afternoon and saves you from reprinting labels, re-pricing every recipe, and turning down work you cannot fit. Work through it once and you have a business you can grow from.
Check the food safety standard
Read what applies to a home based food business and match your kitchen to it.
Take the free Food Handler Basics course
The NSW Food Authority offers it at no cost. Finish it before you sell.
Write your label
Work from the Food Standards Code requirements, not a copied template.
Cost every recipe
Ingredients, packaging, your hourly rate, and overhead. Then set the price.
Set your weekly order limit
Decide how many orders you can bake and still deliver on time.
Try the free bake pricing calculator
Free, no signup.
Common questions
Do I need a commercial kitchen to sell baked goods from home in NSW?
The national standard does not set a separate rule for home kitchens. A home based food business must meet the same food safety requirements as any other food business, whatever its size or how often it sells food. Your job is to meet that standard in the space you have.
Where do I find the labelling rules for food sold in NSW?
Labelling requirements for food sold in Australia are set out in the Food Standards Code. The NSW Food Authority points businesses to the Code, and Chapter 1 holds the general labelling and information requirements that apply to all foods, including yours.
Is there free food safety training in NSW?
Yes. The NSW Food Authority offers a free Food Handler Basics training course. It is worth finishing before you take paid orders, and it gives you a clear answer when a customer asks how you handle food in your kitchen at home.
How do I price a box of bakes so I actually earn?
Add ingredients, packaging, your hourly rate, and overhead for the whole batch. Divide by how many items you get. Then add a margin on top. If the number left after all three costs is thin, change the box size or the recipe before you cut your own pay.
What is the biggest pricing mistake home bakers make?
Counting only ingredients. Once you add boxes, two hours of your time, and the power and supplier trips behind a tray of brownies, the flour and chocolate are a small part of the total. Price the whole thing or you are paying to work.
Sources
General information only, not legal or financial advice. Check the current Food Standards Code and NSW Food Authority guidance before you sell.