Wodonga Council — Become a registered food premises

How to become a registered food premises

All food businesses that operate in Wodonga must be registered with councils Environmental Health team.

Under the Food Act 1984 (Vic) there is no transfer of registration for food premises. If you purchase and take over an existing food business a new registration with the council is required before you can operate.

If you have not yet taken over (or started), you may wish to apply for an inspection of the premises.

All food premises are required to comply with the requirements of the Food Act 1984 (Vic) and the Australian and New Zealand Food Standards Code. The Environmental Health team has developed a Food Premises Guide which can be downloaded from the link below. This outlines all the requirements for a food premises.

It is recommended that you obtain advice on the required setup and layout early in the planning, construction or fit out stage of your new food premises. Council offers a plans approval service. This optional service allows you to have your plans assessed by an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) against the requirements of the Food Act 1984 (Vic) and the Food Standards Code. The EHO will provide written advice on the suitability of your layout and fit out of your premises to meet the requirements. There is an additional fee for this service if you opt to have your plans assessed.

Cost
Council’s fees and charges are updated on July 1 each year. You can view our current fees and charges here.

Processing time
Please allow two weeks (10 business days) from the time we receive your completed application to the time that a pre-opening inspection is organised.

To register your food business, you will need to complete the following:

Submit a new business approval application form on our website and discuss your requirements with the Business Engagement Officer to ensure you have covered all council requirements (Planning, Building and Environmental Health).

Once the Business Engagement Officer has referred you to the Environmental Health team, you will be contacted to discuss your proposal and determine your food premises class.

In Victoria, food businesses are classified based on risk and the whole food premises is classified based on the highest risk food activity. The Class types are Class 1, Class 2, Class 3, Class 3A and Class 4.

Note: Class 4 food businesses are only required to notify council of their food activities – not register. A notification form can be supplied to you for completion upon request.

Submit your application to register a food premises form:

via email ([email protected]),
in person (at 104 Hovell Street, Wodonga) or;
via the post (at PO Box 923, Wodonga Vic 3689).

A link to download the application form is below.

To ensure faster processing times, please ensure that you submit all required supporting documentation (such as a floor plan and a Food Safety Supervisor Certificate (if applicable) with your application form)\

Once the application is received it is processed by the Environmental Health team. You may be asked to provide some additional information before an invoice is generated.

The invoice will be sent via email with details on how to make an online payment.

Once payment is received, an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) assesses the application and will contact you to arrange a preopening inspection.

Note: You cannot open and begin trading until an EHO has assessed, inspected and approved your premises for registration.

Once the Environmental Health Officer has approved your registration you will be issued with a Certificate of Registration, emailed to your nominated email address.

You can now begin trading.

Note: registration is annual (based on the calendar year) - the renewal process begins in October each year.