Your first step when starting a food business is to check if you need planning approval. Council’s planning scheme guides how land can be used and developed, including the suitability of a location for mobile food businesses and the type of home based food activities.

Food businesses may need planning approval for these activities:

• starting a new food business
• changing the type of activity (e.g. from office space to restaurant)
• re-establishing a food business that was abandoned
• changing the intensity of business (e.g. expand the kitchen into the dining room)
• changing the scale of an existing food business (e.g. adding outdoor coldrooms)
• carrying out building work (e.g. a fit-out of the kitchen)
• carrying out plumbing or drainage work.

To find out if you need to submit a development application, you can:

• lodge an enquiry with Council
• arrange a pre-lodgement meeting with Council
• engage a town planning consultant registered with the Planning Institute of Australia
• self-assess your property details against Council’s planning scheme.