Why We Conduct Inspections

We conduct inspections to assess whether a business is complying with their food health and safety obligations.

We routinely inspect medium and high-risk food businesses. We usually inspect low risk food businesses when we receive a complaint.

• Low risk businesses are those that sell only low risk packaged food
• Medium risk businesses are those that sell medium and low risk food
• High risk businesses are those that sell high risk food including cooked meals

What Happens During An Inspection

When we inspect your food business we assess:

• whether you have appointed a trained Food Safety Supervisor
• your employees' food safety skills and knowledge
• food handling controls, including:
  • storage
  • display and transport
  • processing
  • the risk of cross-contamination
• cleaning and sanitising, hand washing and proximity of facilities
• food temperature control
• pest control
• premises design and construction, including issues such as
  • water supply
  • disposal
  • adequate and safe garbage facilities
  • lighting
• food labelling.

Digital Food Inspection Form

Bayside Council has launched a new Digital Food Inspection form in SafetyCulture to significantly improve how inspections are conducted. 

Business owners will now receive clear, detailed reports via email, including images that outline exactly why they are compliant or non-compliant.

This means reduced administrative work, improved reporting clarity, and stronger audit trails.

Inspection Fees

We charge an annual inspection fee to medium and high-risk businesses.

We also charge a reinspection fee when we need to conduct a follow-up inspection.