Since 8 December 2023, the requirement to nominate a Food Safety Supervisor has applied far more widely than it used to. Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland had their own requirements for many years; the national Food Safety Standard 3.2.2A extended the obligation across all states and territories.
The practical question for most operators is simply whether it applies to them.
Start with what you handle
The requirement is tied to the food, not to the type of venue. It applies to businesses handling unpackaged potentially hazardous food that is either ready-to-eat and sold to retail customers, or used in preparing ready-to-eat food served to a consumer.
That covers a great deal of ordinary food service — kitchens, cafés, caterers, aged care and hospital food services among them. If your kitchen prepares food that is eaten without further cooking, assume the requirement applies and work from there.
Then check three things
- Is someone nominated? The requirement is to have a nominated Food Safety Supervisor, not simply to have trained staff.
- Is their certificate current? Certificates must be within five years. This is the single most common gap we see — a certificate that was valid when the person was hired and has since expired.
- Are they reasonably available? The nominated supervisor must be a genuine point of contact for food handlers and involved in day-to-day operations. Someone who is rarely on site does not meet this.
One supervisor is rarely enough
A single nominated supervisor across a seven-day operation with multiple shifts is difficult to defend. If your site runs extended hours or across several service areas, more than one trained supervisor is usually the practical answer — and it removes the risk of the requirement lapsing the moment one person resigns.
Where the rules still differ
State requirements have not disappeared, and some sectors carry additional obligations on top of the national standard. Requirements also differ depending on how your business is classified.
If you are unsure where your site sits, it is worth checking rather than assuming. Infocus is a Registered Training Organisation delivering Food Safety Supervisor courses online and onsite for both the health and hospitality sectors.
Call us on 1300 818 408 and we can work through your situation.