Food safety software for Victoria’s
food manufacturers
What your premises class means, who checks you, what an auditor or EHO looks at, and how to show your records in minutes rather than hours.
In Victoria, the Food Act 1984 sorts food premises into Class 1, 2, 3, 3A or 4 by risk. Most manufacturers handling unpackaged, potentially hazardous food are Class 2. That means council registration, a food safety supervisor, and an independent food safety program audited each year. Food safety software for Victoria should hold that program’s records and produce them the moment an auditor or EHO asks.
General guidance, not legal advice. Your council, or Safe Food Victoria if you’re licensed, confirms your class and obligations.
Victorian premises classes, and what each must keep
Your class is set by the highest-risk food activity on your premises. A council EHO confirms it.
| Class | Who it covers | Food safety program | Supervisor (FSS) | Checks and records |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Potentially hazardous food for vulnerable people: hospitals, aged care, meals delivered to aged or frail people. | Required. Independent program. | Required | Annual audit by an approved auditor, plus council inspection. |
| Class 2 | Unpackaged potentially hazardous food, or low-risk food with an allergen-free claim. Includes many manufacturers, such as sushi, cook-chill and bakeries with perishable fillings. | Required for all Class 2 manufacturers. Independent (non-standard) program, not the FoodSmart template. | Required for most | Annual audit by an approved auditor, plus council inspection. Records set by your program. |
| Class 3 | Unpackaged low-risk food, or warehousing pre-packaged food. Examples: honey, peanut butter, coffee roasting, shelf-stable cakes. | Not required | Not required | Registration and council inspection. Warehouses and distributors keep a food suppliers record. |
| Class 3A | Food served to guests at accommodation getaways, and home-based hot-fill products like chutneys that meet set heat and pH rules. | Not required | Required | Registration and council inspection. |
| Class 4 | Lowest-risk activities, such as selling pre-packaged low-risk food or whole fruit and vegetables. | Not required | Not required | Notify council. No registration or routine inspection. |
Summarised from Safe Food Victoria on classifications, food safety programs, audits and inspections and food safety supervisors, checked September 2026. Always confirm your class with your council.
Who regulates your site in Victoria
Since 1 July 2026, Safe Food Victoria has replaced Dairy Food Safety Victoria and PrimeSafe.
Your local council
Registers most food businesses under the Food Act 1984. Its environmental health officers (EHOs) inspect all Class 1 and Class 2 premises.
Safe Food Victoria
Licenses dairy, meat and seafood businesses, and food made with new technologies. These functions sat with DFSV and PrimeSafe until mid-2026.
Agriculture Victoria
Regulates leafy greens, berries, melons, seed sprouts and egg producers. These functions are due to move to Safe Food Victoria from late 2027.
Approved food safety auditors
Audit independent food safety programs. Currently that’s one audit a year for Class 1 and Class 2 premises.
Sources: Safe Food Victoria, Premier of Victoria, 2026. If you held a DFSV or PrimeSafe licence, ask Safe Food Victoria how your licence and audit schedule carry over.
What a Victorian auditor or EHO checks
An audit asks three questions. Each one is answered with records.
Is your program adequate?
Does your food safety program cover your actual products and processes? For a manufacturer that means a HACCP plan, prerequisite programs and procedures.
Do you follow it?
The auditor samples records against the program: CCP monitoring, cleaning, receiving, supplier approval, training, and what you did when something went wrong.
Do you meet the Code?
Compliance with the Food Standards Code, including Standard 3.2.2 food safety practices and 3.2.3 premises and equipment.
For licensed meat, poultry and seafood businesses, Safe Food Victoria expects electronic monitoring records to show the date and time of each check, explain any loss of control, have a backup, and show the data was checked and signed. Sources: audits and inspections, food safety programs.
Your compliance cycle, step by step
A typical pattern. Your council and auditor set the actual dates.
Register or renew with council
Nominate your food safety supervisor. For food processing, a unit such as FBPFSY2002 Apply food safety procedures is one accepted option.
Run and record your program
CCP checks, receiving temperatures, cleaning sign-offs and allergen changeovers, each dated, timed and initialled.
Verify and close out
Review records, chase expiring supplier certificates, and close corrective actions with evidence.
Audit and inspection
Your approved auditor audits the program. Council EHOs inspect the premises. Retailer or GFSI audits may add more.
Fix within the agreed time
Auditors issue a notice for each deficiency, a breach of practice or a gap in your program, with a timeframe to fix it. A critical deficiency poses a serious risk to public health. Record the root cause, action and proof it worked.
Your independent program, organised for audit day
EthicalHub doesn’t replace your auditor or your council registration. It holds the records they ask to see.
HACCP plan and CCPs
CCP monitoring with deviation alerts, so an out-of-limit reading starts a corrective action straight away.
All 18 PRPs
Prerequisite programs as ready templates: cleaning, pest control, receiving, training and more.
Supplier certificates
A certificate vault with expiry alerts, and approved supplier records in one place.
Corrective actions
CAPA workflows with root cause, owner, due date and evidence, ready for deficiency close-outs.
Traceability
Batch and lot records for recall readiness under your recall obligations.
Built in Melbourne
Data stored in Australia (Sydney). Plans are per site. See plans.
On audit day: any record in about a minute
The auditor asks for last March’s cooling records and the corrective action behind one reading. You export a one-click audit pack, organised by requirement.
Free: 59-point Retailer Audit Readiness Checklist (PDF + Excel)
See which records an auditor would question at your site today.
Related
Food safety in Victoria: common questions
What class is a food manufacturer in Victoria?
Can a Class 2 manufacturer use the FoodSmart template?
How often are Victorian food safety programs audited?
What happened to PrimeSafe and Dairy Food Safety Victoria?
Does Standard 3.2.2A apply to food manufacturers in Victoria?
Is digital record keeping accepted in Victoria?
Show your auditor any record, in a minute.
EthicalHub keeps your Victorian food safety program records organised by requirement, ready for your auditor or EHO.