Standard 3.2.2A, explained for restaurants and caterers
Three tools, who they apply to, and the records an officer can ask to see.
Standard 3.2.2A has applied since 8 December 2023 to businesses that handle unpackaged, ready-to-eat potentially hazardous food. Restaurants, cafes and caterers are usually Category 1 and need all three tools: trained food handlers, a certified food safety supervisor, and evidence that critical controls such as temperatures and sanitising are done. Category 2 retailers need the first two. In Victoria, councils apply it by premises class, so confirm your obligations with them.
Category 1 or Category 2?
| Category 1 | Category 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Caterers and food service businesses that make unpackaged potentially hazardous food into ready-to-eat food and serve it | Retailers that sell it unpackaged but only slice, weigh, repack, reheat or hot-hold it |
| Examples | Restaurants, cafes, takeaways, caterers, bakeries, school canteens | Some supermarkets, delis, butchers and seafood retailers |
| Food handler training | Required | Required |
| Food safety supervisor | Required | Required |
| Show food is safe (records) | Required | Not required |
Categories as described by WA Health. Fundraising events held only for community or charitable causes are exempt.
The three tools
1. Food handler training
Every food handler who works with unpackaged ready-to-eat potentially hazardous food completes a course, or shows equivalent skills, before handling it. Topics: safe handling, contamination, cleaning and sanitising, personal hygiene.
2. Food safety supervisor
A certified supervisor who can advise and oversee food handlers. Certification comes from a registered training organisation and must have been achieved within the last five years.
3. Show food is safe
Category 1 only. Keep records of key controls, or show an authorised officer that you handle food safely. Records are the evidence most businesses rely on.
The controls you need to show
For Category 1 businesses, tool 3 covers the steps where food is most likely to become unsafe. If an officer asks, you need to show each one is under control.
| Control | What a record looks like |
|---|---|
| Receiving | Temperature of chilled and frozen deliveries, supplier, time, accepted or rejected |
| Cold and hot storage | Fridge, coolroom and bain-marie readings: 5°C or colder, 60°C or hotter |
| Display and transport | Temperatures at the pass, buffet or delivery, and on arrival at events |
| Cooling | Start time and temperature, then 21°C within 2 hours and 5°C within a further 4 |
| Reheating | Time and temperature when reheated food reaches 60°C or hotter for hot holding |
| Pathogen reduction | For steps such as washing produce or acidifying rice, how and when it was done |
| Cleaning and sanitising | Food contact surfaces and equipment sanitised, by whom, when |
WA Health guidance: keep records for at least three months, available at the premises. Cooling limits from FSANZ.
How it works in Victoria
Victoria applies Standard 3.2.2A through its food premises classes rather than Category 1 and 2. In short:
- Class 2 businesses without a food safety program must show they meet the temperature, processing and cleaning requirements. Records, invoices, photos, written procedures or a demonstration to the officer are all accepted.
- Class 1 and class 2 businesses with a food safety program are exempt from tool 3, but still need trained food handlers.
- Class 3A is exempt from tool 3. Classes 3 and 4 are exempt from the standard.
- Supervisors certified before 8 December 2023 have until 8 December 2028 to re-certify.
- Food handlers can use the free DoFoodSafely online training; a score of 90 per cent or more earns a certificate.
Based on Victorian Department of Health guidance. Your council confirms your class and what applies to you.
Records you can find when asked
Most kitchens already do the checks. What goes missing is the record. In EthicalHub, staff log fridge, hot-holding, delivery and cooling temperatures on a phone during service, sign off cleaning with a name and time, and keep training and supervisor certificates in one place with expiry reminders. When the officer asks, you show a complete record in about a minute.
Plans start from $69 a month per site, with no lock-in.
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A free 20-minute walkthrough, set up around how your kitchen runs.
Related guides
Standard 3.2.2A: common questions
What is Standard 3.2.2A?
Is my restaurant Category 1 or Category 2?
What records does Standard 3.2.2A require?
Do food handlers need a certificate?
Show it’s safe, every service.
Temperatures, cleaning and training records in one place, ready when the officer asks.