Roles and responsibilities

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Food Regulation Partnership overview

The NSW Food Authority shares responsibility with local councils for the regulation of retail food businesses under the Food Regulation Partnership.

The partnership aims to ensure consumers have safe food in the retail food service sector and that the NSW food industry continues to thrive. The partnership:

clarifies the responsibilities of local government in relation to food regulation
improves food safety coordination between councils and the Food Authority in several areas, including food inspections
allows for quicker responses to food emergencies and food recalls
enables all councils to recover the costs of food regulation enforcement
provides a Food Regulation Forum for consultation with councils and the retail food sector.

Enforcement agencies

The NSW Food Act 2003 allows the Food Authority to delegate certain functions and to appoint relevant bodies as enforcement agencies to achieve the objectives outlined in the Food Act.

Every NSW local council, as well as the Secretary of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water are appointed as enforcement agencies under the Act, while Lord Howe Island Board is prescribed as an enforcement agency under the Act. The Food Authority is the enforcement agency responsible for the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust area and the unincorporated far west.

Enforcement agencies are responsible for:

inspecting retail food businesses for compliance with national food safety standards in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code
complying with the operating protocols for enforcement agencies (PDF, 2.3 MB)
ensuring authorised officers maintain current knowledge determined by the Food Authority
making authorised officers available for networking and professional development.

NSW Food Authority

The Food Authority supports enforcement agencies in their food regulation role and promotes regulatory consistency through training, resource development and technical advice.

It also reviews enforcement agency regulatory activities and coordinates the Food Regulation Forum, State Liaison Group, Managers Forum, and 16 Regional Food Groups.

Retail sector activity reports

The Food Regulation Partnership requires all enforcement agencies to annually report on their food regulatory activities.

The Food Authority collates this data into an annual summary to help identify trends and plan improvement strategies for better food safety outcomes.

Summary report 2023-2024 (PDF, 272 KB)
Summary report 2022 - 2023 (PDF, 324 KB)
Summary report 2021 - 2022 (PDF, 646 KB)
Summary report 2020 - 2021 (PDF, 192 KB)
Summary report 2019 - 2020 (PDF, 406 KB)
Summary report 2018 - 2019 (PDF, 339 KB)
Summary report 2017 - 2018 (PDF, 203 KB)
Summary report 2016 - 2017 (PDF, 304 KB)
Summary report 2015 - 2016 (PDF, 457 KB)
Summary report 2014 - 2015 (PDF, 97 KB)
Summary report 2013 - 2014 (PDF, 161 KB)

National framework

Australian states and territories are committed to a joint food regulation system through a Food Regulation Agreement.

Under the agreement, each state and territory is responsible for implementing model food legislation and ensuring compliance with laws outlined in the Australian New Zealand Food Standards Code.

The joint system is overseen by the Food Ministers’ Meeting, a group of ministers who approve food policy and all Australia and New Zealand food standards. NSW members of the Food Ministers’ Meeting include the Minister for Agriculture (lead Minister) and Minister for Health (Member).

More information

Roles and responsibilities of appointed enforcement agencies (PDF, 203 KB)
Guidelines for the appointment of enforcement agencies (PDF, 263 KB)
Operating protocols for enforcement agencies (PDF, 2.3 MB)
Enforcement agency: standard conditions

Contact us

For help and guidance, phone the Food Authority helpline on 1300 552 406 or email food.contact@dpird.nsw.gov.au