Mobile Food Vending Vehicles

The NSW Food Authority defines Mobile Food Vending Vehicles as:

Any means of transport, whether self-propelled or not, or otherwise designed to be movable, which is used for selling food, whether on land, sea or air.  It includes vehicles used for on-site food preparation (eg hamburgers, hot dogs and kebabs), one-step food preparation (eg popcorn, fairy floss, coffee and squeezing juices), and the sale of any type of food including pre-packaged food.

Applications to conduct Mobile Food Vending are assessed on a case-by-case basis and consideration is given to food safety, traffic management, planning and compliance with Council policies. A Development Application may need to be lodged in some cases depending on the proposed use.

Registration

All mobile food vending vehicles are required to be registered with Council. Please fill in the application form and return to Council.

Mobile Food Vending Application Form.pdf(PDF, 127KB)

Approvals

Approvals
 The sale of food from a mobile food vending vehicle may only take place with the approval of the owner or person in control of the land on which the vehicle is parked.

Approvals are issued on an annual basis.

If your vehicle is garaged in another Council area and you already have approval from that Council, please provide a copy of the latest inspection report when registering with us.


Operating on Public Land and Roads
The operate a mobile food vending vehicle on public land and roads, you must obtain approval from Council prior to operating in the area.
 
To obtain Council approval you must complete the form below and return it to Council for assessment and determination (please note that fees are payable on application) [link form]

You will also need to attach relevant supporting documentation to your application form, including insurance documents, plan of management, and design / fit-out details.

Mobile food vendors must remain mobile except when serving customers. A mobile food vendor must not stop any longer than 15 minutes in any one place if they are not serving customers.

The exception to this would be if a mobile vendor is trading at a sporting or temporary event that are held on public land, provided prior approval from the event organiser is obtained.

Note: General trading on any other public lands belonging to Council such as reserves, parks, and foot paths and nature strips is generally not permissible.

Operating on Private Land
If you wish to only operate a food vehicle on private land, you need to consider the following:

  1. Planning approval: Check that you have the land owners consent, and that you comply with all of the development standards for mobile food and drink outlets. This includes the requirement that only one (1) mobile food vehicle can operate per site.
    If you don’t comply with the development standards, you will need to obtain DA approval for the activity.

  2. To leave the vehicle in a single location and continually trade from that place will require formal Development Approval for that land use.

  3. Registration with Council: You need to notify Council of your food handling activities and business information:
    1. If you will be trading from the same site on an ongoing basis, then you should complete Councils standard food business registration form on the Food and drink premises page.
    2. If you will be operating from different private premises at different times, then you should complete Councils temporary food business form on the Temporary food businesses page.

Inspection

An annual inspection is carried out of the mobile food vehicle to ensure compliance with the Food Safety Standards. You may be required to bring your mobile food vending vehicle to Council’s offices for inspection.

However, if your vehicle is garaged in another council area, you must be registered and be inspected by your home council. You can provide a copy of this report when applying to trade in Strathfield.

A registration fee, including an inspection fee, is applicable in accordance with Council’s Fees and Charges. Mobile food van operators must re-register with Council each year.

Guidelines for Mobile Food Vending

The following link to the NSW Food Authority Website, Mobile Food Vending Vehicles: operation, construction and food handling guidelines, provides information on compliance with Food Safety Standards.

In addition the mobile food operator is required to comply with the Food Act 2003, Food Regulation 2015 and Food Safety Standards.  The Council conditions of approval for Mobile Food Vendors are:

These conditions apply to a person/s and organisations involved/engaged in the vending of foodstuff for human consumption and include any article, which requires inspection of the vending facility for continuing approval to operate in the Strathfield Council Local Government area.

The following conditions apply to all Mobile Food Vendors as provided by the General Traffic Regulations:

  1. All persons who offer for sale any article, including food for human consumption, on any road or in any public or private property within the Strathfield Council Local Government area shall not do so without first holding a current, ‘Approval to Operate as a Mobile Food Vendor’, issued by the Council in respect of the article or articles being offered for sale.
  2. An ‘Approval to Operate as a Mobile Food Vendor’ must be obtained annually for the period commencing 1 July each year.
  3. Any ‘Approval to Operate as a Mobile Food Vendor’, issued to a nominated person and may not be transferred to any other person.
  4. Each registered vendor will be required to have in his/her possession their, ‘Approval to Operate as a Mobile Food Vendor’, whilst engaged in vending and be required to present such to an officer of Council or other authorised person upon demand.
  5. A person who is the holder of an, ‘Approval to Operate as a Mobile Food Vendor’, within the meaning of the General Traffic Regulations shall not (for the purpose of selling), occupy any one position in a public road with a stall, stand or vehicle, except for such period of time as he/she may be engaged in the actual serving of the customer.  He/she shall immediately after having served a customer pass on and shall not return soliciting custom or selling over the same ground within one hour.
  6. The vehicle so registered with Council shall comply with the general provisions of the Food Act 2003 and relevant Regulations, Standards and Codes and any person engaged in the carriage or sale of food for human consumption shall be fully conversed with the general requirements of the Regulation.
  7. The vehicle so registered shall prominently display upon the front and rear of the vehicle self-illuminating/warning signs as well as amber flashing warning light upon the roof of the vehicle in accordance with the General Traffic Regulations.
  8. Except with the written permission of Council, a person shall not in any arterial, sub-arterial or collector road or reserve set up or use any basket, box, stall, stand or standing vehicle for the purposes of offering for sale any article, or for pursuit of any business, calling or employment.
  9. The sale of food and the use of amplified music, bells, chimes or similar advertising sounds played in any public place within the Strathfield Council Local Government area is restricted in use between the hours of 10am and 7pm of any given day and the use of such equipment shall not give rise to an offensive noise as prescribed in the POEO Act, (Protection of the Environment Act).
    Note:   Amplified music etc shall not be used while the vehicle is stationary or for longer than 30 seconds in any period of 3 minutes.
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