VIC Selling, Home Business & Farm-Stay Rules: What the State Actually Sets

Victoria's food registration system is notably more streamlined than the council-by-council model in some other states, thanks to a single statewide platform for temporary and mobile food sales. Home business runs through its own planning clause, and farm-stay accommodation has its own specific conditions in the Farming Zone, distinct from a separate exemption for housing farm workers. This article covers what the state actually sets for each, before your specific council's requirements layer on top.

Victoria's approach differs from NSW's in a useful way for anyone trading at multiple markets, while home business and farm-stay both run on Victoria's own planning scheme structure. Each is covered as its own section below.

Selling produce: FoodTrader for mobile sales, direct council registration for a fixed premises

Every food business in Victoria needs registration or notification under the Food Act 1984. For a fixed premises (a permanent home kitchen, shop or stall), you register directly with the council where the premises is located. For temporary or mobile sales — market stalls, a food van, a one-off event — Victoria uses a more streamlined system: FoodTrader (formerly Streatrader), a single statewide online platform. You register once with your principal council, then lodge a Statement of Trade through the same platform for each additional council area you plan to trade in — letting you sell at markets across the state without separately registering with every council along the way.

A detail worth knowing: the food registration requirement applies even if you don't charge directly for the food, but include it as part of another service — a bed and breakfast serving meals as part of the stay is a genuine example the state's own guidance calls out specifically. Community groups and clubs selling food to raise funds (a cake stall, a sausage sizzle) also need to register, though only with one principal council to trade anywhere in the state.

Home business: Clause 52.11, and a planning check before food registration

Running a home business in Victoria is generally assessed under Clause 52.11 (Home Based Business) of the Victoria Planning Provisions. Many councils don't require a planning permit for a home-based business if it meets the clause's standard conditions, but this varies by council's own planning scheme — checking with your council's planning department before assuming an exemption applies is necessary. A distinctive sequencing point for a home-based food business specifically: council will generally confirm your home business qualifies as a legitimate "home occupation" under the planning scheme before it will register you under the Food Act — the planning check comes first, food registration second.

Farm-stay: specific conditions in the Farming Zone, distinct from worker accommodation

A bed and breakfast on Farming Zone or Rural Living Zone land is generally exempt from needing a planning permit if it meets set conditions: no more than 10 guests accommodated away from their normal residence, 1 car space per 2 guests, and — a distinctive Victorian condition — the site must sit more than 1km from land subject to a wind energy facility (approved, applied for, or proposed) and more than 500m from land with an active mineral work authority. Beyond a straightforward bed and breakfast, the Farming Zone and Rural Activity Zone both support a wider range of farm tourism uses — farm stays, group accommodation, cellar door sales, restaurants — though larger-scale or more diverse tourism operations are more likely to need a planning permit, and the Rural Activity Zone is often the more flexible zone for this kind of larger operation.

Worth keeping separate: a 2021 planning exemption covers on-farm accommodation for seasonal agricultural workers specifically (up to 10 workers, on a property of at least 40 hectares in the Farming Zone, subject to power/water/wastewater connection requirements) — this is a different thing from guest farm-stay accommodation, and doesn't extend to housing paying tourists.

An important disclaimer, worth taking seriously

The Food Act 1984 framework, the FoodTrader statewide platform, and the Farming Zone bed and breakfast conditions are all verifiable, state-wide facts. But your specific council's Clause 52.11 provisions, whether your property sits within the wind energy or mining setback zones, and your zone's exact planning permit triggers all depend on your specific circumstances. Confirm directly with your council before starting a food business, home business, or farm-stay operation.

Frequently Asked Questions