Department of Health

Key messages

  • Class 3 community groups handle or sell, high risk foods that are cooked and served immediately; people handling the food are mostly volunteers; and the group operates for two days or less.
  • Class 3 community group food fundraisers do not need a food safety program or food safety supervisor, but must keep minimum records and ensure that the food they sell is safe to eat.
  • Class 3 premises operating from a temporary or mobile site should register their group through Streatrader.
  • Do Food Safely is an online learning program on basic food handling.
  • People who make food that is donated and sold by a community group do not need to register their homes.

Class 3 community group food fundraisers do not need a food safety program or food safety supervisor, but must ensure that the food they sell is safe to eat.

The downloadable guide on this webpage will help your community group understand what it needs to do to ensure that the food you are selling is safe. This guide applies to your group if:

  • you sell food solely for the purposes of raising funds for charity or are a not-for-profit body,
  • people handling the food are mostly volunteers; and
  • you operate for two days or less; and
  • you handle or sell high risk foods that are cooked and served immediately; or
  • you handle low risk foods or prepackage high risk foods.

Examples of community groups include local sporting clubs, senior citizens groups and church groups.

Class 3 premises operating from a temporary or mobile site need to register their group through Streatrader.

If your group does not match this definition, you have different legal responsibilities that are not covered in this guide.

Do Food Safely is an online learning program for people needing training on basic food handling.

Registering volunteers

People who make food that is donated and sold by a community group do not need to register their homes. For example, parents that bake a cake that is sold by the school at a fete.

Reviewed 26 June 2023

Health.vic

Contact details

Food Safety Unit

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