Insurables — Australian business risk, sourced and dated

Caterers: insurance and scheme requirements

Preparation and service of food off-site, at venues and private homes.

Data as at

Required by law or licence

  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition at state level. The NSW Food Authority does not impose one — it says plainly that it is "not able to provide advice about tax, ABNs, insurance" — and no insurance requirement appears in the Liquor Act 2007 or its statutory licence conditions. And here is the part that catches people: the absence of a STATE requirement does not mean no requirement. Local councils impose their own insurance conditions on food businesses through permits and approvals, and they differ council by council — several NSW councils require public liability cover at a stated figure and require the council to be named on the policy as an interested party. The obligation is real; it just is not where people look for it. NSW · effective 2026-08-24 NSW Food Authority · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: Nothing to the state regulator. To a council, where its permit requires cover: a certificate of currency showing a current expiry date, and in several councils naming the council itself as an interested party on the policy. Check the specific council, because the answer genuinely differs between them. NSW · effective 2026-08-24 NSW Food Authority · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: It depends on who the food goes to. Caterers preparing food and distributing it to other sites to on-sell fall under the NSW Food Authority’s Manufacturing and Wholesalers Inspection Program; a caterer serving direct to consumers notifies the local council instead. NSW · effective 2026-08-24 NSW Food Authority · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition at state level. AND HERE IS WHERE IT ACTUALLY BITES: the absence of a STATE requirement does not mean no requirement. Councils impose their own through permits and approvals, and they differ council by council — the City of Perth requires current public liability insurance from food vendors, and several New South Wales councils require cover at a stated figure with the council named on the policy as an interested party. The obligation is real; it is simply not where people look for it. Check the specific council, because the answer genuinely differs between them. VIC · effective 2026-08-24 Victoria Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: Nothing to the state regulator. To a council, where its permit requires cover: a certificate of currency, and in some councils the council named on the policy as an interested party. VIC · effective 2026-08-24 Victoria Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: Usually the local council, under the Food Act 1984 (Vic). Most businesses that manufacture, sell, handle, prepare, package, store, serve, supply or repackage food must be registered with their council; the state food regulator licenses only a narrow set of higher-risk categories directly — dairy, meat and seafood, and businesses using new or emerging technologies. VIC · effective 2026-08-24 Victoria Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition at state level. AND HERE IS WHERE IT ACTUALLY BITES: the absence of a STATE requirement does not mean no requirement. Councils impose their own through permits and approvals, and they differ council by council — the City of Perth requires current public liability insurance from food vendors, and several New South Wales councils require cover at a stated figure with the council named on the policy as an interested party. The obligation is real; it is simply not where people look for it. Check the specific council, because the answer genuinely differs between them. QLD · effective 2026-08-24 Queensland Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: Nothing to the state regulator. To a council, where its permit requires cover: a certificate of currency, and in some councils the council named on the policy as an interested party. QLD · effective 2026-08-24 Queensland Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: Usually the local council, under the Food Act 2006 (Qld). The Act is blunt about it: a person must not carry on a licensable food business unless the person holds a licence to carry on the business. The licence comes from the council rather than the state. QLD · effective 2026-08-24 Queensland Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition at state level. AND HERE IS WHERE IT ACTUALLY BITES: the absence of a STATE requirement does not mean no requirement. Councils impose their own through permits and approvals, and they differ council by council — the City of Perth requires current public liability insurance from food vendors, and several New South Wales councils require cover at a stated figure with the council named on the policy as an interested party. The obligation is real; it is simply not where people look for it. Check the specific council, because the answer genuinely differs between them. WA · effective 2026-08-24 Western Australia Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: Nothing to the state regulator. To a council, where its permit requires cover: a certificate of currency, and in some councils the council named on the policy as an interested party. WA · effective 2026-08-24 Western Australia Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: Usually the local government environmental health service, or the state health department depending on the business type, under the Food Act 2008 (WA). A food business must not start operating without registering — enforcement action including prosecution can follow if it does. WA · effective 2026-08-24 Western Australia Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition at state level. AND HERE IS WHERE IT ACTUALLY BITES: the absence of a STATE requirement does not mean no requirement. Councils impose their own through permits and approvals, and they differ council by council — the City of Perth requires current public liability insurance from food vendors, and several New South Wales councils require cover at a stated figure with the council named on the policy as an interested party. The obligation is real; it is simply not where people look for it. Check the specific council, because the answer genuinely differs between them. SA · effective 2026-08-24 South Australia Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: Nothing to the state regulator. To a council, where its permit requires cover: a certificate of currency, and in some councils the council named on the policy as an interested party. SA · effective 2026-08-24 South Australia Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: Usually the local council, under the Food Act 2001 (SA). All food businesses must notify the appropriate enforcement agency before the business opens. Notification, not a licence, and there is no fee. SA · effective 2026-08-24 South Australia Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition at state level. AND HERE IS WHERE IT ACTUALLY BITES: the absence of a STATE requirement does not mean no requirement. Councils impose their own through permits and approvals, and they differ council by council — the City of Perth requires current public liability insurance from food vendors, and several New South Wales councils require cover at a stated figure with the council named on the policy as an interested party. The obligation is real; it is simply not where people look for it. Check the specific council, because the answer genuinely differs between them. TAS · effective 2026-08-24 Tasmania Government · 2026-08-25
  • Licence evidence required: Nothing to the state regulator. To a council, where its permit requires cover: a certificate of currency, and in some councils the council named on the policy as an interested party. TAS · effective 2026-08-24 Tasmania Government · 2026-08-25
  • Licensing body: Usually the local council, under the Food Act 2003 (Tas). A food business must submit an application to the council and have its premises approved before it can begin operating. TAS · effective 2026-08-24 Tasmania Government · 2026-08-25
  • Licence liability condition: Yes, and the ACT is the ONE jurisdiction on this site that imposes it at territory level rather than leaving it to councils. ACT government guidance states that a food business must hold public liability insurance for people on the premises, alongside mandatory workers compensation. Everywhere else the state regulator is silent and councils fill the gap; here the requirement sits with the territory. ACT · effective 2026-08-24 Australian Capital Territory Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence evidence required: A public liability insurance certificate at registration. ACT · effective 2026-08-24 Australian Capital Territory Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licensing body: Usually the Health Protection Service, under the Food Act 2001 (ACT) — the ACT registers food businesses centrally rather than through councils, which is a structural difference from every state. ACT · effective 2026-08-24 Australian Capital Territory Government · 2026-08-24
  • Licence liability condition: No insurance condition. The word insurance appears nowhere in the Food Act 2004, across all 146 sections, and nowhere in the Food Regulations 2014 either — not in the risk classification provisions, the fee schedules, the food safety auditor approval provisions or the infringement notice provisions. What can still catch a caterer out is council: an individual Territory council may impose its own public liability requirement as a condition of a footpath trading, market stall or event permit, which is a separate municipal question from Territory food registration. NT · effective 2026-08-24 Northern Territory Government · 2026-08-25
  • Licence evidence required: None at Territory level. Food business registration under Part 7 of the Food Act 2004 asks for nothing about insurance at application or renewal. NT · effective 2026-08-24 Northern Territory Government · 2026-08-25
  • Licensing body: Catering businesses in the Northern Territory are registered as food businesses by the Chief Health Officer under Part 7 of the Food Act 2004. The grant criteria at section 72 are that the proprietor will conduct the food business in a proper manner, and in accordance with its registration, the Act and the Regulations. NT · effective 2026-08-24 Northern Territory Government · 2026-08-25

Cover commonly held

Ordered by how central each cover is to this occupation. This is what businesses in the trade commonly hold and what contracts commonly ask for — it is not a statement that any of it is legally required, and it is not a recommendation.

  • Public liability insurance — Cover for legal liability to third parties for personal injury or property damage arising from business activities.
  • Workers compensation insurance — Statutory cover for injury to workers, arranged through each state or territory scheme rather than on the open market.
  • Business pack insurance — A packaged policy combining property, liability and interruption sections for small business.
  • Products liability insurance — Cover for legal liability arising from goods a business sells, supplies or installs, usually written alongside public liability.
  • Business interruption insurance — Cover for lost income and additional costs when insured damage stops a business trading.
  • Commercial motor insurance — Cover for vehicles used for business, including utilities, vans and trucks, and liability for damage they cause.
  • Commercial glass insurance — Cover for shopfront and internal glass, signage and associated damage after a breakage.
  • Money insurance — Cover for cash and negotiable instruments on the premises, in transit and in the custody of a person.

Statutory schemes that can apply

Checking what you hold

The document a principal, a landlord or a licensing team will ask for is a certificate of currency. The checker reads one and lists what it does and does not show.

Sources