Most compliance problems in a new commercial kitchen aren’t expensive because the rules are hard. They’re expensive because someone found out about them after the tiles went down: a hand-wash basin in the wrong spot, a hood too small for the fryers, a missing grease arrestor.
This guide sets out the requirements every Australian commercial kitchen is built around, with Queensland examples. It’s a starting point for your planning, not a substitute for your council, your engineers or your licensed trades. This article is general information, not legal or compliance advice.
| Requirement | Where it comes from | Who usually checks it |
|---|---|---|
| Food safety practices, premises and equipment | Food Standards Code, Chapter 3 (FSANZ) | Local council environmental health officers |
| Food business licence | State food law (in Queensland, the Food Act 2006) | Your local council |
| Exhaust and ventilation | National Construction Code, AS 1668.1 and AS 1668.2 | Building certifier, mechanical engineer |
| Gas installation | AS/NZS 5601.1 and state gas safety law | Licensed gasfitter, state gas regulator |
| Plumbing and trade waste | State plumbing law, water utility trade waste rules | Plumber, council or water utility |
In Queensland, most food businesses need a licence from their local council under the Food Act 2006, including cafés, restaurants and takeaways selling unpackaged food. Part of the assessment is whether the design and fit-out of the premises suits the business you’ll run. Brisbane City Council, for example, inspects the premises before it decides a licence application, and offers an advisory call with an environmental health officer to talk through fit-out considerations.
The takeaway: talk to your council before you finalise the layout. Requirements vary between councils and states, so check with yours.
Standard 3.2.3 of the Food Standards Code sets the baseline for the building and everything in it. In summary, the premises must:
Food-contact surfaces must be easy to clean and, where needed, sanitise. They must not absorb grease, food particles or water, and must be made of a material that won’t contaminate food. That is why stainless steel benches are the default in commercial prep areas. For fit-out detail, the Standard itself points to AS 4674-2004 Design, construction and fit-out of food premises.
This is the most common fit-out miss. Standard 3.2.3 requires hand-washing facilities that food handlers can easily reach in the areas where they work, plus facilities immediately next to any toilets. Each basin must be a permanent fixture with warm running potable water, big enough for effective hand washing, and used only for washing hands, arms and face. A prep sink doesn’t count.
Under Standard 3.2.2, potentially hazardous food must be kept at 5°C or colder, or 60°C or hotter, when it’s received, stored, displayed or transported, unless you can show that an alternative system is safe. Cooked food being cooled must drop from 60°C to 21°C within two hours, then from 21°C to 5°C within a further four hours.
Any business handling potentially hazardous food must also keep a readily accessible thermometer accurate to ±1°C.
In practice, that makes reliable commercial fridges the backbone of compliance. If you batch cook, the cooling rule is very hard to meet without a blast chiller. Our equipment maintenance checklist covers the daily temperature log that backs all of this up.
Since December 2023, Standard 3.2.2A has applied to food service, catering and related retail businesses:
The food safety supervisor’s certificate must have been obtained within the past five years, and the supervisor must be reasonably available to advise and supervise food handlers. Food handler training must cover safe food handling, contamination, cleaning and sanitising, and personal hygiene. In Queensland, every licensed food business must have a food safety supervisor.
Standard 3.2.3 requires enough natural or mechanical ventilation to remove fumes, smoke, steam and vapours. The building rules add detail. Under the National Construction Code (NCC 2022, Volume One, F6D12), a kitchen exhaust hood complying with AS 1668.1 (fire and smoke control) and AS 1668.2 (mechanical ventilation, current edition AS 1668.2:2024) is required where:
Exhaust design belongs with a mechanical engineer. Give them a final appliance list with rated inputs early: a bigger range or an extra fryer added late can change the hood. Our commercial kitchen design guide explains how ventilation fits into the wider layout.
Gas installations are designed and installed to AS/NZS 5601.1:2022 Gas installations – Part 1: General installations. In Queensland, anyone performing or supervising gasfitting work must hold a gasfitting licence issued through Resources Safety and Health Queensland. Mass-produced (type A) gas appliances must also be approved (certified) for supply, installation or use, so check for the certification badge before you buy.
We supply the equipment, not the installation itself, but our fitouts team can connect you with professionals from our network to get it installed safely and correctly.
Under Standard 3.2.3, equipment designed to connect to water and drainage must be connected properly. Automatic equipment that sanitises with water, such as your commercial dishwasher, must only sanitise once the water reaches a sanitising temperature.
Waste water from cooking and washing is usually trade waste, and it needs approval from your sewerage provider before you discharge it. In Brisbane, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim and Somerset, that’s Urban Utilities. On the Gold Coast, the City notes that food businesses are generally required to install a grease arrestor where food preparation and utensil washing happen. Get your hydraulic design and trade waste approval sorted before the slab or floor is finished.
Standard 3.2.2 requires you to do everything reasonably possible to keep pests out and to eradicate them if they get in. Seal gaps, fit screens and self-closing doors, keep food in sealed containers, and record pest inspections and treatments.
Compliance is far cheaper at the drawing stage. Our commercial kitchen design team works through layouts, 3D renderings and detailed drawings with you, and our commercial kitchen equipment list helps you build the schedule zone by zone. Visit Commercial Kitchen Company in Brisbane (1/1 Carol Avenue, Springwood) or on the Gold Coast (88 Upton Street, Bundall), call 1300 CKC 000, or get in touch to talk through your project.
This guide summarises publicly available requirements as at September 2026 and is not legal advice. Requirements vary by state and council. Always confirm with your local council, certifier and licensed trades.
Commercial Kitchen Company is the go-to source for high-quality hospitality supplies and equipment in Australia. As a proud, Australian-owned business, we cater to a diverse range of hospitality needs, including restaurants, cafes, catering services, and hotels in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Our extensive selection in our showrooms highlights everything from advanced commercial kitchen equipment to essential front-of-house products, all aimed at enhancing the efficiency and appeal of your business.
