Prosecutions for food safety breaches may be initiated where there has been serious noncompliance or a repeated failure to comply with food laws. This is an important measure taken by government to ensure that food sold in our community is safe for human consumption.
As of 1 July 2010, details of offences under the Food Act 1984 or the regulations involving the conviction of a person by a court after that date are publicly available on this website.
This is in accordance with s. 53D of the Food Act, which requires the Secretary of the department to keep a register of convictions for offences under the Act or the regulations, and s. 53E, which requires that register to be published on a department website.
The Act requires that each conviction is to be included in the register for 12 consecutive months.
Ordinarily, a conviction under the Act is dealt with in open court – typically in the Magistrates Court. The purpose of the register is to increase the opportunities for a court’s decision to become more widely known. This will make information about noncompliance with the Act more readily available to the public.
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Information about a conviction of a person must not be included in the register of convictions until certain appeal processes have been exhausted.
Generally, a conviction is not included in the register during the time in which an appeal against the convictions may be made, or if an appeal against the conviction is pending or on foot . For further details, see part VIIIA of the Food Act.
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Please note that an error or omission in relation to information in the register of convictions may be corrected at the request of any person who is directly affected by the publication of the information.
Requests for corrections should be addressed in writing to the Health Regulator, Department of Health, 50 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, 3000 or by email to foodsafety@health.vic.gov.au.
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If the registration of a food premises that is identified in the register of convictions as a premises at which an offence has been committed is transferred to a new proprietor after the offence has been committed, the new proprietor may ask for that information to be added to the register of convictions.
Requests for the addition of any such information should be addressed in writing to the department.
Reviewed 10 June 2025