Frequently Asked Questions

Individual Streatrader accounts are only equipped to handle one registration. As a result, each community group you want to manage will require its own unique email address.

There are multiple free email services available to you, such as Gmail, Yahoo or Outlook. You can even set these accounts up to forward emails to your main inbox - please check your email provider's help section to find more information on this.

If you're organising an event for other traders to attend, you will need to contact your local council with the following details:

• The name of your event
• The venue/location your event will be taking place in, along with the address
• The date(s) your event will be running
• A name and contact details for the event coordinator

Once you've provided them with these details, council will add your event to the list and traders will be able to lodge Statements of Trade with your event.

If you are unsure which council will be your registering Council, search for your home or business address here to find the details.

To complete a Streatrader application you will need:

• The type of premises you would like to register such as a market stall (“temporary food premises”) or van or cart (“mobile food premises”).
• The contact and location details of your business or community group including address, phone number and email address.
• The types of food you will be selling and general food handling information
• When and where you will be selling the food (for a statement of trade).

In Victoria, all food premises are grouped into separate ‘classes’. Each class indicates the level of risk in the food handling activities conducted at the premises.  The highest risk category possible in Streatrader is a Class 2, and the lowest is a Class 4.

If you are unsure of your classification, please check here for more information.

The only classification that requires a certified Food Handler is a Class 2 registration – they are required by law to have a Food Safety Supervisor. More information on Food Safey Supervisors can be found here.

Classes 3 and 4 do not require a food safety supervisor or any formal food safety training. However we always encourage food safety skills and knowledge.

A lot of great food safety resources and training material can be found on the Department of Health’s food safety website – including the interactive food safety tool Do Food Safely.

Most councils in Victoria charge a registration fee. These registration fees vary from council to council and are charged depending on the risk classification of your premises, whether you are a business or a community group and the number or type of premises you manage.

(Please note: Class 4 premises are exempt from fees.)

For more details regarding your fees, please contact your local council.

This will depend on the class of premises you are applying to register and if any additional information is required by the council. For more information on the progress of your application please contact your registering council directly. The following time lines can be used as a guide:

Class 2 or Class 3 premises: Typically, councils may take up to 21 days to process the application.
Class 4 (eg; sausage sizzle): Typically, councils may take up to 10 days to process a Class 4 application.

Please note: These time frames are just a guide and in most cases councils will process applications in less time, particularly for Class 4 premises. Contact your registering council for any enquiries regarding the processing of your application.

It is illegal to trade until your registering council has approved your application.

You must lodge a statement of trade (SOT) with the councils in whose areas you are planning to trade. A SOT is a statement that lets all relevant councils know when and where you intend to trade.

Lodging an SOT ensures that you have complied with the Food Act.

However, other laws may also apply to your trading. For example, you may need:

• permission from a council to operate on council land, or if trading on a street, etc.
• permission from the land owner if you intend to operate on private land
• permission from the event organiser, if operating at events or markets
  
• other required licences – such as a liquor licence (if applicable).

Yes, a not for profit group can register on the Streatrader system. If you are new to Streatrader, click the "create login" button. You will be taken through the same account creation and login process, and then you will be taken to the Streatrader website to commence an application. As part of the application you will be asked whether you are a business or a community group.

No, you do not need to have an ABN to submit an application to council using Streatrader. Although this is asked for as part of the application process, this is not a compulsory field and you can leave it blank.

Once your application has been lodged with your registering council, the council then needs to accept and process your application before you can lodge a statement of trade (SOT). A SOT is used to let councils know when and where you will be operating your temporary or mobile food premises. Refer to the Statement of trade page for more information.

If a Statement of Trade is incorrect, all you have to do is lodge a new Statement of Trade with the new and more accurate information. As long as the correct trading days are lodged on the system, there is no penalty for leaving an incorrect Statement of Trade up.

If you need to change the manager of your Streatrader account, the current manager can change the associated email address from their Streatrader home page. Just click "Change Email" on the left-hand menu, and follow the directions from there.

For more information on changing your email, please see our How To Use guide.

If you are unhappy about the way you or your business/community group have been treated or dealt with by a local council, you should first contact the manager or team leader of the environmental health team at the council and raise your concerns with them. It may be useful to put these concerns in writing. Set out clearly what the issue or complaint is, the steps you’ve taken to resolve it, and the people you have spoken to at council already. Be clear about what you would like council to do to resolve the issue. If you are not satisfied with the manager’s response, you may wish to forward your letter to the council’s CEO and ask for a response to your complaint.

The Victorian Ombudsman, the independent investigator of complaints about administrative actions taken by Victorian government agencies and local government, offers tips on how to make a complaint to a public sector body.

Most public bodies such as councils have established complaint-handling processes and can provide you with advice on how to go about making a complaint or seeking a review of a decision made by the authority.

If council’s response does not satisfy you, and there is no further right of appeal if you are complaining about a decision, you can complain directly to the Victorian Ombudsman.