Councils dish out $462k in fines after restaurants in 13 LGAs breach Food Act

From food handling to cleaning measures, restaurants in 13 council areas have come under fire for breaching food safety protocols. See where you should dine with caution.

Councils across the state are cracking down on restaurants and food safety.

Victoria might be the culinary capital of Australia, however research has found councils are cracking down on Greater Melbourne’s hospitality scene with more than $462,000 worth of fines issued this year.

A council survey conducted by the Herald Sun has revealed restaurants and cafes in at least four local government areas (LGA) have independently recorded more than 200 breaches of the Food Act 1984 from January 1 to September 17.

Meanwhile 13 councils have raked in at least $462,880 in fines since January, after 306 infringement notices were issued.

Venues within the City of Melbourne have become a hotspot for unhappy customers in the past seven months, with the LGA receiving the most complaints.

This could be due to the significantly higher number of licensed food premises within the council area compared to other LGAs, with the municipality hosting 3726 registered food premises.

Compared to other LGAs, the City of Melbourne received the most complaints from disgruntled customers this year. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

The City of Melbourne received 582 complaints between January 1 and September 17 this year with the most common food safety grievances including issues with hygiene practices, premises cleanliness and food adulteration.

Across all LGAs, food safety inspections are typically conducted annually for each licensed premises, with follow up inspections conducted when council officers notice a breach.

In the City of Melbourne – which governs the suburbs of Carlton, Docklands, East Melbourne, Flemington, South Yarra, Parkville and Southbank to name a few – three venues were forced to shut temporarily due to breaches this year.

These temporary closures come after six venues were issued with Food Act Closure Orders last year.

In Melbourne’s east, the City of Boroondara – which includes the suburbs of Ashburton, Balwyn, Camberwell, Canterbury, Hawthorn and Kew – has recorded the most breaches this year.

Since January, council inspections found there were at least 455 breaches of the Food Act in venues across the LGA, a significant decrease from the 1044 breaches recorded last year.

Meanwhile, a large number of venues in the municipality had to cough up $231,165 in fines, after 156 infringement notices were handed out this year.

Director of Urban Living for the City of Boroondara, Scott Walker, told the Herald Sun Penalty Infringement Notices (PINS) are issued in response to food safety breaches of a critical nature in line with the Department of Health.

“If there has been critical noncompliance or an immediate risk to public health and safety, council will consider pursuing prosecution or closure,” he said.

“Prosecutions are reserved for the most serious offences and PINs are issued as an alternative to prosecution for less serious offences.

“Other tools available to councils include seizing food and directing food handlers to complete food-safety training.”

Since January 2022, 10 breaches of the Act within the City of Boroondara have been resolved in court, with the venues involved all found guilty.

Collectively, the council was awarded $14,500 in penalties, with other sentences including good-behaviour bonds and $13,500 to the court fund.

Meanwhile, the City of Port Phillip has found there to be eight breaches within its licensed food premises since January, with 93 diners making complaints.

Acting Mayor Andrew Bond said most complaints were about food handling, hygiene and concerns with the conditions within food premises, while a smaller number of complaints were about food poisoning.

The beachside municipality is home to 1082 venues, two of which were fined a total of $1850 this year.

While most restaurants across the state are doing the right thing, there is a minority of venues who have been found to breach the Food Act. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

Closely following behind, venues in the City of Stonnington, City of Knox, Hume City Council and Glen Eira City Council have all recorded more than 150 breaches in the past seven months.

In contrast, based on the responses received in the survey, the areas where Melbourne foodies aren’t making as many complaints are situated in the city’s outer-eastern, southern and northeastern regions.

Between January 1 and September 17, the Yarra Ranges, Mornington Peninsula and Nillumbik Shires reported 50 or less complaints from diners.

In the same period, only one food premises in the Yarra Ranges Shire was forced to close in May, while two food businesses have been taken to court due to breaches.

The council handed out 18 fines in the same period worth a total of $25,150, while the Mornington Peninsula shire issued 8. This information wasn’t supplied for Nillumbik Shire.

Meanwhile in the City of Greater Dandenong, two of its venues ended up on the Department of Health’s conviction register last year, with Tabac Bread in Springvale and L & A Bakery in Noble Park both convicted for failing to adhere to food safety practices on multiple occasions in 2021.

The following councils were contacted for comment but didn’t respond by deadline: Banyule, Bayside, Greater Dandenong, Frankston, Hobsons Bay, Maroondah, Monash, Moonee Valley, Whittlesea, Wyndham and Yarra.