Opening a restaurant or food related business and want to know more about compliance audits ?
In this article, we’ll tell you all you need to know about compliance audits. We’ll also discuss how Food Agent Australia can help organise policies and procedures to make the process easy.
What Exactly is a Compliance Audit?
To put it simply, a compliance audit is a good way to safeguard your business and avoid food business licence refusal. A compliance audit is a site visit that occurs before council come, which identifies any non-compliances within your premises that council could pick up on that could affect your food business licence approval.
Council have strict structural requirements for what a food premises needs to have, in order for it to be approved. Depending on what type of business you are planning to operate, requirements can vary.
We use the same criteria that the council officers follow when they do their final approval inspection. The process also:
– identifies potential hazards and risks
– ensures compliance ahead of Council’s final inspection
Why Are Food Safety Audits So Important?
If you decide not to proceed with a compliance audit, Council will attend your premises and then identify the non-compliances themselves – which can then result in council rejecting your food business licence application entirely
Often, by the time Council arrives to meet their compliance requirements, you are already locked into your lease/purchase agreement. A compliance audit circumvents that and identifies any repairs or major issues that may arise before they become a major obstacle. This has (in our experience) saved business owners thousands of dollars.
How Often Should Compliance Audits Be Completed?
We highly recommend these compliance audits be completed presale or pre-lease. This way, you know potential costs, repairs, installation and maintenance required to obtain licensing prior to entering the sale or lease contract.
Some clients also use this as a negotiation tool during the sale or lease.
If presale or pre-lease is not an option, and you have already obtained your premises, then your compliance audit would be undertaken any time before your council inspection. This makes sure that any non-compliances picked up on are rectified prior to Council coming, to ensure your council inspection runs smoothly on the day and to avoid licence-refusal.
Can You Complete Food Safety Audits Yourself?
No. Food safety audits are effective because they are completed by a third party (such as Food Agent Australia) who has experience and the necessary skills in identifying non-compliances and knowing what regulations apply to your business.
How to Make the Process Easy
When you need your compliance audit completed, you want to ensure it’s done professionally and by those who are qualified to undertake such reviews. That’s where Food Agent Australia comes in.
Our team members are some of the most qualified food safety and hospitality professionals in the industry. It’s why we’re one of the leading providers of food business services in Australia.
Our commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction is second to none; we want to help you succeed.
Time for your compliance audit? Talk to the experienced team at Food Agent Australia about how we can assist you.
