What Safe Food Queensland does

Safe Food Production Queensland (trading as Safe Food Queensland) is a Queensland Government statutory body established under the Food Production (Safety) Act 2000 and headquartered in Brisbane. It is the sole regulator responsible for food safety in Queensland's primary production and processing sector, operating five mandatory accreditation schemes covering dairy, eggs, horticulture, meat, and seafood. Businesses producing or processing these food categories in Queensland are legally required to obtain and annually renew Safe Food accreditation before operating, with approximately 7,478 accreditations on issue in 2019-20 spanning producers, processors, transporters, cold storage operators, and retail butchers.

The organization's core technology stack consists of two digital platforms: the Safe Food Hub, launched June 2026 as the modern online entry point for accreditation applications, renewals, payments, and compliance management; and the legacy Client Portal, which provides accredited businesses with self-service access to certificate downloads, audit histories, contact detail management, and Excel exports of accreditation lists. These platforms sit alongside a public accreditation register, an approved auditor register, phone support (1800 300 815), and a direct field force that conducts risk-based audits and assessments (3,308 audits and 4,210 assessments in 2018-19) at food business premises, with enforcement actions including Corrective Action Requests, compliance notices, and Penalty Infringement Notices issued under the Act.

Revenue is generated through a combination of Queensland Government appropriations and accreditation fees set under the Food Production (Safety) Regulation 2014. Pricing includes a one-time A$181.90 application fee per accreditation, annual renewal fees (subscription-style, valid until 31 December each year), and usage-based audit fees of A$340.63 per hour billed in 15-minute increments. The go-to-market model is regulatory rather than commercial: businesses must apply for and maintain accreditation to operate legally, with renewals, audits, and incident response managed through a combination of digital self-service and direct regulatory engagement. Safe Food partners with Queensland Health, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, local councils, FSANZ, Dairy Australia, AgriFutures Australia, and QRIDA on cross-agency initiatives spanning biosecurity, pandemic response, disaster recovery, and industry training.

Name

Safe Food Queensland

Legal name

Safe Food Production Queensland

Website

https://safefood.qld.gov.au

Company type

Public

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Safe Food Production Queensland is a Queensland Government statutory body that mandates and administers food safety accreditation across five schemes — dairy, eggs, horticulture, meat, and seafood — for the state's primary production and processing businesses, operating from Brisbane with 11-50 staff.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Safety Regulation

akta.pro primary industry

Food Safety Inspection & Enforcement (HLAJAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Accredited Certification Bodies (CBs) – ISO 22000/FSSC 22000/BRCGS/SQF (AFALACAA), Internal QA Audits & Compliance Monitoring (GMP/SSOP/HACCP Verification) (AFALALAC), Incident Investigation & Root Cause Analysis Verification (Contamination Source Tracing) (AFALAGAL), Labeling & Claims Compliance Review (Nutrition, Allergen, Country-of-Origin) (AFALADAF)

Keywords

• Food safety regulation
• Food business accreditation
• Regulatory compliance services
• Primary production safety
• Food safety auditing

Headquarters

HQ city

Brisbane

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Accreditation Fees: Safe Food Queensland is a Queensland Government statutory body funded through accreditation fees collected from food businesses. Fees cover processing applications, annual accreditation renewals, and compliance activities including audits, assessments, and response to complaints and food safety issues.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Safe Food Queensland is a Queensland Government statutory body that accredits food businesses producing dairy, eggs, horticulture, meat, and seafood products in Queensland under the Food Production (Safety) Act 2000. The organisation administers five food safety schemes, processes new accreditation applications, conducts annual renewals, performs risk-based audits and assessments, manages food recalls, and enforces compliance through corrective action requests and penalty infringement notices. Supporting digital platforms (Safe Food Hub and Client Portal) enable accredited businesses to self-manage their compliance obligations online.

Product overview

Safe Food Production Queensland is a Queensland Government statutory body regulating food safety for primary production. Their core digital offering consists of the Safe Food Hub and Client Portal platforms, which provide accredited businesses with self-service tools to manage accreditation applications, renewals, payments, and compliance documentation. Five regulatory Food Safety Schemes (Dairy, Eggs, Horticulture, Meat, and Seafood) form the foundational service categories, each with specific accreditation requirements and compliance standards. The organization also provides supporting tools like COVID-19 Safe Tools for pandemic-related business assessments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Safe Food Hub Modern online platform for accredited Queensland food businesses to apply for and renew accreditation, make payments, manage compliance, and access food safety resources from a secure central location.
• Client Portal Self-service portal allowing accreditation holders to view and update contact details, view audits and assessments, manage accreditation renewals, download accreditation certificates, and export accreditation lists to Excel.
• Dairy Food Safety Scheme Statutory food safety scheme covering the production, processing, and handling of dairy products in Queensland, from milking through to processing at dairies, depots, and factories producing milk, cheese, yoghurt, butter, and ice cream.

Quantifiable outcome

• High level of compliance with food safety requirements observed during audits (2018-19)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, minor and supporting.

• Queensland HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on COVID-19 response and public health matters. Safe Food works with Queensland Health to provide whole-of-government approach to managing COVID-19 impacts on food businesses. Queensland Health provides guidance on health-related matters including food poisoning, contamination incidents, and pandemic response.
• Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) QueenslandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on agricultural policy, biosecurity, and food production regulation. Partner for disaster recovery assistance for primary producers and agribusiness digital solutions grants program.
• Local Councils (Queensland)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal councils handle retail food business licensing under the Food Act 2006. Safe Food refers non-accredited businesses to appropriate council for Food Business Licence requirements.
• Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational food standards coordination. Safe Food supports national food standards and helps ensure products comply with the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.
• Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Australian Government)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal department handling importing and exporting requirements. Businesses registered for export still need Safe Food accreditation for domestic processing activities.
• Dairy AustraliamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in developing free online training courses for dairy manufacturers. Collaboration to support dairy industry food safety education.
• AgriFutures AustraliamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational partnership to deliver Producer Technology Uptake Program. Grants up to $20,000 available to producer groups for technology adoption workshops and activities.
• Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides disaster assistance loans and Rural Economic Development Grants for primary producers affected by natural disasters. Up to $250,000 in loans and $250,000 in grants available.
• Dairy Industry Association of Australia (DIAA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDIAA Australian Dairy Product Competitions. Safe Food promotes competition entries and supports recognition of dairy product quality.
• Food Safety Consultants and Industry Peak BodiessupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBusinesses can work with food safety consultants or industry peak bodies to develop Food Safety Programs, though this is optional.
• NATA Accredited LaboratoriessupportingTechnology or IntegrationReferral to NATA-accredited facilities for testing services required under food safety schemes.
• Biosecurity QueenslandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on disease threats including African Swine Fever and other biosecurity concerns affecting food production.
• Department of Employment, Small Business and Training (Queensland)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSmall Business Digital Grants Program and support for artisan food producers. Partners on Queensland Small Business Month activities.
• CCI Queensland (Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Small Business Wellness Package delivering mental health support services to small businesses.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Dairy Australia: National industry services body for the Australian dairy sector that partners with Safe Food Queensland on training and food safety education. Adjacent rather than directly competing, but operates in the same regulated dairy ecosystem.

Regional players

• Food Standards Agency (UK): UK non-ministerial government department responsible for food safety, standards, and labeling. Comparable regulatory function and statutory authority over food producers, though serving a different jurisdiction.
• Singapore Food Agency (SFA): Singaporean statutory board overseeing food safety and security, including accreditation, inspection, and import/export controls. Comparable in scope of food safety regulation under a single statutory body.
• Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) New Zealand: New Zealand government agency responsible for food safety, biosecurity, and primary production regulation. Comparable statutory mandate and scope but operates under New Zealand jurisdictional law.
• Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA): Canadian federal regulator responsible for food safety inspection, accreditation, and compliance across primary production. Comparable function to Safe Food Queensland but at the federal level across Canada.
• NSW Food Authority: Statutory food safety regulator for New South Wales, performing accreditation, inspection, and compliance functions similar to Safe Food Queensland, but covering NSW producers and processors.
• Department of Health – Victoria (Food Safety): Victorian government entity that delivers food safety regulation, registration and inspection services for food businesses in Victoria, comparable in statutory role to Safe Food Queensland.
• Department of Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA): South Australian agency with food safety and primary production regulatory responsibilities similar to Safe Food Queensland, including licensing, audit, and compliance oversight of food producers.
• Biosecurity and Food Safety – Western Australia (Department of Health): Western Australian government body that executes food safety regulation, including licensing and inspection of food businesses, sharing the same state-level regulatory mandate as Safe Food Queensland.

Broad incumbents

• Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ): National Australia/New Zealand statutory authority that develops food standards Safe Food Queensland enforces at the state level. Comparable in governance structure but operates at a national/standards-setting level rather than direct accreditor of producers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC8Dyz4pctS72JLafe-a9XdA
• Facebookfacebook.com/SafeFoodQLD
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/safe-food-production-queensland
• Xx.com/SFPQ

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Safe Food Queensland