Food Business Classification, Standard 3.2.2A Category 1 & 2
Work out whether your venue is Category 1 or Category 2 under Standard 3.2.2A, and see which of the three food safety tools you must implement, with a guided wizard.
How to get started with Category Classification
- Tell the wizard what your venue does with food, is it unpackaged, ready-to-eat and potentially hazardous, is it processed on site, plus your state and business type. It takes only a couple of minutes per venue.
- FoodSafety HQ determines whether the venue is Category 1 or Category 2 under Standard 3.2.2A and shows the result on your dashboard, with the answers recorded so the classification is transparent.
- The venue is set up with exactly the food safety management tools your category requires, FSS, trained food handlers and, for Category 1, substantiation of critical controls, ready to carry into your inspection export.
Frequently asked questions
What is Standard 3.2.2A?
Standard 3.2.2A is the food safety management-tools standard in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. Enforceable across Australia since 8 December 2023, it applies to businesses handling unpackaged, potentially hazardous, ready-to-eat food and requires them to use up to three food safety management tools: a certified Food Safety Supervisor, trained food handlers, and substantiation of critical controls.
What's the difference between Category 1 and Category 2?
Standard 3.2.2A classifies affected food businesses as Category 1 or Category 2. Category 1 is the higher-risk group and must implement all three management tools, including substantiation of critical controls. Category 2 businesses must have a Food Safety Supervisor and trained food handlers, but are not required to substantiate their critical controls in the same way. FoodSafety HQ's wizard tells you which category each venue falls into.
What are the three food safety management tools?
They are: (1) a certified Food Safety Supervisor, a nominated, reasonably available person holding a recognised FSS certificate; (2) trained food handlers, staff with food-safety and hygiene skills and knowledge appropriate to their work; and (3) substantiation of critical controls, being able to demonstrate that your key food-safety steps are being carried out and are effective. Category 1 needs all three; Category 2 needs the first two.
Which category is my cafe or restaurant?
It depends on what you do with food. Venues that handle unpackaged, ready-to-eat, potentially hazardous food and process it on site, cooking, cooling, reheating or assembling before serving, generally fall into the higher-risk Category 1 and must implement all three tools. Venues with more limited handling typically sit in Category 2. FoodSafety HQ's wizard asks a few plain-language questions and gives you a clear result for each venue.
Does the classification vary by state?
Standard 3.2.2A is a national standard, but it is administered and enforced at state level, by the NSW Food Authority, Victoria's food business class system, Queensland Health, SA Health and others, and the terminology differs between them. FoodSafety HQ records each venue's state and business type so its setup and wording reflect the local regulator, on top of the underlying national classification.
How does FoodSafety HQ use my classification once it's set?
Your Category 1 or Category 2 result configures the venue automatically, showing which of the three management tools are required versus optional. The classification is surfaced on your dashboard and carried into your audit and inspection export, so both your team and a visiting environmental health officer can see how the venue is classified and what it is therefore expected to do. It's software-only, with no hardware to install.