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Statements of Trade

Applying for a ‘Statement of Trade’ lets a Council know where and when you plan to sell food and/or drink in their area. This is required under the Victorian Food Act 1984 (the Food Act) for operators who sell to the public from a temporary food premises (such as a market stall, tent/marquee or hired hall) or a mobile food premises (such as a coffee cart, ice cream van or food truck), and for some vending machine operators.

Statements of Trade can only be applied for once your Registration or Notification has been granted and you are registered or notified under the Food Act. You will not be able to apply to trade before this, including while your application for Registration or Notification is pending.

The information required for a Statement of Trade will vary depending on the type of premises and the nature of the trading. For example, a proprietor of a mobile food vehicle will be able to specify if the vehicle is trading at a specific location on specific dates or trading generally and roaming, whereas a vending machine operator will need to provide a trading period date range.

Under the Food Act, applications for Statements of Trade must be submitted at least 1 full day prior to the trading start date.

Other Laws affecting trading
Other laws may apply to your permissions to trade. For example, you may need:

  • permission from a council to operate on council land
  • permission from the landowner if you intend to operate on private land
  • permission from the event organiser, if operating at events or markets
  • approval of the relevant road authority to trade on land within a road reserve (VicRoads for freeways and arterial roads, council for municipal roads or streets)
  • other trading licences, such as a liquor licence (where applicable).

In this section of the FoodTrader User Guide you can access guidance on the following:

Applying for a Statement of Trade

You should apply for a Statement of Trade each time you want to trade at a new event or on dates you have not previously applied for.

This video focuses on how you can submit a Statement of Trade application in FoodTrader and how to download the issued Statement of Trade certificate.

See below step-by-step guidance on how to apply for a Statement of Trade.

Note: The ‘Apply for a Statement of Trade’ button is only available once your application for registration/notification has been accepted by council. If this button is not visible, contact your registering council.

  1. Select the Statements of Trade menu item to open the Statements of Trade list.
  2. Select the ‘Apply for a Statement of Trade’ button at the top of the list view to open a Statement of Trade application form.
  3. Complete the required details including:
    • selection of the premises you wish to trade with
    • the name of the event you will be trading at
    • the venue name (where applicable)
    • the event address (Council details will populate once you have entered the event address)
      Note: If you search and select an event from the list, the event name, venue, address and council fields will automatically populate.

    • the dates you are planning to trade.
  1. Select the ‘Submit Application to Council’ button at the top of the page to send the request.

Your Statement of Trade application will be sent to the trading council for review/approval.

 

Receiving notice that a Statement of Trade has processed

You will be sent an email notification when your Statement of Trade application has been processed by the trading council.

You should access your FoodTrader portal to view updates to the Statement of Trade.

 

Finding your Statement of Trade

All Statements of Trade, once applied for, can be found in the Statements of Trade list of your FoodTrader portal.

  • A Statement of Trade with a status of ‘Pending’ is a request that is still under consideration.
  • A Statement of Trade with a status of ‘Current’ has been accepted by council.

 

Downloading a Statement of Trade

Many event organisers or market operators will ask for evidence that you have requested a Statement of Trade from council.

If a Statement of Trade request on the list has a status of ‘Current’, a Statement of Trade certificate can be downloaded for printing or emailing as proof of trading permission.

To download the certificate, open the Statement of Trade record by selecting the ‘View’ icon.

Once the record is open, select ‘Open SOT Certificate’ to download the certificate.

Once downloaded, the certificate can be printed and retained.

For further guidance on how to download an issued Statement of Trade, refer to the video under Applying for a Statement of Trade.

 

Withdrawing a Statement of Trade request

If you no longer intend to trade on the requested dates, a Statement of Trade request can be withdrawn at any time by opening the record and selecting ‘Withdraw’. You will be asked to confirm your request to withdraw the request.

Once withdrawn, a Statement of Trade record will display at status of ‘Closed’.

 

Why was my Statement Of Trade declined?

When a Statement of Trade application is submitted, the trading council can accept or decline the application.

If the Statement of Trade request is declined, you will be notified via email and the status of the Statement of Trade will be updated to ‘Declined’ in your FoodTrader portal.

If you wish to discuss the reason for refusal of the application, please contact the trading council.

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