Welcome to the Australian Local Food System Policy Database. This is a collection of policies from New South Wales (NSW) and Victorian local governments that relate to healthy, sustainable, and equitable food systems.
For further information about using the database and how it was created see How to use the database. You can search the database by using the fields below. Domain refers to eight broad categories under which various topics are situated. The domains and topics are based on a framework of recommendations for local government action on creating a healthy, sustainable, and equitable food system (also located on the ‘How to use the database’ page linked above).
To cite the database: Reeve B, Carrad A, Rose N, Charlton K & Aguirre-Bielschowsky I (2021) Australian Local Food System Policy Database. Available at: https://law-food-systems.sydney.edu.au/policy-database (access date).
Suggested search terms
Hold Ctrl to select multiple terms. Using ‘any words’ functions as an “OR” search. Using ‘all words’ functions as and “AND” search.
Search Criteria:
| Document title | Relevant text in the policy | Domain | Topic | State | Local Government name | Council type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT | This service provides public and environmental health protection services to the community and ensures Council complies with its legislative duties. Services include: food safety – registration and monitoring compliance of food, accommodation, caravan parks and health businesses (hairdressers, tattooist, beauty etc.); inspection and issuing permits for wastewater treatment systems and septic tanks; investigations of public health complaints such as nuisances, food safety, pest control, noise, emissions, odour, pollution, asbestos, water quality; customer services/expert advice on public and environmental health matters; public health emergency response; and childhood and school immunisation services. Revenue is generated mainly from health registration fees. | Food Quality and Safety | Education on/enforce food safety regulations | Victoria | Surf Coast | Regional |
| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT | Progressed development of the Affordable Housing Implementation Plan. | Social Policy | Affordable housing | Victoria | Kingston | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT | working on an Affordable Housing Discussion Paper as the prelude to the Social and Affordable Housing Policy | Social Policy | Affordable housing | Victoria | Kingston | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT | Target: Maintain or improve resident perception of performance Community satisfaction: environmental sustainability YEAR Kingston performance Kingston importance Metro performance State-wide performance 2016 65 75 64 63 2017 62 74 64 64 2018 63 74 64 63 2019 60 76 64 62 Average 63 75 64 63 Kingston was affected by the recycling crisis Melbourne faced in early 2019 – when 2% of recycling had to be sent to landfill following the EPA’s closure of the recycling facility used by Kingston. Council continues to focus on reducing energy usage through the Energy Efficient Streetlights program and water saving initiatives. Other highlights included holding community composting workshops, supporting the Dolphin Research Institute’s I Sea, I Care student leadership program, and helping Council’s pre-school educators to learn about sensory garden building. | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | Victoria | Kingston | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT | saving approximately 1.12 million plastic bags, 25,200 printer cartridges and 352,800 glass bottles from being diverted to landfill by resurfacing Kingston roads with Reconophalt – a sustainable bitumen product | Food Waste | Food losses and food waste | Victoria | Kingston | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT | Target: Maintain or improve resident perception of performance Community satisfaction: environmental sustainability YEAR Kingston performance Kingston importance Metro performance State-wide performance 2016 65 75 64 63 2017 62 74 64 64 2018 63 74 64 63 2019 60 76 64 62 Average 63 75 64 63 Kingston was affected by the recycling crisis Melbourne faced in early 2019 – when 2% of recycling had to be sent to landfill following the EPA’s closure of the recycling facility used by Kingston. Council continues to focus on reducing energy usage through the Energy Efficient Streetlights program and water saving initiatives. Other highlights included holding community composting workshops, supporting the Dolphin Research Institute’s I Sea, I Care student leadership program, and helping Council’s pre-school educators to learn about sensory garden building. | Food Waste | Food losses and food waste | Victoria | Kingston | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT | food safety assessments of food premises | Food Quality and Safety | Education on/enforce food safety regulations | Victoria | Kingston | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT | food safety regulation and health | Food Quality and Safety | Education on/enforce food safety regulations | Victoria | Kingston | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT | Local Government Performance Reporting Framework (continued) Service Performance Indicators Service/indicator/measure Food Safety Timeliness Time taken to action food complaints [Number of days between receipt and first response action for all food complaints / Number of food complaints] Service standard Food safety assessments [Number of registered class 1 food premises and class 2 food premises that receive an annual food safety assessment in accordance with the Food Act 1984 / Number of registered class 1 food premises and class 2 food premises that require an annual food safety assessment in accordance with the Food Act 1984] x100 Service cost Cost of food safety service [Direct cost of the food safety service / Number of food premises registered or notified in accordance with the Food Act 1984] Health and safety Critical and major non-compliance outcome notifications [Number of critical non-compliance outcome notifications and major non-compliance notifications about a food premises followed up / Number of critical non-compliance outcome notifications and major noncompliance notifications about a food premises] x100 100.00% 100.00% 98.96% 100.00% Major and critical non-compliances continue to be treated as a priority. Environmental Health Officers ensure that any high risk issues identified during the assessments are attended to immediately and action taken to remove or reduce the risk. $255.48 $269.19 $270.14 $240.18 The cost of the service continues to be within expectations. There has also been a slight reduction in the number of registered or notified premises for the period. Results 2016 Results 2017 Results 2018 Results 2019 Material Variations and Comments 1.49 1.61 1.73 1.87 Officers continue to action all food-related complaints as a priority to ensure risks are managed appropriately. 100.00% 99.90% 99.90% 100.00% All operating class 1 and class 2 businesses | Food Quality and Safety | Education on/enforce food safety regulations | Victoria | Kingston | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT | Service/indicator/measure Food Safety Health and safety Critical and major non-compliance outcome notifications [Number of critical non-compliance outcome notifications and major non-compliance notifications about a food premises followed up / Number of critical non-compliance outcome notifications and major non-compliance notifications about a food premises] x100 | Food Quality and Safety | Education on/enforce food safety regulations | Victoria | Kingston | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 Annual Report | Diverse and affordable housing Council continues to be involved in facilitating initiatives to retain and encourage provision of affordable housing in Randwick City. Council’s Affordable Rental Housing Program is designed to assist low to moderate income | Social Policy | Affordable housing | NSW | Randwick | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 Annual Report | earners, working in key local services such as childcare, hospitals, police, and education institutions, who are unable to rent locally without succumbing to housing stress. Council currently has 20 affordable rental housing units | Social Policy | Affordable housing | NSW | Randwick | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 Annual Report | Community education Randwick Council conducts a comprehensive and proactive program of sustainability education and events for residents, business owners, students, their school communities and visitors. Courses and workshops are conducted on topics such as permaculture gardening and orchards, organic gardening, composting, worm farming, sustainability leadership, working with community groups | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | NSW | Randwick | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 Annual Report | Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA), were able to support our weekly ‘Permabee’ volunteers by bringing LOOKING AFTER OUR ENVIRONMENT ‘Green Gym’ volunteers back to Randwick Community Centre to help out on revegetation initiatives. Green Gym participants were mainly seniors from our community increasing their physical activity whilst learning about and supporting weekly revegetation improvements. This work was carried in and around the wildfood, habitat, and apiary trails as well as the Centre’s permaculture garden and orchard areas. Eco Heroes monthly club activities for youngsters and parents continued to provide opportunities to meet, play, gain some additional knowledge whilst caring for their local environment | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | NSW | Randwick | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT | 3.2.1.1.6 Work with leading organisations to maximise opportunities for innovation and to ensure future growth and development | Economic Development | Food related job creation | NSW | Hilltops | Regional |
| 2018-19 Annual Report | Council funded and partnered with local service providers to hold this annual event to promote local services, with fun activities and information sessions such as healthy eating options. | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | NSW | Randwick | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT | 3.2.1.1.7 Support the Southern Region Business Enterprise Centre in their development of a Young Farmers Program with Industry NSW | Economic Development | Food related job creation | NSW | Hilltops | Regional |
| 2018-19 Annual Report | Council’s long-running Best Green Innovation ideas competition continues to attract simple but innovative initiatives to improve our local environment from reducing single-use plastics, educating the community and re-using waste items that would otherwise end up in landfill. | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | NSW | Randwick | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT | 5.3.1.2 Work with partners to develop opportunities for young people to train in agricultural fields | Economic Development | Food related job creation | NSW | Hilltops | Regional |
| 2018-19 Annual Report | frogs to home gardens, to school excursions on saving energy and water, seed saving, growing food and increasing recycling. Most of these skills and capacity building sessions are held at Council’s own sustainability education ‘hub’ located at the Randwick Community Centre, but are also spread between our sustainability demonstration project with Waverley and Woollahra Councils, at Barrett House, as well as our highly regarded Community Nursery and various libraries. | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | NSW | Randwick | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT | Advocacy of Employment within the Environmental and Public Health field within Local Government. Council staff participated within the Schools Careers Expo at Young High School. Council Environmental Health Officers were present to discuss and answer questions from High School students on the rewarding career of a Council Environmental Health Officer. Students were also shown various scenarios and examples of the work an Environmental Officer would undertake on a regular basis to include water sampling and examples of a food premises inspection. | Economic Development | Food related job creation | NSW | Hilltops | Regional |
| 2018-19 Annual Report | More than 60 different courses, workshops, excursions, and volunteer days are also held throughout the year attracting between 3,000 and 4,000 participants, young and old, to become more sustainable around their homes, schools, gardens and in their workplace. From composting and worm farming, growing your own food on balconies or backyards, bike maintenance, keeping bees and chickens, and bringing birds and | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | NSW | Randwick | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT | Anecdotal evidence gathered through interaction with local business suggested there are opportunities for value-adding facilities to be established within the Hilltops. For example, a multi species processing facility for pigs, sheep or poultry would be well suited to establishment in the Hilltops as many animals travel long distances away from Hilltops for processing. | Economic Development | Food related job creation | NSW | Hilltops | Regional |
| 2018-19 Annual Report | School excursions are provided on energy and water saving programs with new topics created around seed collecting and food, linked to schools curricula. School excursions are offered primarily at Randwick Community Centre, home of Council’s sustainability education ‘hub’ which includes a purpose built outside classroom, while school incursions are organised around recycling, waste education and management and other waste recovery initiatives | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | NSW | Randwick | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT | Due to a change in staff and a cut to program funds the BEC has not delivered this program. Other programs have been delivered in Harden-Murrumburrah. There will be continued dialogue with the Business Enterprise Corporation to ensure they are actively supporting Hilltops business through their programs and officers. | Economic Development | Food related job creation | NSW | Hilltops | Regional |
| 2018-19 Annual Report | The Bastille Day celebrations were expanded into a free community event celebrating French culture and history. There was a ceremony for Bastille Day, French themed food and market stalls, entertainment and activities for the kids. | Health and Wellbeing | Traditional food cultures | NSW | Randwick | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT | Employment lands audit undertaken. Business events held for Agriculture, export and climate adaption | Economic Development | Food related job creation | NSW | Hilltops | Regional |
| 2018-19 Annual Report | The Kingsford Noodle Market, held in November, showcased the specialties of local restaurants and included a traditional Lion Dance performance. | Health and Wellbeing | Traditional food cultures | NSW | Randwick | Metropolitan |
| 2018-19 ANNUAL REPORT | has commenced on the development of a connected work and learning space in the Hilltops which could be pivotal to the delivery of training in the agricultural sector. Council has also had close contact with Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) at Boorowa and through the development of these relationships and programs hopes to foster a program of learning to support the Agricultural sector and the business community of Hilltops in general. | Economic Development | Food related job creation | NSW | Hilltops | Regional |
| 2018-19 Annual Report | Staff who are carers Council continues to comply with the Carers (Recognition) Act 2010 through our sound Sick and Carers’ Leave Policy and flexible work practices. Each carer’s needs and circumstances are considered individually to ensure that special needs are taken into account. As a result, managers have the discretion to provide extra support and flexibility when needed. 5,192 hours of paid Carers Leave was accessed by Randwick employees in 2018-19. Throughout the year Council provided staff with support and information to assist in their caring responsibilities. Our monthly Life-Style Lunches for staff and our annual “All Stops to Randwick” event continue our focus on employee benefits and total wellbeing. Sessions this year included: • Healthy eating and immune boosters. | Health and Wellbeing | Healthy eating by LG staff | NSW | Randwick | Metropolitan |