SA Selling, Home Business & Farm-Stay Rules: What the State Actually Sets

Selling food in SA runs on a straightforward notification system, and home business and farm-stay both sit under the same single, statewide Planning and Design Code already covered in our SA Land & Water article. This article covers what the state actually sets for each, before your specific council's requirements layer on top.

SA's food system is one of the simpler ones covered in this series, and home business and farm-stay both sit under the same single statewide planning framework already covered in our Land & Water article. Each is covered as its own section below.

Selling produce: a straightforward notification system

Under Section 86 of the Food Act 2001, all food businesses in SA must notify the appropriate enforcement agency (usually the local council) before starting operations — a simpler baseline than QLD's licence-based system for equivalent activities. Notification is also required within 14 days of any change in ownership, contact details, or when the business ceases operating. Operating without notifying is an offence, with penalties applying. This applies to home-based food businesses exactly as it does to a cafe or restaurant — preparing food for markets, catering, or bed and breakfast accommodation all count as a food business requiring notification, regardless of scale or frequency.

Selling honey connects directly to our earlier SA livestock coverage: while beekeeping itself sits under the Livestock Act 1997, selling honey or other bee products for food still needs council notification under the Food Act, on top of any council by-laws about keeping bees themselves.

Home business: assessed under the same statewide Planning and Design Code

Since SA replaced its 72 separate council planning schemes with a single statewide Planning and Design Code in 2020 (as covered in our SA livestock and land & water articles), a home-based business is assessed under this same Code rather than a council-specific scheme. Whether a home business needs planning consent depends on which assessment category it falls into: Accepted Development (building consent only, no planning consent needed) sits at the lighter end, with more involved activities needing Deemed-to-Satisfy or Performance Assessed consent instead. A important exception applies statewide: the lighter accepted/exempt development pathways generally don't apply in Flood Zones, the Hills Face Zone, or heritage areas — the same Hills Face Zone that adds extra scrutiny to dams in the Adelaide Hills and Mount Barker areas, covered in our Land & Water article, adds extra scrutiny here too.

Farm-stay & bed and breakfast: the same Code, a Home-based Business framing

Bed and breakfast and farm-stay accommodation in SA are generally assessed under the Planning and Design Code's Home-based Business provisions, rather than as a separate dedicated tourism or agritourism code the way NSW has. Depending on the scale of the operation, it may qualify as Accepted Development (building consent only) or require a more involved assessment pathway. As with home business more broadly, properties within the Hills Face Zone, Flood Zones, or heritage areas face a higher bar, since the lighter assessment pathways are generally unavailable there.

An important disclaimer, worth taking seriously

The Food Act 2001 notification system and the single statewide Planning and Design Code are verifiable, state-wide facts. But whether your specific home business or farm-stay proposal qualifies as Accepted Development, and whether your property sits within the Hills Face Zone, a Flood Zone, or a heritage area, all depend on your specific circumstances. Confirm directly with your council before starting a food business, home business, or farm-stay operation.

Frequently Asked Questions