The regulatory requirements
To operate as a dairy manufacturer or dairy processor, you must hold a current dairy processor or manufacturer licence, issued by the Tasmanian Dairy Industry Authority (TDIA) under the Dairy Industry Act 1994, Dairy Industry Regulations 2024 and the Primary Produce Safety Act 2011.
It is a requirement under the Primary Produce Safety Act 2011 that an accredited Dairy Manufacturer or Processor lodge an annual return to retain its accreditation.
Dairy Manufacturers are defined as businesses that take milk and transform it into other products for sale - such as cheese, yoghurt, ice cream, powdered milk and other dairy products.
Dairy Processors are defined as businesses that process milk and cream into packaged cartons and bottles for sale.
Some businesses will be both dairy manufacturers and dairy processors, and we refer to all types of businesses as factories.
Not all businesses that manufacture dairy products will be required to have a licence - some retail establishments that manufacture and sell on site, such as restaurants, do not need to be licensed with TDIA as their local Council will take responsibility for these businesses.
However, if a business manufactures and sells on site but also sells at other premises, such as an ice cream retailer that also supplies other stores, they will require licensing.
If you have any doubts about whether you need to be licensed, please call us and we will be happy to advise you further.
Before applying
Do your homework:
Do you have the skills and knowledge required to manufacture high risk dairy food products?
Are you ready for the challenge of running a business?
Have you considered how you will market your product?
Will you sell locally or export?
Do you know the costs of operation, including product testing costs?
The Are You Trade Ready? website will help you explore these questions.
Make contact early with TDIA and your local Council to ensure your premises meet requirements - you may need to obtain planning approvals for new or modified premises.
Develop a written food safety program to identify and control potential food safety hazards in the food manufacturing process. This can be a complex process that takes time to get right, but it is the most important part of your application. TDIA has resources to help you with this process, and provides feedback on your program to assist you. Read the Requirements for Factories document listed below to help develop your program.
Applying for a licence
A dairy manufacturer licence must be held by the person or entity in charge of operating the business and therefore ultimately responsible for the safety of the dairy food handled. The applicant must be a licenseable legal entity (e.g. natural person in law, registered partnership, company or Trustee and trust)
If you plan to operate at more than one site, each site must be licensed separately with TDIA or if two separate businesses operate from the same premises, each may be required to hold a licence.
Please refer to the TDIA Factory Requirements and Dairy Factory Licence Conditions before you submit a new licence application.
Annual Return Dairy Processing (Factory) (PDF 260Kb)
Licence approval process
In order to assist TDIA in processing your application please ensure that:
The licence and accreditation application forms are complete and include applicable payment, and
A TDIA approved food safety program is provided
Have a HACCP plan for each separate product line approved by the TDIA
A licence and accreditation application may be refused if the applicant fails to meet the licence approval requirements.
If these conditions are not met your licence application may not progress.
Associated costs
| New licence application fee | The one-off application fee for new dairy manufacturer licence is $191.00
|
| Large Manufacturers Licence fee | $5,017.88 |
| Small Manufacturers Licence fee | $836.32 |
When to contact TDIA
- If you intend to make new products
You must contact us and submit Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point plans for new products you intend to make - before you trial or make them. - If you make changes to your business
You must contact us if you change your key personnel, food safety systems, significant pieces of equipment, or if you change your premises - either by moving or by modifying existing premises. All these aspects can have an impact on the production of safe food, so please contact us to discuss. - If required under your licence conditions
You must contact us if any of the items listed in the Dairy Factory Licence Conditions require you to e.g. if you detect human pathogenic organisms in your product.
Dairy Factory Licence Conditions (PDF 482Kb)
- If you detect inhibitory substances exceeding the MRL
It is a requirement for a factory to notify the TDIA of the detection of inhibitory substances exceeding the MRL, by phone or email within 2 working days after the initial indication of the result. Written details of such incidents must be provided within 3 working days. The form used for this can be found here: Notification and Report of Residue Detection Template (PDF 243Kb)
- If you want to change your HACCP Plan
Notify the TDIA prior to any significant variations to HACCP plans (e.g. new processes, new/different processing equipment or methods) and have the changes approved by TDIA in writing prior to implementation
Anytime you need help
You can also contact us to discuss any issues you may have with your manufacturing - we are happy to help with issues, and have a lot of information to assist. Or, you can visit our Resources page for information and links to help you with any problems you may have.
Resources available on our website