Country of origin labelling for seafood in hospitality settings

Seafood country of origin labelling information standard

Businesses selling dishes containing seafood in Australia must follow country of origin labelling standards.

The name of this standard is the Competition and Consumer (Australian Consumer Law—Country of Origin Information for Seafood for Immediate Consumption) Information Standard 2025. It falls under Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

Our department is responsible for country of origin labelling policy.

The standard comes into effect on 1 July 2026.

Requirements for business

You need to use country of origin labelling to tell consumers if the seafood in dishes is:

• Australian (A)
• imported (I)
• mixed origin (M).

This allows them to make informed buying decisions.

These labelling requirements apply if your business serves seafood for immediate consumption in Australia. Immediate consumption means the food is ready to eat as soon as you give it to a customer. It doesn’t matter if they eat it on-site at your business or venue, take it away or get it home delivered.

These labelling requirements do not apply to food subject to the Country of Origin Food Labelling Information Standard 2016.

Transition period

Businesses must comply with the information standard from 1 July 2026.

During the transition period, the Australian Government is helping businesses to prepare. Guidance material is available on business.gov.au.

State and territory ACL regulators are also helping to educate businesses about the seafood labelling rules.

Compliance and enforcement

Under the ACL, it is unlawful for a business to:

• supply goods that do not comply with a relevant information standard
• behave in a way that’s misleading or deceptive, or likely to mislead or deceive
• make a false or misleading representation, including about the origin of goods.

Commonwealth, state and territory regulators enforce the ACL across Australia.

ACL regulators:

• address non-compliance
• enforce the ACL in an effective and consistent way
• run their activities through regular interaction with Consumer Senior Officials’ Network and other staff level networks.

In line with a ‘one law, multiple regulators’ model, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) prioritises addressing conduct that results in substantial consumer or small business detriment. This includes national conduct by large businesses, recognising the potential for greater consumer detriment and the likelihood that their conduct can influence how other businesses act. 

Conduct that occurs in a single state or territory is more effectively dealt with at the local level by state and territory ACL regulators.