Café opening checklist

Everything to register, apply for and set up before opening day, in the order you’ll meet it. Pick your state for the right food rules, workers compensation scheme and liquor regulator, set your opening date for a do-by date on every phase, and tick as you go.

Free, no sign-upRuns in your browserChecked 28 October 2026

Your café and opening date

The state sets the rules; the date sets a do-by date for each phase, counted back from opening day.

Food registration, food safety supervisors, workers compensation and liquor differ by state and territory.
Your best guess is fine. Change it as the plan firms up.
Or pick a distance

Registrations you need before you can sign a lease, hire or trade.

  • Business structures (business.gov.au)

  • Register a company (ASIC)

  • Applying for an ABN (ABR)

  • Register your business name (business.gov.au)

  • Registering for GST (ATO)

  • Record keeping for business (ATO)

  • ABLIS licence finder (business.gov.au)

Check the site can be a café before you commit to it.

  • Find your local council (NSW Office of Local Government)

  • Food safety standards, including premises and equipment (FSANZ)

  • ABLIS licence finder (business.gov.au)

  • Commercial trade wastewater (Sydney Water)

Register the food business and meet the national food safety rules.

  • Cafes, restaurants and retail outlets (NSW Food Authority)

  • Food Safety Supervisors (NSW Food Authority)

  • Food handler training (FSANZ)

  • Evidence tool (FSANZ)

  • Labelling seafood in hospitality (business.gov.au)

Outdoor seating, signs, music and alcohol, if they apply to you.

  • ABLIS licence finder (business.gov.au)

  • ABLIS licence finder (business.gov.au)

  • Music licensing for cafés (OneMusic Australia)

  • On-premises licence (NSW Government)

What has to be in place before the first person starts.

  • Fast food, restaurants and cafés (Fair Work Ombudsman)

  • Pay as you go withholding (ATO)

  • Single Touch Payroll (ATO)

  • Payday Super for employers (ATO)

  • Before you hire your first worker (ATO)

  • Who needs a policy (icare)

  • Information statements (Fair Work Ombudsman)

  • Record-keeping and pay slips (Fair Work Ombudsman)

  • Safe Work Australia

Cover for the things that can close a small café.

  • Types of business insurance (business.gov.au)

  • Types of business insurance (business.gov.au)

The practical work that has to be finished before day one.

  • Café equipment guide

  • Recipe and menu costing calculator

  • Do you need a POS system?

  • Staff wage cost calculator

Getting the first customers in, and back.

  • Google Business Profile for cafés

  • Instagram for cafés

  • Your first 100 regulars

Your progress in New South Wales

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Tick items as you finish them, or when they don't apply to your café.

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Next to do

Choose a business structure

Opening day—
Time to go—
Next deadline—

Put the deadlines in your calendar

One all-day event for each phase's do-by date, listing what's still to do, plus opening day. Opens in Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook.

Ticks are saved in this browser only, separately for each state. Nothing is sent anywhere. The link keeps your state and opening date, not your ticks.

Fees, forms and timeframes change, and councils add their own rules. Treat this as the list of questions to ask, and check each one with the linked source and your council.

How to use it

  1. 01Choose your state and date
    The list changes by state: a Queensland café applies for a food business licence, a NSW café notifies its council, and the ACT has no local councils at all. The opening date gives every phase a do-by date.
  2. 02Work to the deadlines
    The timeline shows what's overdue, due soon and underway. “Next to do” takes you to the first open item in the phase due soonest. Items marked “If it applies” are for some cafés only: tick them when done or not needed.
  3. 03Keep it with you
    Your ticks save in this browser. Download the plan as a spreadsheet, add the deadlines to your calendar, or print it for the folder. The link keeps your state and date, so you can send it to a business partner.

How the dates are worked out

Each phase has a window counted back from opening day: when to start it, and when it should be done. The windows follow the timeline in how to start a café, where the slow parts (approvals and equipment) set the pace and the phases overlap. The full plan starts 26 weeks before opening, which sits at the quick end of the six to twelve months most cafés take from a serious idea. For a café opening on Wed 28 Apr 2027:

Do-by dates for opening on 28 Apr 2027
Set up the business (26 to 22 weeks out)
25 Nov 2026
Premises and approvals (26 to 12 weeks out)
3 Feb 2027
Food safety and registration (6 to 2 weeks out)
14 Apr 2027
Permits for trading (16 to 2 weeks out)
14 Apr 2027
Staff and payroll (8 to 3 weeks out)
7 Apr 2027
Insurance (12 to 4 weeks out)
31 Mar 2027
Fit-out, suppliers and systems (16 to 1 weeks out)
21 Apr 2027
Marketing and opening (from 6 weeks out, to opening day)Wed 28 Apr 2027
  • Premises done 12 weeks out. Council approvals can take 1 to 6 months, and most fit-outs take about 6 to 12 weeks once they’re granted, so approvals have to be in before the builders start.
  • Equipment ordered 16 weeks out. Imported coffee machines and fridges carry 8 to 16 week lead times, and a machine that lands late holds up the whole opening.
  • Permits for trading start 16 weeks out. A liquor licence is the slow one: Victoria says to apply for a restaurant and café licence at least 11 weeks ahead, and an NT decision can take around 4 months.
  • Staff and payroll ready 3 weeks out, before the first paid training shift. Food registration and inspection are done 2 weeks out, so the soft opening is legal too.

Set a date closer than 26 weeks and the early phases start overdue. That isn’t a reason to panic: taking over a site that’s already approved and fitted out as a café can be much quicker. It does show you where the plan is tight. A phase turns “due soon” two weeks before its date, and “overdue” the day after, until every item in it is ticked.

What it can and can't tell you

It is built from the official sources for each state, checked on 28 October 2026, and every item says where to confirm it. What it can’t know is your council: zoning, signs, footpath dining and trading hours are local rules, and two councils in the same city can treat the same café differently. The government’s ABLIS licence finder lists the licences for a specific address, and a phone call to the council’s planning and environmental health teams early on saves the most time and money.

The dates are a planning guide, not deadlines set by any authority. For the detail behind the food safety and permit items, read café licences and permits by state. For the staff items, the wage cost calculator shows what a roster really costs, and the startup cost calculator adds up what opening will take.

Frequently asked questions

At minimum: an ABN, a registered business name unless you trade under your own name, GST registration (required once turnover reaches $75,000 a year), food business registration or a licence from your council or territory health service, a certified food safety supervisor, and, once you hire, PAYG withholding registration and workers compensation insurance. Depending on the site and what you sell, you may also need planning and building approval, a footpath dining permit, sign approval, a music licence and a liquor licence.
Yes. Under national Standard 3.2.2A, enforceable since 8 December 2023, cafés that make and serve ready-to-eat food that needs temperature control must have a certified food safety supervisor, train every food handler, and be able to show their food is safe (records such as fridge temperatures, kept at least 3 months). The supervisor needs a certificate from a registered training organisation from the last 5 years. NSW, Queensland, Victoria and the ACT add their own details, such as notifying the council.
It depends on the state. In Queensland, a business that only sells drinks such as tea and coffee does not need a food business licence. In Victoria, serving coffee and other low-risk drinks puts a business in a lower class than a café serving food. Every state still expects food businesses to tell their council or health service what they do, so ask before you open, especially for a cart or kiosk.
Allow months, not weeks, if the site needs planning approval or a liquor licence. Victoria, for example, advises applying for a restaurant and café liquor licence at least 11 weeks ahead, and NT decisions can take around 4 months. Registrations like the ABN and business name can be done in a day. The slow items are the ones tied to the building, so start with the site.
Yes, in this browser, separately for each state, as you tick. Nothing is sent to us or anyone else. If your browser blocks storage, or you switch devices, the ticks will not carry over, so print the checklist or save it as a PDF to keep a copy.
They count back from your opening date using typical lead times: council approvals done 12 weeks out so a 6 to 12 week fit-out can follow, equipment ordered 16 weeks out because imported machines and fridges take 8 to 16 weeks to arrive, staff and payroll ready 3 weeks out, and food registration and inspection finished 2 weeks out, before the soft opening. They are a planning guide, not deadlines set by any authority. Your council, landlord and builder decide the real ones.

General information for Australian cafés, not legal advice. Fees, forms and rules change and differ between states and councils, so check each item with the linked source, your council, and your lawyer or accountant before you commit money.

Sources for the timings

4 sources, 3 official

  1. 1Hospitality Hub: Café fitout buying guide Australia 2026 (fit-out time and equipment lead times)hospitalityhub.com.au
  2. 2Victorian Government: Apply for a restaurant and cafe liquor licence (apply at least 11 weeks ahead)vic.gov.au · official source
  3. 3NT Government: Apply for a liquor licencent.gov.au · official source
  4. 4Australian Business Licence and Information Service (ABLIS)ablis.business.gov.au · official source

Keep going

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GuideCafé licences and permits by stateFood business registration, food safety supervisors, signage, outdoor dining and more.GuideCafé equipment guideChoosing an espresso machine and grinder, buying new or used, and what else you need.Free toolEspresso and brew ratio calculatorDose, yield and ratio for espresso, batch brew and cold brew. Handy for training staff.