Who is considered a food handler?

Updated 24 September 2026

Short answer

Anyone who directly handles food, or who handles surfaces and equipment likely to come into contact with food, as part of a food business. Job title is irrelevant — a kitchen hand, a canteen worker and a chef are all food handlers, and so is the person washing the boards or wiping the benches.

The options, and which is right

A kitchen hand
A canteen worker
A chef
Any of the above

The definition in the Code

Standard 3.1.1 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code — the interpretation standard whose definitions the food safety standards, including 3.2.2, rely on — defines a food handler as a person who directly engages in the handling of food, or who handles surfaces likely to come into contact with food, for a food business. That wording is deliberately broad, and it catches people who would never describe themselves as working in food.

The second half matters as much as the first. Someone who never touches food but washes the chopping boards, wipes the benches or stacks clean plates is handling food-contact surfaces, and is therefore a food handler with the same hygiene obligations as the chef.

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Roles that count

In practice this covers most of the people in a food business, paid or not. Volunteers at a school canteen, a sports club or a community kitchen are food handlers too — the Code is about the activity, not the employment arrangement.

Chefs, cooks, kitchen hands and apprentices
Baristas, waitstaff and bar staff who handle garnishes, ice or plated food
Canteen and tuckshop staff and volunteers
Food court, takeaway and food truck staff
Supermarket deli, bakery and salad-bar staff
Aged care, childcare, hospital and school kitchen staff
Caterers, market stallholders and event food crews
Cleaners and dishwashers who handle food-contact surfaces

Food handler is not the same as Food Safety Supervisor

Being a food handler is a description of what you do. A Food Safety Supervisor is a specific, formally recognised role that certain food businesses must appoint, with its own certification requirements that vary by state. Every Food Safety Supervisor is a food handler; very few food handlers are Food Safety Supervisors.

Food Handler Academy issues a private food handler certificate of completion. It shows you have completed and been tested on food handler training — it is not a Food Safety Supervisor certificate and does not replace one.

Sources

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Modules that cover this

Free to read, no sign-up. These are the lessons the question comes from.

Introduction to Food Safety in AustraliaModule 1 · 6 min read Food Safety Law and Your ResponsibilitiesModule 2 · 7 min read

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Follow-up questions

Are volunteers food handlers?

Yes. The Food Standards Code defines a food handler by the activity, not by whether the person is paid. Someone volunteering in a school canteen, a sports club kitchen or a community food service is a food handler and has the same health and hygiene obligations.

Is a dishwasher a food handler?

Yes, if they handle surfaces or equipment likely to touch food — which washing boards, knives, plates and utensils clearly is. That's why the definition includes food-contact surfaces and not just food itself.

Does every food handler need a certificate?

No Australian law requires every individual food handler to hold a certificate. What the Code requires is that food businesses ensure their food handlers have the skills and knowledge for what they do. Many businesses meet that by having staff complete food handler training, and many job seekers complete it before applying so their resume already shows it.

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