Seafood Country-of-Origin Information for Australian Hospitality Venues

From 1 July 2026, Australian hospitality businesses covered by the seafood country-of-origin information standard must tell customers whether relevant seafood is Australian, imported or a mix of both. The information must be clear, accurate and available before the customer orders. The Australian Government describes this as the AIM model: A for Australian, I for imported and M for mixed origin.

For a restaurant, café, pub, takeaway or food truck, the practical work is bigger than adding letters to one printed menu. The venue needs to know the origin of its seafood, keep supporting evidence, update every ordering channel and control temporary supplier changes so the customer-facing information remains truthful.

Confirm whether a dish is covered

The official guidance says the rules apply to hospitality businesses serving seafood for immediate consumption in Australia. This includes a wide range of restaurants, cafés, pubs, clubs, takeaways, food trucks and market-style businesses. “Immediate consumption” can include food eaten on the premises, taken away or delivered.

The business.gov.au implementation page explains that the labelling task generally concerns dishes that:

• contain seafood;
• are marketed as being or containing seafood;
• are intended for immediate consumption; and
• are supplied within 24 hours of the customer placing the order.

There are exceptions and details that matter. Official Q&A material, for example, discusses shelf-stable seafood ingredients and dishes that are not marketed as containing seafood. Do not rely on a shortened checklist to decide a borderline case. Review the current government guidance and the Information Standard, and obtain advice where the menu or service model is unusual.

Create a complete seafood-item list

Walk through every ordering channel and identify:

• dishes named as fish, prawns, oysters, mussels, squid, crab or other seafood;
• mixed dishes such as seafood platters, marinara, paella or combination noodles;
• seafood options added to a base dish;
• specials and market-price boards;
• catering, function and banquet menus;
• children's, bar and takeaway menus;
• delivery-platform items and modifiers; and
• ready-to-eat seafood sold from a display.

Do not stop at the printed dinner menu. A single unreviewed QR menu or delivery listing can give customers different information from the venue's main board.

Understand the three AIM presentation methods

Official guidance describes three broad ways to present the required origin information.

Single-letter AIM labels

Place A, I or M beside the relevant dish and include a clear legend explaining the letters. For example:

• grilled fish (A);
• salt and pepper squid (I); or
• seafood pasta (M).

If a mixed dish contains different seafood ingredients, the venue may be able to identify the individual components—for example prawns (A) and squid (I)—rather than using M for the whole seafood element. Check the official examples before setting the menu style.

Detailed wording

Use the words “Australian”, “imported” or “mixed” in or next to the dish description. Detailed wording can be easier for customers when there is enough menu space. It also avoids relying on a legend being noticed.

Do not replace “imported” with a term such as “international”. The official guidance identifies the words and AIM labels that meet the model.

One statement for the business

A single statement may be used where all seafood served by the business is Australian or all is imported. It is not a shortcut for a venue that uses both. If supply changes break the truth of that statement, the venue needs to update the information before affected customers order.

Choose the method that can remain accurate across normal supplier and menu changes. The shortest design is not necessarily the easiest to control.

Build a supplier-to-menu seafood register

Assign one person to maintain a register that connects purchased seafood with every affected menu item and channel.

For each seafood product, record:

• supplier name and item code;
• product description and pack detail;
• Australian, imported or mixed status;
• any more specific origin information the venue chooses to use;
• source evidence, such as an invoice, written supplier statement or packaging image;
• date received or checked;
• dishes and modifiers that use it;
• customer-facing label currently applied; and
• person who verified the record.

Government guidance says suppliers to hospitality businesses must provide the origin information needed for the business's labelling obligations, and must provide it in writing when asked. Ask before the first affected delivery if possible. Put the information requirement into purchasing and onboarding discussions so it is not rediscovered during service.

Keep evidence with the item, not in a general inbox

An email from a supplier is useful only if the venue can connect it to the actual product and period supplied. Save it with a clear filename or record link. If origin varies by batch, season or availability, design the receiving check to capture that change.

Official business.gov.au guidance states that a hospitality business must keep evidence proving seafood origin for three months from the date it last offered the product to customers. Records can include invoices, receipts, supplier emails and packaging photographs. Confirm the current rule and make the retention date visible rather than relying on ordinary inbox deletion settings.

Update every place a customer can order

Origin information needs to be obvious before the order. Map each channel and assign an owner.

Create a release checklist for menu changes. A menu is not complete when the design file is updated; it is complete when every live channel shows the approved information and superseded copies are removed.

Check visibility, not just presence

Small grey letters in a footer may exist technically without being obvious to a customer. Review the menu at normal viewing distance, on a mobile screen and in the actual ordering flow. Make sure the AIM legend is clear where letters are used and that a customer does not need to place the order before seeing the information.

Control temporary supplier changes

A venue may normally receive Australian squid and then be offered imported squid because of availability. The official guidance allows practical temporary methods for physical menus, such as a clear sign or removable label, but the customer information must remain accurate. Digital menus also need to be updated.

Use a substitution workflow:

1. Receiving staff identify that the origin differs from the approved product.
2. The product is held from normal use until the origin evidence is captured.
3. The authorised manager identifies every affected dish and ordering channel.
4. Physical and digital information is updated before the substitute is offered.
5. Kitchen and service staff are briefed on the change.
6. The date, evidence, menu changes and approver are recorded.
7. When the original supply returns, the same process reverses the temporary change.

If a platform cannot be updated promptly, contact the platform and use an available compliant method described in the official guidance. If accurate information cannot be shown before ordering, consider making the item unavailable until the issue is resolved.

Do not use M as a blanket “just in case” label. The government Q&A says a venue cannot simply label everything mixed to cover uncertain supply. Labels must remain accurate and truthful.

Connect the system to recipe and menu changes

Country of origin is not controlled by the menu designer alone. Include it in:

• new-product approval;
• supplier setup and purchase specifications;
• receiving checks;
• recipe and menu-item creation;
• specials approval;
• menu proofing;
• online publishing;
• pre-service briefings; and
• shift handovers when a temporary change remains open.

If a chef adds prawns to a special after menus have been printed, the venue needs an approved way to show the origin at the point of order. If an item marketed as vegetarian can be modified with seafood, check how the modifier and resulting dish are presented.

Train staff to answer accurately

Employees do not need to recite the Information Standard, but they need to know:

• what A, I and M mean;
• where the current origin information is displayed;
• how to check a supplier or menu uncertainty;
• who can approve a substitution;
• how to handle a customer asking for a specific country rather than the broad AIM category;
• how origin information differs from allergen or sustainability information; and
• when to pause an order and escalate.

Use two-minute scenarios in the pre-service briefing. Ask, “The calamari delivery changed from A to I this afternoon—what has to change before we sell it?” The answer should cover the product record, every ordering channel, the team briefing and the customer-facing label.

Avoid making additional origin, sustainability or sourcing claims unless the venue has evidence for them. “Australian” under the AIM model is not automatically a statement about a particular harbour, fishing method or environmental certification.

Worked scenario: a mixed seafood pasta

A restaurant's seafood pasta contains Australian prawns and imported mussels. The venue can label the seafood element as mixed or, using the official detailed options, identify the components separately. It records both supplier sources and links them to the controlled recipe.

On Friday, the prawn supplier delivers an imported alternative. Receiving staff hold the product from use and notify the manager. The manager updates the seafood register and changes the printed-menu temporary notice, QR menu and delivery listings so the dish remains accurately described. The kitchen brief confirms that both seafood components are now imported and that older verbal descriptions must not be used.

The manager retains the supplier evidence and records the date the changed origin was last offered. When Australian prawns return, the venue verifies the delivery and deliberately changes the customer information again. No one assumes the normal label restored itself.

Audit the system each month and at every change

Use a sample-based audit:

1. Select several seafood dishes from different channels.
2. Trace each dish to its current recipe and purchased products.
3. Locate written origin evidence for the current supply.
4. Compare the evidence with the printed, digital and in-venue information.
5. Check that staff can explain the AIM label and escalation process.
6. Review recent substitutions and confirm temporary notices were removed or retained correctly.
7. Check the three-month evidence-retention dates.

Record exceptions with an owner and due time. A menu mismatch found during the audit may require the item to be paused until it is corrected.

Common seafood-origin mistakes

• Updating the printed menu but not the website or delivery apps.
• Using A, I or M without a clear legend.
• Using “international” where “imported” is required by the model.
• Applying one whole-business statement when supply includes both origins.
• Labelling everything M to cover uncertainty.
• Relying on a verbal supplier assurance without accessible written evidence.
• Failing to connect origin changes with affected dishes and modifiers.
• Forgetting specials, function menus and menu boards.
• Leaving a temporary sign in place after supply changes again.
• Confusing seafood origin with allergen, species, sustainability or processing-location claims.

Seafood-origin implementation checklist

• ☐ Read the current government guidance and confirm whether the business and dishes are covered.
• ☐ List every seafood dish, modifier, special and order channel.
• ☐ Obtain origin information for each purchased seafood product.
• ☐ Create a seafood register linking suppliers, evidence, dishes and labels.
• ☐ Choose the AIM presentation method that suits the menu system.
• ☐ Update printed menus, boards, websites, QR menus and delivery platforms.
• ☐ Make the information obvious before ordering.
• ☐ Create a temporary-supply-change process.
• ☐ Brief kitchen, service and receiving staff.
• ☐ Retain evidence for the required period and record disposal dates.
• ☐ Audit sample dishes from supplier evidence to customer view.
• ☐ Escalate uncertain or borderline cases for current legal guidance.

Take the next useful action

Choose one current seafood dish and trace it from the supplier invoice to every place a customer can order it. If the origin cannot be proved or one channel gives different information, pause and correct that chain before expanding the review to the full menu.

The Free Hospitality Checklists collection can support the broader habit of assigned checks and review. For editable restaurant operating tools, review the Restaurant Operations Pack. The guide What Documents Should a New Venue Have Ready? explains how controlled records fit into the wider venue document system.

General-information limitation: General operational information only, not legal advice. Confirm the current scope, exceptions, wording, display and recordkeeping requirements under the Information Standard and Australian Consumer Law for your products and service model with business.gov.au, the ACCC, your state or territory consumer-protection body and qualified advisers.

References and source review

• Seafood labelling laws have changed for hospitality businesses, business.gov.au. Accessed 24 August 2026.
• Labelling seafood in your hospitality business, business.gov.au. Accessed 24 August 2026.
• Seafood country-of-origin questions answered, business.gov.au, 14 April 2026. Accessed 24 August 2026.
• Country of origin claims, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Accessed 24 August 2026.

Source review date: 24 August 2026