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Food truck permits in Newcastle, the Hunter and the Central Coast

Every council sets its own rules for food trucks. This guide puts the main requirements from each local council side by side, taken from their own websites and policies, so you know which approvals to line up before your first trading day.

By the Food Truck Finder team · Last reviewed

General information only, not legal advice. Councils update their policies and fees, so confirm the current rules with each council before you trade. Links to the official pages are at the bottom.

The two layers: your home council, then where you trade

Your home council is the council where the vehicle is garaged. It inspects or approves the truck against the NSW Food Authority’s Guidelines for mobile food vending vehicles. Other councils then ask for evidence of that, plus their own approval or notification if you trade on their roads, land or events.

Across NSW, the planning rules treat a mobile food outlet as allowed with the landowner’s consent. Public land, roads and reserves need the council’s or public authority’s written consent, and private land is limited to one outlet per lot. Trucks must also follow the NSW Food Authority guidelines and the Food Act 2003.

If you are just starting out, read how to start a food truck in NSW first.

City of Newcastle

  • Roads: a current Section 68 approval. Trading hours are 7am to 10pm, and you can’t sell alcohol, cigarettes or non-food products.
  • Food trucks may only trade in the areas listed in Appendix 1 of the council’s policy, in existing lawful parking spaces, for up to four hours per location (including set-up and pack-up). They can’t trade directly in front of a home or within 50 metres of a fixed food business.
  • Food vans selling low-risk food such as coffee, cakes and ice cream use the Appendix 2 areas, for up to one hour at a time.
  • Size: no wider than 2.5 metres, and no longer than 7.5 metres without a separate Road Occupancy Licence.
  • Insurance: $20 million public liability, plus compulsory third party and $20 million third-party property damage cover.
  • Markets and events: no separate permit, as long as the event’s approval includes your vehicle.
  • Private land: landowner consent, one vehicle per site, 7am to 7pm in residential zones, and the council still needs to be notified.
  • Approval: after your application and a vehicle inspection, approvals run until 30 June. If Newcastle isn’t your home council, include evidence of your home council notification.

Lake Macquarie City Council

Lake Macquarie handles mobile food vending approvals itself. It has separate approvals for vehicle inspections, trading on private land or at events, and trading on community land, plus an online assessment tool that tells you which ones you need. Lake Macquarie is home to most of the trucks on Food Truck Finder’s Lake Macquarie page.

Maitland City Council

  • Approval: council approval is required, with no exemptions, under the Mobile Food in Public Places Policy (version 3.0, adopted 20 May 2025).
  • Where: street trading on council roads and car parks in the policy’s listed locations, designated Street Eats sites on council land, and council sportsgrounds and venues (with the written agreement of whoever has hired the ground).
  • Time limit: up to five hours at an approved location unless signs say otherwise, and no overnight parking on the road.
  • Distance: at least 50 metres from an existing food premises serving the same or similar food.
  • Insurance: $20 million public and products liability naming the council as an interested party, plus comprehensive motor vehicle insurance.
  • Trucks based outside Maitland lodge a Notification of Temporary Food Business or Mobile Food Vehicle form instead of a full approval.

Port Stephens Council

  • Application: one permit application covers trading on council land, public roads, private land, or at an event or market.
  • Insurance: at least $20 million public liability, with Port Stephens Council noted on the certificate.
  • Food: approval from the council’s Environmental Health section, a Food Safety Supervisor certificate where required, and a waste management plan.
  • Trucks from other council areas attach their home council’s inspection report on council letterhead.
  • Term: a temporary licence (12 months) or a general licence (5 years).

Central Coast Council

  • Events: any temporary or mobile food business notifies the council at least 21 days before trading at an event in the Central Coast area.
  • Trucks based elsewhere include their home council’s inspection report from the past 12 months.
  • Fees: there is no fee to notify. The council may inspect and invoice an inspection fee afterwards; check the current fees with the council.
  • Sites: the approval only covers sites with a current development consent, so check with the council or the event organiser.

Before your first trading day

  • Home council inspection or approval, and a copy you can show other councils.
  • A $20 million public liability certificate, with the council named where it asks.
  • Your Food Safety Supervisor certificate, kept in the vehicle.
  • Approval or notification for each council where you will trade on roads, council land or at events.
  • The landowner’s written consent for any private site.

Get found once you’re trading

Once your paperwork is sorted, tell customers where you’ll be. A free Food Truck Finder profile puts your menu, photos and trading stops on a live map, and on local pages such as Newcastle food trucks and Central Coast food trucks.

List your truck for free

Questions people ask

Do I need a separate permit for every council I trade in?

Often, yes. Your home council (where the vehicle is garaged) inspects or approves the vehicle. Trading on another council’s roads or land usually needs that council’s own approval or a notification with your home council’s inspection report. Events and private land have their own rules, set out council by council above.

Can I trade at a market or event without my own council permit?

In Newcastle, the council says you do not need to apply for a permit to trade at markets and events, provided the event holds an approval that includes your vehicle. On the Central Coast, temporary and mobile food businesses notify council at least 21 days before an event. Always check with the organiser.

Can I park on private land and sell?

NSW planning rules let a mobile food outlet operate with the landowner’s consent, one outlet per lot. Newcastle adds that trading on private land in residential zones is limited to 7am–7pm and that you still need to notify the council.

How much public liability insurance do councils ask for?

Newcastle, Maitland and Port Stephens each ask for $20 million public liability cover. Maitland and Port Stephens want the council named as an interested party on the certificate.

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