Frequently asked questions

A Vegan Australia Accredited Business is a food service business that has successfully completed the Vegan Australia Accredited Business program and agreed to comply with the requirements of the Vegan Australia Accredited Business Licence Agreement.

Accreditation demonstrates that the business has been trained in vegan food preparation, ingredient verification, menu labelling and the prevention of cross-contamination. It shows that the business has the knowledge and procedures in place to confidently prepare and serve vegan food in accordance with Vegan Australia standards.

Accreditation applies to the business itself. It is not an endorsement or certification of any individual menu item or product.

An accredited business must successfully complete the Vegan Australia Accredited Business Course and comply with the requirements of the Vegan Australia Accredited Business Licence Agreement.

This includes ensuring relevant staff understand the Vegan Australia standard, only describing food as vegan when it meets that standard, maintaining appropriate procedures for ingredient verification and food preparation, complying with applicable food safety laws and the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, and continuing to meet the conditions of the licence throughout the accreditation period.

Vegan Australia Accredited Business is a training-based accreditation program. It is designed to ensure that food service businesses understand vegan ingredients, preparation, labelling and the prevention of cross-contamination.

Vegan Australia does not routinely inspect accredited businesses before accreditation is granted. Instead, businesses must complete the required training, agree to the licence conditions and follow the Vegan Australia standards when preparing and labelling vegan food.

Vegan Australia may also give reasonable written directions to accredited businesses and may suspend or terminate a licence if the business breaches the licence agreement or acts in a way that may mislead the public or undermine public confidence in the accreditation program.

Every accredited business is required to complete our online accreditation training before accreditation is granted.

The course has been intentionally designed to be simple and practical. Preparing vegan food correctly doesn’t need to be complicated—it simply requires an understanding of vegan ingredients, good food preparation practices, and how to avoid cross-contamination.

The training covers topics such as:

• Preparing, serving and correctly labelling vegan meals
• Ensuring only vegan ingredients are used in vegan dishes
• Minimising the risk of cross-contamination from non-vegan products
• Knowing how to verify the vegan status of ingredients and products when needed

To become accredited, at least one manager at each location must successfully complete the course. Additional staff members can also complete the training at no extra cost, helping to ensure the whole team understands the requirements for serving vegan customers.

While the course is straightforward, it ensures accredited businesses have a consistent understanding of the Vegan Australia standards and the procedures needed to meet them.

No. Accreditation applies to the business and its knowledge, procedures and practices. It does not mean that Vegan Australia has individually assessed, approved or certified every menu item sold by that business.

The Vegan Australia Accredited Business trade mark must not be used in a way that suggests a particular menu item or product has been accredited. Individual product verification is covered by the separate Vegan Australia Certified program.

No. Accredited businesses must only describe food as vegan when it meets the Vegan Australia standard taught in the accreditation course.

This means they must take reasonable steps to verify that ingredients are vegan and follow the preparation and labelling practices covered in the course, including procedures to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.

No. A business does not have to be entirely vegan to become accredited. Accreditation means the business has completed the required training and agreed to follow Vegan Australia’s standards when preparing, identifying and labelling its vegan options.

Customers should therefore look for the items specifically identified as vegan rather than assume that everything sold by an accredited business is vegan.

Although both programs help consumers identify vegan options, they serve different purposes.

Vegan Australia Certified applies to individual products. This includes packaged retail products sold in supermarkets and, in some cases, individual menu items offered by food chains that are not eligible for the Vegan Australia Accredited Business program. Each certified product or menu item undergoes a detailed assessment against the Vegan Australia Certified Standard, including the ingredients used, manufacturing or preparation processes, supplier information and other certification requirements.

Vegan Australia Accredited Business applies to restaurants, cafés and other food service businesses that prepare and serve food directly to customers. Rather than certifying individual menu items, accreditation is a training-based program that ensures the business understands vegan food preparation, ingredient verification, labelling and the prevention of cross-contamination. It focuses on the knowledge, procedures and practices of the business, rather than assessing every individual menu item.

Importantly, accreditation applies to the business—not to individual menu items. It should not be interpreted as Vegan Australia’s endorsement or certification of the vegan status of any particular menu item or product sold by that business. Instead, it demonstrates that the business has completed Vegan Australia’s training program and has the knowledge and procedures in place to confidently prepare, identify and serve vegan food.

In simple terms, certification verifies individual products or eligible menu items, while accreditation recognises that a food business has the knowledge and procedures to prepare and serve vegan food in accordance with Vegan Australia standards.

Yes. A business can complete the Vegan Australia accreditation process even if it does not currently offer vegan options.

This allows businesses that are considering introducing vegan menu items or products to first gain an understanding of the Vegan Australia standards and what is involved. Many businesses mistakenly believe that offering vegan options is complicated or requires significant changes. In reality, with the right knowledge and procedures, it is often much simpler than they expect.

However, the Vegan Australia Accredited Business trade mark may only be displayed by businesses that offer enough vegan menu items or products to justify its use. This is assessed based on the type of business, as what is appropriate for a restaurant may be different from what is appropriate for a café, coffee house, ice cream shop, bakery or other food business.

This means a business may complete the accreditation process and be ready to offer vegan options in the future, but it cannot advertise or display the trade mark until it has an appropriate range of vegan menu items or products available for customers.

A business may only display the trade mark when it offers enough vegan menu items or products to justify its use. There is no single minimum number because the appropriate range will vary depending on the nature of the business. For example, what is reasonable for a restaurant may be different from what is reasonable for a café, bakery, coffee house or ice cream shop.

Vegan Australia assesses this according to the business model and the vegan options available. The trade mark represents the accredited business as a whole and must not be placed or promoted in a way that suggests a particular menu item has been individually accredited.

Yes. Vegan Australia may suspend or terminate a business’s licence if it breaches the licence agreement, fails to correct a breach after being notified, commits a breach that cannot reasonably be corrected, or acts in a way that may damage Vegan Australia’s reputation.

Once a licence expires or is terminated, the business must stop displaying the trade mark.

The easiest way to verify a business’s accreditation is through the Fussy Vegan Pro app, which lists all currently accredited businesses.

Because accreditation is ongoing, businesses must continue to meet the requirements of the Vegan Australia Accredited Business program. If a business’s accreditation expires or is no longer valid, it will be removed from the list of accredited businesses in the app.