State rules

Can you sell backyard eggs in New South Wales?

Yes. With 240 eggs a week or fewer you need no licence, but you must notify the NSW Food Authority. Farm-gate sales can skip egg stamping; eggs sold anywhere else must be stamped.

Read from 4 official sources18 passages quotedChecked October 7, 2026

At a glance

Licence

Registration

Small-flock line

240 eggs a week or fewer

Farmers markets

With conditions

Cartons

Not stated

In plain English

New South Wales draws its line at 240 eggs (20 dozen) a week. A 'small egg producer' that produces, washes, grades or dry cleans no more than 240 eggs a week needs no Food Authority licence, documented food safety program or routine audit, but must notify the NSW Food Authority of its business (free, online) even if it sells only at the farm gate or a local market. Eggs must be stamped with the producer's unique code unless you produce no more than 240 a week and sell them directly to consumers where they are produced (or for a charity fundraiser where they will be cooked); the Food Authority sends notified small farms a free hand stamp. Cracked eggs may only go to a licensed egg processor, dirty eggs must be cleaned (dry cleaning is recommended) or sold to a licensee, and cartons sold to consumers carry a label. Above 240 eggs a week you are an 'egg business' and need a Food Authority licence, a food safety program, Salmonella Enteritidis testing and audits.

A sourced reading of New South Wales's rules, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with NSW Food Authority (NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development) (1300 552 406) before you sell.

Do you need a licence?

Registration required240 eggs a week or fewer
  • Produce, wash, grade or dry clean not more than 240 eggs in a week, and examine not more than 240 eggs in a week for cracks (Food Regulation 2025 (NSW) s 160); above that the business is an 'egg business' that must hold a Food Authority licence.ss 159(1), 32
  • Notify the NSW Food Authority of your business details and food activities, even for farm-gate or local-market sales.Food Act 2003 s 100; Food Regulation 2025 s 162(a)(ii); NSW Food Authority, Small egg farms
  • Stamp every egg with your unique identifier unless the number of eggs produced per week is not more than 240 and you sell them directly to consumers at the place where they are produced, or for charitable fundraising where they will be cooked thoroughly and eaten immediately.Food Regulation 2025 s 163(1), (2)(b)
  • No food safety management statement or documented food safety program is required at 240 eggs a week or fewer.s 163(2)(a); NSW Food Authority, Small egg farms
  • Comply with Food Standards Code Standards 2.2.2, 4.1.1 and 4.2.5 Divisions 1 and 2 as modified for small egg producers.s 162(a)
  • Sell cracked eggs only to a licensee authorised to manufacture, pasteurise or process egg products.s 167(1)
  • Deal with eggs that have visible faeces, soil or other matter on the shell by cleaning the shell or selling them to a licensee authorised to wash or dry clean eggs.s 168(1)
  • Do not sell eggs from a bird given a veterinary chemical product in contravention of the Stock Medicines Act 1989 or the Pesticides Act 1999 without Food Authority approval.s 169
The exact wording
“small egg producer means a business involving only one or both of the following—(a) producing, washing, grading or dry cleaning not more than 240 eggs in a week, (b) examining not more than 240 eggs in a week to detect cracks.”

Where you can sell

From home or the farm

With conditions

No licence at 240 eggs a week or fewer, but you must notify the Food Authority. Eggs sold directly to consumers where they are produced need no stamp (s 163). No cracked or dirty eggs.

Farmers markets

With conditions

No licence at 240 eggs a week or fewer; notification is required 'even if you're only selling ... at the local markets'. The stamping exemption covers only sales at the place of production, so market eggs must be stamped. Cartons sold to consumers need a label.

Stores and restaurants

With conditions

A notified small egg farm may supply shops and cafés, but the eggs must be stamped, clean and not cracked; the Food Authority tells retailers and kitchens to refuse unstamped, dirty or cracked eggs. If you sell to another business you need a way to recall eggs.

Also check with: Your local council (food stalls and markets)

Cartons, labels and handling

Cartons

The sources we read don't set a carton rule.

Refrigeration

“Eggs should be held below 15°C with 70% humidity prior to cleaning.”

The label must show

  • name of the food
  • business name and address
  • lot identification (date marking may be used instead)
  • date marking

Grading

Ungraded eggs may be sold under the small-producer rules.

“producing, washing, grading or dry cleaning not more than 240 eggs in a week”

Washing

Dirty eggs must be cleaned so visible faeces, soil or other matter is removed, or sold to a licensee who washes or dry cleans eggs (Food Regulation 2025 s 168). The Food Authority recommends dry cleaning with clean, dry, single-use material such as disposable paper towels, and says dirty eggs must not be sold at retail.

National rules apply on top of New South Wales's: Australia's national egg standard. Pricing your dozen? The egg price calculator works it out from your feed bill.

What changed recently

  1. 2025-09-01 · The Food Regulation 2025 commenced, replacing the Food Regulation 2015 (repealed the same day). Part 10 keeps the small-producer line at 240 eggs a week (previously expressed as 20 dozen), keeps the farm-gate stamping exemption, and makes Salmonella Enteritidis testing (s 172) and the Schedule 8 production-area hygiene rules permanent conditions for licensed egg businesses. Source

Common questions

Do I need a licence to sell eggs from my backyard chickens in New South Wales?
Yes. With 240 eggs a week or fewer you need no licence, but you must notify the NSW Food Authority. Farm-gate sales can skip egg stamping; eggs sold anywhere else must be stamped. Small-flock line: 240 eggs a week or fewer. The conditions, and the law they come from, are on this page.
Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in New South Wales?
Allowed with conditions. No licence at 240 eggs a week or fewer; notification is required 'even if you're only selling ... at the local markets'. The stamping exemption covers only sales at the place of production, so market eggs must be stamped. Cartons sold to consumers need a label. Also check with your local council (food stalls and markets).
Can I reuse egg cartons in New South Wales?
The sources we read do not say; ask NSW Food Authority (NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development) before reusing cartons for eggs you sell.
What has to be on the carton label in New South Wales?
name of the food, business name and address, lot identification (date marking may be used instead), date marking. The rule reads: "Egg cartons for retail sale (sold directly to consumers) must be labelled with: the name of the food, the business name and address, lot identification (date marking may be used instead of the lot identification), date marking information."
Do eggs I sell in New South Wales have to be kept cold?
The rule reads: "Eggs should be held below 15°C with 70% humidity prior to cleaning."
Sources
Read the 18 passages this page is built on
What we couldn't confirm
  • Both official NSW hosts refused scripted downloads on 2026-10-07: legislation.nsw.gov.au returns a Cloudflare 'Just a moment...' challenge (HTTP 403) and foodauthority.nsw.gov.au resets HTTP/2 streams and times out over HTTP/1.1 (WebFetch also timed out). All NSW quotes were read in the browser pane and are listed in new-south-wales.blocked.json for a hand check.
  • Threshold wording differs slightly: the regulation's small egg producer is 'not more than 240 eggs' a week (s 160) and the stamping exemption is 'not more than 240' (s 163), while the Food Authority's stamping text says 'less than 20 dozen (240)'. The record follows the regulation.
  • Carton reuse: no NSW rule on reusing cartons was found on the pages read; cartons verdict left 'unknown'.
  • Refrigeration: NSW sets no legal maximum temperature for small egg farms in the sources read; the 15°C figure is Food Authority guidance ('should'). Licensed producers are advised to store eggs below 15°C and ungraded eggs at 8°C or less for extended periods.
  • Market stalls: whether a local council needs a temporary food stall approval for eggs is local and was not checked (out of scope).
  • The Food Authority 'Requirements for notified small egg farms' factsheet (media/2411) and the Backyard chickens PDF could not be downloaded (host blocked) and were not read.
  • The Food Authority's licensed-producer page says retail eggs must be crack-detected 'by a licensed egg business'; how that applies to small egg producers (who may examine up to 240 eggs a week under s 160) was not confirmed.

Elsewhere in Australia

WANTQLDSANSWACTVICTAS
No licence for small salesDepends how you sellRegistration or licenceNot stated or not checked

All of Australia

Coloured by the small-flock licence rule, with the rules that apply everywhere in Australia.

Australia overview →

Legal where you live? Then keep the books.

PoultryPal's sales ledger tracks customers, dozens and payments next to your feed costs, so you know your margin and not just your egg count. Premium includes financial tracking and the sales ledger. Free to download on iOS and Android.

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