State rules

Can you sell backyard eggs in Tasmania?

Yes. A home flock under 20 birds selling only to friends, family or neighbours needs nothing. For markets or shops, notify Biosecurity Tasmania and stamp each egg; 20 dozen a week or more needs accreditation.

Read from 6 official sources28 passages quotedChecked October 7, 2026

At a glance

Licence

Depends how you sell

Small-flock line

Under 20 dozen/wk: notify, stamp

Farmers markets

With conditions

Cartons

New only

In plain English

Tasmania regulates egg producers through its Egg Food Safety Scheme, which applies the national egg standard. Two lines matter. First, home egg production is outside the scheme altogether: eggs from a flock kept at a house, with no more than 20 laying birds, that are not supplied to an egg business, a food business, a market or wholesale. Biosecurity Tasmania reads this more narrowly in its guidance: under 20 birds, selling or giving eggs only to friends, family, neighbours or work colleagues, needs no action. Second, anyone else selling eggs is an egg business. An egg business supplying less than 20 dozen eggs a week (and only whole shell eggs) needs no accreditation, audit or fee, but must notify the Chief Inspector, stamp every egg with a stamp Biosecurity Tasmania approves (a free hand stamp is issued), keep a Food Safety Management Statement where required, and comply with Standard 4.2.5. A flock of 50 or more laying birds is presumed to supply 20 dozen or more a week, which requires full accreditation, an approved food safety program audited at least every 12 months, and fees.

A sourced reading of Tasmania's rules, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with Biosecurity Tasmania, Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) (03 6165 3777) before you sell.

Do you need a licence?

Depends on how and how much you sellUnder 20 dozen/wk: notify, stamp
  • No scheme at all for home egg production: eggs from residential premises with no more than 20 laying birds, not supplied to an egg business, a food business, at a market or by wholesale.Primary Produce Safety (Egg) Regulations 2024 regs 3, 5
  • Biosecurity Tasmania's guidance is narrower: with fewer than 20 laying birds, selling or supplying only directly to friends, family or work colleagues needs no action.NRE Tas forms page
  • Selling through a market stall, cafe, shop or other outlet makes you an egg business: notify Biosecurity Tasmania as a Category 1 producer, even with fewer than 20 birds.NRE Tas forms page; reg 12(4)
  • No accreditation is needed while the business supplies less than 20 dozen eggs each calendar week and supplies only whole raw eggs with intact shells.reg 12(2)
  • A business keeping 50 or more laying birds is presumed, unless it proves otherwise, to supply 20 dozen eggs or more a week.reg 12(3)
  • Unaccredited producers must notify the Chief Inspector of their name and address, the number and type of laying birds and where they are kept, and report changes as soon as practicable.reg 12(4)(a), 12(5)
  • Stamp every egg sold or supplied for human consumption with a unique mark or stamp approved by the Chief Inspector; small producers may use only the code Biosecurity Tasmania assigns.reg 12(4)(b)
  • With 20 to 50 birds and under 20 dozen eggs a week, also submit a Food Safety Management Statement.NRE Tas forms page
  • Comply with Food Standards Code Standard 4.2.5, which includes the ban on selling cracked or dirty eggs.reg 11
  • Label cartons with the name of the food, the name and physical address where the eggs were produced, a best-before date, a lot or batch number and storage directions.NRE Tas information sheet
  • Do not reuse second-hand egg cartons for selling eggs.NRE Tas FSMS template
  • For sales directly to the public, record the quantity sold each day and where; for sales to a business, record the quantity sold to each customer.NRE Tas FSMS template
  • Small producers' names, addresses and stamp codes go on a public register.reg 14(3)-(4)
  • 20 dozen eggs a week or more (presumed at 50 or more laying birds unless shown otherwise): full accreditation, an approved food safety program audited at least every 12 months, and fees.regs 12(1), 12(3), 15, 16
The exact wording
“home egg production means egg production carried on at residential premises that does not involve any of the following: (a) the keeping or management of more than 20 egg-laying birds at any one time … The proprietor of an egg business is not required to be accredited under the egg food safety scheme if the egg business … (a) supplies less than 20 dozen eggs in each calendar week”

Where you can sell

From home or the farm

With conditions

Biosecurity Tasmania's fact sheet counts selling from your farm gate as commercial egg production, and its notification form asks whether you will sell eggs to the public from the production site. Its only full exemption is for fewer than 20 birds selling occasionally to friends, family, neighbours or colleagues. Expect to notify Biosecurity Tasmania and stamp your eggs before running a gate stall; the regulation's home-flock exclusion may be wider (see gaps), so confirm with Biosecurity Tasmania.

Farmers markets

With conditions

Selling at a market takes a flock outside the home-production exclusion at any size. Notify Biosecurity Tasmania as a Category 1 producer (no fee), stamp every egg with the assigned code, label cartons, and keep a Food Safety Management Statement. Over 20 dozen eggs a week needs accreditation. Market stalls and other retail food sellers are regulated by local councils under the Food Act 2003.

Stores and restaurants

With conditions

Supplying a cafe, shop or other food business also makes you an egg business: notify, stamp and keep a Food Safety Management Statement while under 20 dozen eggs a week; accreditation above that. Businesses may sell or use only eggs that meet the national traceability rules, so unstamped eggs cannot go to them.

Also check with: Your local council (food rules for market stalls and shops, and planning or by-law limits on keeping poultry)

Cartons, labels and handling

Cartons

New cartons are required for eggs you sell.

“NOTE: Second hand egg cartons are not to be reused for the sale of eggs”

Refrigeration

“Keep eggs cool during storage and transport – eggs keep best between 15 and 20°C.”

The label must show

  • Name of the food
  • Name and physical address of the premises where the eggs were produced
  • Best-before date
  • Lot or batch number
  • Storage directions
  • Each egg stamped with the producer's unique identification

Grading

Not stated in the sources we read.

Tasmania's egg regulations set no grading requirement for small producers. The rule that does apply is the national standard's ban on selling cracked or dirty eggs.

Washing

“Wet washing of eggs is not recommended for home producers because it increases risk of contamination.”

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

What changed recently

  1. 2024-12-31 · The Primary Produce Safety (Egg) Regulations 2024 took effect, replacing the 2014 regulations, which expired. The small-producer rules carried over unchanged in substance: home flocks of up to 20 birds that don't supply markets, food businesses or wholesale are outside the scheme; under 20 dozen eggs a week means notification and an approved stamp instead of accreditation. Source

Common questions

Do I need a licence to sell eggs from my backyard chickens in Tasmania?
Yes. A home flock under 20 birds selling only to friends, family or neighbours needs nothing. For markets or shops, notify Biosecurity Tasmania and stamp each egg; 20 dozen a week or more needs accreditation. Small-flock line: under 20 dozen/wk: notify, stamp. The conditions, and the law they come from, are on this page.
Can I sell eggs at a farmers market in Tasmania?
Allowed with conditions. Selling at a market takes a flock outside the home-production exclusion at any size. Notify Biosecurity Tasmania as a Category 1 producer (no fee), stamp every egg with the assigned code, label cartons, and keep a Food Safety Management Statement. Over 20 dozen eggs a week needs accreditation. Market stalls and other retail food sellers are regulated by local councils under the Food Act 2003. Also check with your local council (food rules for market stalls and shops, and planning or by-law limits on keeping poultry).
Can I reuse egg cartons in Tasmania?
No: Tasmania requires new cartons for eggs you sell. The rule reads: "NOTE: Second hand egg cartons are not to be reused for the sale of eggs"
What has to be on the carton label in Tasmania?
Name of the food, Name and physical address of the premises where the eggs were produced, Best-before date, Lot or batch number, Storage directions, Each egg stamped with the producer's unique identification. The rule reads: "The label on a carton of eggs must include the following information: … The name of the food … The name and physical address of the premises where the food was produced … Best before date … Lot / batch number … Storage directions"
Do eggs I sell in Tasmania have to be kept cold?
The rule reads: "Keep eggs cool during storage and transport – eggs keep best between 15 and 20°C."
Sources
Read the 28 passages this page is built on
What we couldn't confirm
  • Regulation and guidance disagree on the home-flock line. Reg 3 excludes only 'more than 20' birds, so a flock of exactly 20 is home egg production; Biosecurity Tasmania's forms page and fact sheet say 'fewer than 20'. The answer uses 'under 20', which satisfies both.
  • Regulation and guidance disagree on farm-gate sales. Reg 3 lists only supply to an egg business, a food business, a market or wholesale as taking a home flock out of the exclusion, so gate sales to the public from a house with 20 or fewer birds look excluded. The 2023 fact sheet instead counts farm-gate sales as commercial egg production and exempts only occasional sales to friends, family, neighbours and colleagues, and the notification form asks about sales 'from the production site'. The farm-gate verdict follows the agency's narrower reading; not confirmed with Biosecurity Tasmania.
  • 'Residential premises' is not defined in the regulations. A small flock kept on a farm rather than at a house may not qualify as home egg production at any size, which would make it an egg business that must notify and stamp.
  • The guidance is inconsistent on who needs a Food Safety Management Statement: the forms page asks for one from 20 to 50 birds; the notification form says anyone supplying an egg business, food business, market or wholesale needs one; the fact sheet says producers under 20 birds selling only to friends, family and colleagues need only the notification form.
  • Boundary wording differs: reg 12(3) presumes 20 dozen a week at '50 egg-laying birds or more'; the forms page says accreditation for 'more than 50' birds. A flock of exactly 50 is presumed over the line by the regulation.
  • Out-of-date agency pages: the NRE Eggs landing page (last published 12/05/2023) and the fact sheet PDF (created May 2023) still cite the Primary Produce Safety (Egg) Regulations 2014, which have expired; the scheme page (11/04/2025), forms page (10/06/2026), Form R11 and the FSMS template (v2 Jan 2025) cite the 2024 regulations. The FSMS commitment page still lists the 2014 regulations. The substance did not change.
  • No temperature limit for shell eggs was found in the Tasmanian regulations; the 15-20°C figure is guidance in the FSMS template. maxC is null.
  • The carton-reuse ban, carton label list and sales-record rules come from Biosecurity Tasmania's template and fact sheet, not the regulations; the fact sheet attributes the label list to Food Standards Code Standard 1.2.1, which was not read.
  • Not checked: the Food Act 2003 (Tas) and council rules for market stalls and shops selling eggs; Tasmanian Department of Health food business classifications; local planning rules on keeping poultry.
  • Currency: the 2024 regulations show no amendments (in-force reprint published 2024-12-11). The Primary Produce Safety Act 2011 was last amended by No. 7 of 2025 (from 1 July 2025), which changed only review-tribunal provisions (ss 22, 52, 62). No 2023-2026 bill on egg sales was found; the Parliament of Tasmania bills site was not searched separately.

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.

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