Empty food truck trailer parked under trees

How to Start a Food Truck Business in Australia

The menu is the fun part. It's also the part people get stuck into first, and then they find out the truck they bought won't pass inspection or can't run the fryer. Do it in this order and you won't pay for anything twice.

The order we'd do it in

1
Get an ABN
Apply through the Australian Business Register. It's free, and suppliers, insurers and event organisers will all ask for it.
2
Talk to your council before you buy
In most states your council approves and inspects mobile food businesses (in the ACT and the NT it's the health department), and each has its own process. Ask first, then buy or build a truck that meets it. Trading in a few council areas? Ask each of them.
3
Sort your food safety
If you serve unpackaged, ready-to-eat food that needs temperature control, the national Food Safety Standard 3.2.2A generally means a certified Food Safety Supervisor and trained food handlers, and if you make the food on board, records that show you're handling food safely.
4
Fit it out properly
The national Food Standards Code wants a hand basin with warm running water. Gas goes in through a licensed gasfitter, and the wiring and power inlet through a licensed electrician. Keep a fire blanket and an extinguisher for oil fires near the door, not beside the fryer.
5
Line up somewhere to trade
Public land needs the council's permission, and private land needs the owner's. Markets and events often ask to see public liability insurance.
6
Bring your own power
Many markets, festivals and roadside spots don't hand you a power point. That bit's easy, though.

Rules vary by state and council, so check with yours before you fit out a truck.

What to power it with

Keep it simple. For a typical first truck (a deep fryer, a fridge and a freezer, with the griddle on gas), one generator does the lot.

Hyundai HY10000iSE
Best option
Hyundai HY10000iSE
Inverter generator, 9,000W rated, 10,000W max
Runs a fryer, fridge and freezer together with plenty left over, from one unit.
$3,459 RRP $3,999
View product →
Next to the big-name rival
Hyundai HY10000iSEHyundai HY10000iSE Honda EU70isHonda EU70is
Rated output 9,000W 5,500W
Max output 10,000W 7,000W
Runs a fryer, fridge and freezer ✓ Yes, at 55% ✗ No, 90%: past the 80% line
RRP $3,999 $6,999
Our price $3,459 $6,998
Both are petrol inverter generators. Prices and RRPs as listed on 22 October 2026. We keep the all-on load under 80 per cent of rated output.
Sorted
  • ✓A single 5 L to 11 L fryer (single phase, up to 15A)
  • ✓Underbench fridge and freezer
  • ✓Lights, exhaust fan and EFTPOS
Put one on gas
  • ✗A fryer and an electric griddle together: put the griddle on gas
  • ✗Two fryers at full power

Have a licensed electrician fit a 32A inlet and run everything, the fryer included, through your truck's RCD-protected switchboard. The fryer, fridge and freezer draw about 21A together, well inside the generator's 32A outlet.

Hot water: a gas system keeps it off the generator. If yours is electric, add its rating to the total.
Show your working

A fryer, fridge and freezer draw about 4,945W together. The HY10000iSE is rated at 9,000W, so that's 55 per cent of its rated output, comfortably under the 80 per cent Queensland's Electrical Safety Office recommends for continuous running.

Add an electric griddle and it's about 8,395W, 93 per cent. That's too close to the limit, which is why we say put the griddle on gas. Bigger than that? Ask us.

Keep it safe

The generator lives outside the truck, on dry ground and out of reach of the public, with at least a metre of clear space around it and the exhaust pointing away from your serving window and any doors, windows or vents. Exhaust carries carbon monoxide, so it never runs inside the truck or anywhere enclosed, and you only refuel once it's off and cool. Ask your electrician for RCD (safety switch) protection on the truck's switchboard that suits your generator. Every lead should be rated for the outlet it plugs into, and tested and tagged along with your appliances.

Optional extra: prep in peace

Got a bit more to spend? Add a power station and you can prep and pack down with the engine switched off.

Optional extra
Hyundai HY10000iSE inverter generator + Hyundai HYPS1500 power station
Hyundai bundle
HY10000iSE + HYPS1500
Generator: 9,000W rated, 10,000W max. Power station: 1,500W, 1,152Wh LiFePO4.
Fridge ✓Lights and EFTPOS ✓Quiet prep ✓
Prep and pack down on battery. Once the generator's running, it recharges the power station while you cook.
$4,798 RRP $5,481
View bundle →

Prep on battery, start the generator when the fryer goes on, plug the power station in to recharge, and finish the night on battery. It keeps the fridge cold for about 7 hours on its own.

Where the 7 hours comes from

Fridges cycle on and off, so we go by the energy rating, not the plate. A two-door underbench fridge uses about 3kWh a day, roughly 126W on average. The HYPS1500 holds 1,152Wh; allow 80 per cent for conversion losses and you've got about 920Wh to play with. 920 divided by 126 is about 7 hours. Hot days and open doors cut into that.

The charger pulls up to 550W. With the whole truck running that's about 5,495W, 61 per cent of the generator, so you can charge while you trade. Keep the power station out of the heat: it only charges between 0 and 40°C.

Want the fridge and the freezer both on battery? That needs a bigger power station. Ask us.

Putting the fit-out together? Our food truck equipment checklist covers the gear, and powering a deep fryer goes deeper on the fryer.

Ready to roll?

Tell us what's going in your truck and we'll confirm the generator suits it. We deliver Australia-wide, and checkout shows the delivery options and price for your address.

Try the size calculator Ask us about your set-up
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