A lack of adequate hand-washing facilities is one of the factors that can cause a prohibition notice to be issued. Photo: Region.
Canberrans on social media say they have noticed an increase in prohibition notices on local hospitality businesses, with some users suggesting that ACT Health is in the midst of a crackdown on local businesses.
Region took a look at the numbers.
Prohibition orders are served by public health officers (PHOs) when a food business is found to have breached food safety standards, and the PHO feels that a prohibition order is “necessary to prevent or mitigate a serious danger to public health”.
The Health and Community Services Directorate (HCSD) informed Region that there are several reasons a food business may receive an improvement notice or prohibition order.
“Some factors that lead to decisions to issue improvement or prohibition orders include food safety breaches relating to food safety knowledge, hand-washing facilities, cleaning and sanitising, temperature control, maintenance, and appropriate pest control.”
Once a prohibition order is issued, the business remains closed until the concerns have been addressed and a second inspection is passed. In the 2024/25 period, closure times ranged from two to 120 days.
Twenty-six prohibition orders were issued in 2024-25. Photo: Canberra Reddit.
Canberra hospitality businesses have been served with prohibition notices 26 times over the 2024-25 financial year, up from just seven in 2023-24. While the leap seems significant, this number accounts for less than 1 per cent of inspections in the ACT.
Recent prohibition notices were posted at Ellena Takeaway and Pizza Bar in Ngunnawal, Ngunnawal Bakery, Florey Bakery and Belconnen Chicken.
NSW Food Authority’s Register of Offences – also known as the Name and Shame Register – lists the names of businesses that have been served penalty notices.
The ACT does not have such a register, so customers are unlikely to know about previous health breaches unless they witnessed a closure notice in person or saw photos shared on social media.
The 2023-24 NSW Food Authority Annual Report states: “Since its launch, the number of businesses appearing on the register has significantly decreased, with the vast majority appearing only once — proving that it’s an effective deterrent.
“For example, in 2009–2010, a total of 1309 food businesses received penalty notices, resulting in 2329 notices appearing on the register.”
In contrast, 543 businesses (and a total of 883 notices) were handed penalty notices in 2023-24. The name and shame register listed 854 notices as of 29 July 2025.
As for concerns that HCSD is cracking down on businesses, well, the numbers don’t add up. There was only a small increase in the number of inspections from 2450 inspections in 2023-24 to 2472 inspections in 2024-25.
While there has definitely been an increase in the number of failed inspections, it still represents a very small number of businesses.
Canberrans can be confident that if they’re dining out or grabbing a takeaway, there’s a 99 per cent chance that the business is doing the right thing.
Learn more about how the ACT Health and Community Services Directorate undertakes its regulatory functions, including under the Food Act, and protects public health at Food safety inspections – ACT Government.
