New national laws require all hospitality venues across Australia to label seafood in ready-to-eat dishes using the AIM system. This applies to restaurants, cafes, clubs, pubs, hotels and takeaway venues.

What does that mean for your menu? Every seafood item must be marked with:

✔️ A = Australian origin ✔️ I = Imported ✔️ M = Mixed origin

No label? Not compliant. The deadline is 1 July 2026.

These labels must be clearly visible before a customer orders, whether they’re viewing:

• Printed menus
• Menu boards
• QR code menus
• Online ordering platforms
• Delivery apps

The rules apply to seafood dishes sold dine-in, takeaway and via delivery services.

Which Businesses Need to Comply?

The changes affect a range of hospitality venues, including:

• Restaurants
• Cafés
• Pubs and clubs
• Hotels and motels
• Food trucks
• Fast food venues
• Market stalls
• Takeaway shops

If your menu includes dishes like fish and chips, prawns, oysters, calamari, seafood pasta or surf and turf, these changes likely apply to you.

What Needs to Change on Menus?

Many venues will need to:

• Redesign printed menus
• Update menu boards
• Refresh takeaway menus
• Edit digital and QR code menus
• Update food delivery platforms

Examples may look like:

• Beer battered barramundi (A)
• Garlic king prawns (I)
• Seafood marinara (M)

You can also choose to spell out “Australian”, “Imported” or “Mixed” in full.

Why This Matters Beyond Compliance

These changes are about more than just ticking a legal box. Customers are becoming increasingly interested in where their food comes from, particularly seafood. Across hospitality trends, many diners say origin information influences trust, perceived quality and purchasing decisions.

For venues already using quality Australian seafood, clear labelling can actually become a selling point.

A professionally updated menu also shows customers your business is organised, transparent and up to date.

Get your menus sorted before 1 July 2026

There is not much time left to design, approve and print, so if you haven't started, now is the time. Our team designs and prints menus for venues across Australia every day. Get your updates to us and we'll make sure they're looking their best before the deadline hits..

Get in touch:

• Email: hello@axisiq.com.au
• Phone: 02 6652 6652

We'd love to help you build something that looks great and gets remembered.