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Download ourTrade Measurement and the Sale of Seafood Factsheet or view the information below:
If you are buying or selling seafood by weight, you need to know about Australia’s trade measurement laws.
For example, you must make sure:
Details of these rules are set out in the National Measurement Act 1960 and the National Trade Measurement Regulations 2009.
The laws apply to both wholesale and retail businesses. If you are caught short-measuring your customers, you could be fined up to $210,000 per offence as a company or up to $42,000 per offence as an individual.
Trade measurement law requires that most seafood, when not pre-packed, must be sold by weight.
If the seafood you’re selling by weight is measured in the presence of the customer, the customer must have an unobstructed view of the weighing process - including the readings on the scale or indicator. Otherwise, a written statement identifying each item’s weight must be provided to the customer.
When weighing seafood, you must ensure that the customer only pays for the product and not the packaging material. When selling a quantity of seafood by weight, the weight of any packaging (the tare) should not be included. This process is called ‘taring off’. Charging a customer for the weight of seafood without subtracting the weight of the packaging is an offence and could result in a costly financial penalty.
The following varieties of seafood do not have to be sold by weight when not pre-packed:
While the products listed above do not have to be sold by weight, when they are sold by weight the relevant trade measurement laws apply and the weight must be accurate.
If you use a scale to weigh and sell seafood that isn’t pre-packed, you must make sure it is:
It is your responsibility to make sure the scale is correct at all times.
NMI recommends that you have all your scales used for trade checked regularly by a technician licensed by NMI (servicing licensee). A list of servicing licensees for your area and instrument type is available from NMI’s Licensing Team on 1300 686 664 (option 2) or tmlicensees@measurement.gov.au.
All pre-packed seafood, with one exception (see below), must be sold by weight and must be marked with a statement of the weight (excluding packaging material) on the principal display panel.
Weight statements should be printed, either on labels attached to the package or directly on the package itself. When the seafood is packed and sold on the same premises, the weight statement can be hand-written.
The weight statement must be:
The weight statement on pre-packed frozen seafood must refer to the net weight of the seafood excluding any external water or ice glaze. For more information, see the Determining Net Weight of Prepackaged Frozen Seafood factsheet.
In addition, the total price and price per kilogram must be marked either:
Pre-packed oysters can be sold by number. If you sell pre-packed oysters by number, the packaging must be marked with the accurate count except when:
NMI employs trade measurement inspectors who can visit a place of business ‘at any reasonable time of day’ to check compliance with the regulations and take appropriate enforcement action where there have been breaches of the law.
Download ourTrade Measurement and the Sale of Seafood Factsheet.
The main laws covering trade measurement are the National Measurement Act 1960 and the National Trade Measurement Regulations 2009.
For more information contact 1300 686 664, infotm@measurement.gov.au or use our on-line form.
What is trade measurement? Average quantity system Pre-packed goods