I've made enquiries about this before here in SA, and it's not all that tricky - but does involve some paperwork & $$$. Small volume brewing everyone seems to be fairly lenient about. The decider is the volume being produced, and where it's being supplied. If it's small, the attitude seems to be that it's not worth the paperwork etc so it might just slide by them without them showing much interest at all.
Step 1. Apply for excise agreement from ATO - you'll most likely find that in the volumes you are talking about the ATO will be happy to allow use of plastic fermenters, un-calibrated, and also allow you to keep your own records - provided they are accurate and the required excise is paid up front with no mistakes/discrepancies . You'll need to demonstrate that you can accurately show the ABV of the product, and you will also need to keep records of malt purchased, used etc. If there is a discrepancy between ingredients purchased and product declared they will want to know why so you need to record losses as well.
Step 2. Obtain permission to brew from council and Liquor and Gambling, other local bodies as required - some will be interested, for some the small volume will mean that they can't be bothered as it would almost fit in to the category of 'hobby brewing' (none of these guys will talk to you unless you have established an excise agreement FIRST). Apply for producers licence, pay fees, advertise in newspaper and wait for people to object.
As far as food production standard vessels etc etc, the fact is that if the equipment passes the same HACCP requirements as a commercial kitchen, you will have no issues with it. Food standard is an over-used term, and in terms of food production, the only thing anyone is interested in is "Can it be kept clean, or will it contaminate what it is producing - this is very much down to your production and cleaning shedule and processes just like any commercial kitchen. As a chef, I NEVER saw a question of the 'food grade standard' of any vessel in any way shape or form - there's no difference. You will be expected to guarantee the hygiene of the production area and equipment. We all know that this is an inherent part of the brewing process anyway, and is most likely also already part of the restaurant's HACCP procedures anyway, so they will be familiar with it - (even if like many commercial food production environments it is not strictly adhered to...)
Unless you want to build your own kegs, you won't have to worry about all the pressure vessel rubbish that's being mentioned - that's very much a larger commercial brewery problem. I am in no way questioning the knowledge of the commercial guys here who are recounting their experience with setup, however, a lot of the information being supplied here is only relevant and accurate in their state and in context of a much larger commercial brewing operation. It's not wrong, however much of it does not apply to the idea of what you are wanting to do. If you want some more information, have a chat to me at the shop and I will give you the number of the person to speak to - a lovely girl at the ATO excise dept who knows her stuff and is very reasonable about small scale ideas like this. Be aware though that as soon as/if production volume ramps up a bit - the scenario changes considerably and is much more like the situation described for a proper commercial setup - ie: calibrated vessels (very costly) and all sorts of other requirements.
Simple answer - very small scale, feasible. Any larger - not worth the hassle. If you want to find out more, you could also speak to someone like Andy from Grumpys for someone who's been through it all in a commercial scenario, or Justin Murdoch from Yorke Brewing who has been jumping through hoops for a bit now, or even perhaps the guy out at Myponga brewing for how it applies to his 'operation' - as I believe he brews in plastic/uncalibrated vessels. It's definitely possible, or HBS's like Goliath would never have been able to do it. From my discussions with the girl at ATO, I was not given the impression that it would be too much of a drama after satisfying them that they would get their cut, and no cheating was going to be happening......
