Solo travel is meant to feel freeing – and in many ways it is. But, when you’re travelling with a life threatening nut allergy, that freedom can sometimes feel more like wandering through a minefield. In early 2026, I spent two months travelling across Australia on my own. From the sandy beaches of Perth to the coffee-obsessed laneways of Melbourne, and the remote petrol stations of Tasmania and South Australia, it was an incredible journey – but also a constant exercise in risk management.
I travelled between January and late February 2026, which turned out to be an interesting moment for food safety in Australia. During my trip the country was in the final stages of rolling out a major change to allergen labelling laws. That meant I experienced both the old system and the new one – something that’s worth understanding if you’re planning a trip yourself.
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The 2026 labelling change: What is PEAL?
If you’re travelling to Australia now, you actually have it a bit easier than I did. During my trip many shops were selling what’s known as ‘stock-in-trade’ products. These were foods labelled under older rules, where allergens could appear under vague terms.
As of 27 February 2026, Australia’s Plain English Allergen Labelling (PEAL) law is now fully in effect. In simple terms, this means packaged food must clearly state allergens in plain language – for example; Contains: Cashews, instead of vague wording like “tree nuts” hidden inside an ingredients list — or in some cases, not at all!
When I was travelling I often had to double-check labels carefully. Going forward, travellers should find supermarket shopping much easier.
Australia vs. the UK
If you’re travelling from the UK, one of the biggest adjustments is the difference in food labelling rules. In the UK, Natasha’s Law (introduced in 2021) requires foods that are prepared and packaged on-site for direct sale to carry full ingredient lists, with allergens clearly highlighted. That means if you buy a sandwich, salad or bakery item that’s been packed in the same shop where it’s sold, you can usually check the label and see exactly what’s inside.
Australia doesn’t currently have a direct equivalent of Natasha’s Law. Australia’s new Plain English Allergen Labelling (PEAL) rules apply mainly to commercially packaged foods produced by manufacturers. These products must clearly state allergens such as peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg and sesame in plain english.
However, food made and packaged on-site, often called “food for immediate sale”, doesn’t always have to carry a full ingredients list. This means that if you buy something made in-store, such as:
- A deli sandwich
- A bakery pie or sausage roll
- A salad packed on site
- A slice of cake from a cafe display
… There may be no label at all, or only a very basic description of the product. In these situations, the only way to confirm ingredients is by asking the staff. From my experience travelling around Australia, staff were usually helpful and willing to check. But sometimes the answer was simply “I’m not sure”, particularly in busy cafes or petrol stations – which is where you need to be cautious.
The rule I followed while travelling
Over time I developed a very simple rule for myself:
- Factory packaged = trust the label.
- Made on site = ask questions.
If staff can confidently confirm the ingredients, great. But if they hesitate, seem unsure, or can’t check with the kitchen, I simply don’t risk it. When you’re travelling solo, erring on the side of caution is always the safer option.
Why eating in Australia can be tricky for nut allergies
Australian food culture is a bit of a melting pot. There’s the obvious British and Irish influence, but also strong Dutch, French and Asian influences layered on top. Combine that with the country’s obsession with good coffee, fresh seafood and BBQ culture, and you end up with a food scene that’s genuinely fantastic.
The downside is that it can also be unpredictable for people with food allergies. When travelling, most allergic reactions don’t actually come from obviously dangerous foods. They tend to come from hidden ingredients, sauces, or cross-contamination in kitchens.
A 2025 study titled “Characteristics of Food-Related Allergic Reactions During Travel”, published in Translational Allergy and Clinical Immunology, found that 43% of reactions while travelling were caused by unknown allergens — in other words, something the traveller didn’t realise was present in the food.
That statistic really reflects the reality of travelling with allergies: the biggest risks often come from what you can’t see. Because of that, there are two situations in Australia where you need to stay especially alert:
- Eating out at cafés and restaurants
- Long-distance travel and road trips, where food choices become much more limited
Eating out: Good restaurants, risky cabinets
Travelling solo means you don’t have a second pair of eyes checking things. Every decision is yours. The good news is that Australian restaurants are generally very good with allergies. Staff usually take things seriously, and most kitchens understand the risk of cross-contamination.
However, there were a few times on my travels where I was put off by the staff. I often used TrustDiner to find allergy aware restaurants, which saved me a lot of time when I was planning on the go.
Where things get tricky is cafes… Australia has a huge cafe culture, and many places have a front display cabinet full of Turkish bread sandwiches, pastries and desserts. That’s where I found the biggest risk, where you’d see things like; satay chicken, pesto sandwiches, almond croissants, and sesame covered pastries, right next to the beef pie you want.
When I was on my travels, I never ate directly from the display cabinet. Instead, I would ask something along the lines of “Do you have anything fresh in the kitchen that hasn’t been in the display cabinet?” More often than not, they’ll make something fresh for you.
Getting around Australia with allergies
Australia is a big country, really big. Getting around often involves long flights or drives, which adds another layer of planning. Here are a few things I noticed:
Flying within Australia
I flew several times with Jetstar, mainly because it’s the cheapest way to move between cities. However, they do not operate nut free flights, and you shouldn’t expect any kind of allergy buffer zone.
If you’re flying domestically, I’d recommend:
- Telling staff at check-in, at the gate and when you board.
- Wiping down your tray table.
- Bringing your own snacks – you can get a mug of hot water from the trolley for pot styled noodles if you bring them.
I’ve written a much deeper breakdown here:
Flying with a Nut Allergy on Jetstar: An Allergy Audit
Public transport
One thing I really appreciated was the strict no-food rules on public transport in some cities. For example, Perth trams prohibit eating and drinking. For most passengers this is just a cleanliness rule. For someone with allergies, it’s actually reassuring – that there’s far less chance of someone cracking open a packet of nuts next to you.
Roadtrip pie trap
If you do a road trip through regional Australia, you’ll notice something quickly. Petrol stations don’t really sell the king of grab-and-go sandwiches you’d see in UK service stations. Instead, the default lunch is the Australian meat pie, they’re everywhere.
Unfortunately, during my trip I noticed that many pies were topped with sesame seeds or seed glazes. If you also have a sesame allergy (which I do), this removes a lot of options quickly.
What happens if things go wrong?
Solo travel means you’re effectively your own first responder. If you lose your medication or have an allergic reaction in Australia, the emergency number is 000. A useful safety step is enabling Emergency SOS on your phone, so pressing the side button several times will call emergency services automatically.
Emergency EpiPen replacement for UK visitors
I actually had to do this during my trip after misplacing one of my EpiPens at a restaurant in Melbourne. Thankfully, the UK and Australia have a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement, which makes accessing medical care relatively straightforward. However, when I first tried to work out what to do, I found a lot of conflicting advice online. Some sources suggested you could simply walk into a pharmacy and buy an EpiPen over the counter – you cannot.
When I spoke to a pharmacist, they explained that I needed an Australian prescription first. So here’s the exact process I followed:
Step 1: Visit a private GP
Search for a walk-in clinic or private GP rather than going straight to a hospital. Most cities have plenty of clinics, and many offer same-day appointments. I called a clinic in the morning and managed to get an appointment later that same day.
When you arrive, you may need to register on their medical system, which usually takes around five minutes. Because their systems are designed for Australian residents, they’ll normally ask for:
- An Australian phone number.
- A local address.
It’s perfectly fine to use your temporary address (your Airbnb, hotel or hostel) for this. One thing I’d strongly recommend is buying a local prepaid SIM card when you arrive in Australia. eSIM providers like Holafly are great for data, but they don’t give you a local phone number. Having an Australian number makes things much easier for:
- Medical appointments.
- Pharmacy prescriptions.
- Restaurant bookings.
- Deliver apps.
And, if you’re worried about staying in touch with people back home, WhatsApp will still use your UK number.
Step 2: Show proof of your prescription
At the appointment, I showed the doctor:
- My NHS repeat prescription on the NHS app.
- My UK passport.
- Letters from my allergy specialist in Stoke confirming the severity of my allergy.
The doctor reviewed my history and issued an Australian prescription for my EpiPen immediately.
Step 3: Take the prescription to a pharmacy
Once you have the prescription, you can take it to any pharmacy. Chains like Chemist Warehouse or Priceline Pharmacy are usually the most convenient options. In most cases, they’ll have Epipens in stock and can dispense them straight away.
What an Australian EpiPen prescription cost me
In total, replacing my EpiPens cost around $295 AUS (roughly £147.50):
- Doctors appointment: $95 AUD (£47.40)
- 2 EpiPens: $200 AUD (£100)
Australia has a government subsidy scheme called the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), which reduces the cost of many medications for residents. However, travellers don’t always qualify for the subsidised rate. Even under the UK-Australia Reciprocal Health Care Agreement, some pharmacies will supply EpiPens at the private prescription price, which is significantly higher.
If you manage to enrol in Medicare using your UK passport, you may be able to access PBS subsidised pricing for certain medications. However, when you’re replacing emergency medication as a visitor, it isn’t something you can rely on. If you’re supplied under a private prescription, or you’ve not registered with Medicare, around $100 AUD per pen is a sensible worst case estimate to plan for.
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