Wollongong coffee shop customer Peter Campbell instigated the petition and has collected 52 signatures from almost every cafe, pub and restaurant in the city centre. He said all but 10 he approached had signed it, and those who hadn't did oppose the fees but feared retribution from the council.

The signatures range from sole traders to managers of upmarket restaurants and franchises.

Cafe Burelli owner Terry Liu was charged $390 for an inspection last May, $100 to reinspect the premises in June and another $394 for his next half-yearly inspection in December.

If a second inspection had been needed after the December check, he said the annual bill would have been just shy of $1000 - at least five times more than the $100 to $180 he used to pay for a once-a-year inspection prior to the introduction of tougher state laws in 2008.

"It is just me and my wife running this small business," he said. "We would need to sell around 330 extra cappuccinos to recover that."

Mr Liu said the $250 administration fee and $140 inspection fee were excessive when the inspectors spent less than three minutes checking his cafe.

"When they come in, it's like they're looking for any small problem so they have to come back and charge another $100," he said.

A council spokeswoman said about 70 inspections were conducted each week and only 10 written submissions on the fees had been received since October 2008.

She said the fees were consistent with those recommended by the NSW Food Authority to allow the council to cover the cost of the expanded inspection program. The council has no plans to review the fees at present.

Mr Campbell said the fees were outrageous and businesses that paid taxes and higher council rates were being "double taxed".

"It is a big rip-off and a big con," he said.

"For them to charge to inspect these premises is akin to paying for a police search warrant on your home. These new regulations are just bureaucracy gone crazy."