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Australia and New Zealand to introduce mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labels

Australia and New Zealand will introduce mandatory front-of-pack nutrition information – the Health Star Rating – on products.

On 13 February 2026, food ministers asked the food regulatory agency, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), to move forward with plans to mandate a Health Star Rating (HSR) on food products. FSANZ will now draft the necessary legislation to make the mandatory HSR apply to all packaged food products.

Voluntary efforts have failed to meet targets

Efforts to encourage labelling uptake on a voluntary basis have fallen flat in both Australia and New Zealand. As the sector has failed to meet targets, it has prompted the move to mandatory labelling.

The Australian government has been monitoring the voluntary uptake of HSR labelling for five years. By 14 November 2025, it sought to achieve a final target of 70% of intended products applying the HSR. However, the latest HSR research shows that only 39% of intended products in Australia displayed the HSR, and only 36% of those in New Zealand adopted the nutrition labelling.

“Ministers have raised concerns that this low uptake limits the system’s impact and risks undermining consumer trust,” the FSANZ said in a LinkedIn post.

FSANZ’s efforts to introduce a mandatory HSR system are expected to take up to 18 months and will give consumers the opportunity to comment, with a request for submissions expected in the coming months. HSR will remain voluntary for food brands to adopt during this process.

According to FSANZ, the algorithm that is used to decide how many stars a product receives was developed in collaboration with technical and nutrition experts from government, industry, public health, and consumer organisations.

“It assesses components of food considered to increase risk (energy, saturated fat, total sugars and sodium) and offsets these against those components considered to decrease risk (protein, fibre and fruit, vegetable, nut and legume) to calculate a final score that is converted to a star rating,” it says on its website.

Industry and consumers back arrival of mandatory labels

The George Institute, Australian Medical Association, VicHealth and Food for Health Alliance welcomed the government's steps to introduce a mandatory HSR system.

“The failure of industry to meet voluntary targets shows just how important it is that HSR become mandatory,” Jane Martin, executive manager of the Food for Health Alliance, said.

Four out of five Australians also support the introduction of mandatory labelling, a 2025 YouGov survey found, driven by increasing health consciousness and confusion surrounding current labels.

According to Australia’s independent health charity, Cancer Council, the research indicates that shoppers care about the healthiness of the food they intend to buy. Almost three-quarters (70%) of those asked confirmed they typically read food labels, yet almost two-thirds (65%) of those surveyed say that existing labels are too confusing.

“Australians should not have to guess whether a product is healthy or not,” said Clare Hughes, chair of the Nutrition, Alcohol and Physical Activity Committee, Cancer Council.

A 2023 research study found that interpretive front-of-pack labels help consumers understand the nutritional quality of food products. The findings did, however, rank the HSR system secondary to the Nutri-Score system in helping respondents identify both the healthiest and unhealthiest options.

HSR is expected to encourage reformulation

“Australians deserve clear, accessible nutrition information labelling to help them make healthier decisions when buying packaged foods for themselves and their families,” said Martin.

The HSR system is designed to help consumers quickly cut through marketing messaging so that it’s simpler for shoppers to see the healthier options available in that same food category in the supermarket. “Making the system mandatory will make it easier for Australians to buy healthier options and push food companies to improve the nutrition of their products,” Martin added.

Mandatory nutrition labelling will require manufacturers to display HSR on the front of all packaged products. Beyond the necessary adoption of nutrition labels, they are also expected to encourage the industry to reformulate products to create healthier options and to make it easier for consumers to compare the healthiness of similar packaged products on supermarket shelves. “Over time, this will help to improve Australian’s diets and lead to better public health outcomes for the community,” Martin said.

The ministers’ approval of a switch from the market’s current voluntary labelling system to mandatory nutritional information follows almost two years of preparatory work on the HSR system, a Nutrition Information Panel (NIP) review and consultation.

In 2023, the case for a mandatory label was already in the works as The George Institute for Global Health’s 2023 State of the Food Supply Report found that the industry was performing poorly, both in terms of displaying the label and in launching or reformulating healthier food options.

What’s next for mandatory labelling?

The food regulatory agency is now starting a formal standards-setting process, in which they will carry out an independent assessment of the ministers’ request, review the scientific evidence, and consider the implications for consumers, industry, and the wider food system.

Once the proposal is completed and approved by the FSANZ Board, it will be provided to food ministers for consideration.