Update – FSANZ Act Review

17 December 2024

Background  

Communication this week from the Department of Health and Aged Care shows there has been slow progress on the FSANZ Act Review since the close of public consultation on the draft Impact Analysis in April 2024. 

The department contacted submitters (including the AFGC) to confirm consent to publish submissions on the consultation website – this is expected to occur in early 2025. No firm commitments have been made on release of the final Impact Analysis or the timing of further consultation for any proposed legislative changes. 

The AFGC shares the following update provided by the department: 

Status update 

During the 2024 consultation on the draft Impact Analysis, 78 submissions were received across government, industry, public health, consumer and other stakeholders. These submissions are being used to update the Impact Analysis and Review Report, with the Department working closely with the Office of Impact Analysis on the Impact Analysis. An update on the FSANZ Act Review was provided to Food Ministers in July 2024, with further discussion occurring with the Food Regulation Standing Committee on key concepts.  

The FSANZ Act Review concepts propose to ensure FSANZ has the tools and flexibility to respond to a changing food environment; modernise the food standards development processes to be risk proportionate and contemporary; ensure public health and safety remain central to the purpose and objectives of FSANZ; and enable FSANZ to share its knowledge and expertise with partners in the bi-national food system to improve system efficiency and effectiveness. 

Next Steps 

“Non-confidential submissions made through the 2024 public consultation are expected to be published via the department’s consultation hub in early 2025. As we are now publishing non-confidential submissions, we will not be publishing a summary report of the submissions on the Department’s consultation hub. The Impact Analysis will also be published online once finalised.  

Legislative and operational reform recommendations are currently being refined, for consideration by the Australian and New Zealand governments in 2025. These recommendations have been informed by stakeholder and ministerial feedback. 

Any recommended changes to the FSANZ Act following the review must be agreed by both the Australian and New Zealand Governments. These are subject to usual government decision making processes which are confidential. We will keep you updated where possible. Pending agreement, changes to the FSANZ Act are anticipated to be drafted in 2025 and considered in 2026. These changes would be subject to usual legislative processes of the Australian and New Zealand parliaments.  

We expect there will be future consultation required on key elements of concepts through their implementation and support ongoing stakeholder participation in these processes. 

The AFGC will keep the members informed of any further developments. Please contact Dr Duncan Craig if you have any questions. 

 
Dr Duncan Craig  
Director – Nutrition and Regulation