Australia’s Food Ministers have taken decisive steps toward making the Health Star Rating (HSR) system a mandatory feature on all eligible packaged foods sold in Australia and New Zealand.

The decision was formalised on Friday 13 February 2026 at the Food Ministers’ Meeting, where ministers from across Australian states and territories, as well as New Zealand counterparts, reviewed monitoring data on the voluntary HSR scheme.

According to official figures, only 39% of applicable products in Australia and 36% in New Zealand displayed Health Star Ratings by the end of 2025, well below the 70% take-up goal agreed under earlier food regulation commitments.

The Health Star Rating system – a front-of-pack label that assigns packaged products a score between 0.5 and five stars based on their overall nutritional profile – has been promoted as a tool to help consumers make healthier choices since its introduction in 2014.

However, monitoring reports have repeatedly shown that voluntary compliance by food businesses has stagnated.

In response, ministers agreed by majority to instruct Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to amend the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code to mandate the display of Health Star Ratings.

Key preparatory work from FSANZ indicated that regulatory barriers to mandating the scheme are minimal, provided statutory requirements are met. Two rounds of public consultation will be undertaken ahead of a final regulatory decision.

FSANZ will now lead an engagement process to gather stakeholder input on how the mandatory system should operate in practice, including transitional arrangements for industry and education campaigns directed at consumers.

Ministers will consider FSANZ’s proposal at a future meeting before deciding on definitive regulatory changes and implementation timelines, with the objective of embedding the mandatory labels into the Food Standards Code.