A new report from the Food for Health Alliance shows a broken food regulation system that puts industry interest ahead of Australians’ health.
The report assesses Australian governments’ action on food labelling reforms recommended in a 2011 review of Australia's food labelling law and policy - Labelling Logic.
The Labelling Logic report made 40 recommendations aimed at improving health, such as mandatory added sugar and trans-fat labelling on packaged food, and warning labels on alcohol.
15 years later, only 3 of the 40 public health recommendations have been fully implemented.
Executive Manager of the Food for Health Alliance, Jane Martin says the failure to implement the Labelling Logic recommendations comes down to broader problems in the food regulation system.
"What we see is not a failure to identify problems or develop solutions, but a failure to act on them. This means Australian families are left without clear information, stronger protections and confidence that food labels support them to make informed, healthy choices."
"There is a clear pattern of reforms being delayed in endless decision-making and review processes and then watered down to the point of being ineffective, or abandoned completely," she added.
Another pattern identified was the weakening of consumer protections as a result of industry opposition, says Martin.
"While governments often acknowledged the value of reforms for Australians' health, ultimately industry concerns have taken precedence.
"This acts as a major blocker to any reforms that challenge industry interests and profits, at the expense of Australians' health. We have seen this play out clearly in alcohol labelling," she added.
In response to low public awareness of the significant health harms from alcohol including cancer, heart disease and liver disease, Labelling Logic recommended that government introduce warning labels on alcohol products.
This had wide support from public health organisations and experts. Yet after pressure from industry, it was not implemented.
While alcohol warning labels were shelved, reforms that benefit industry have been adopted. In 2025, despite strong opposition from public health experts, decision-makers approved changes allowing alcohol companies to make claims like "low sugar" and "zero sugar" on alcohol products.
"These changes were despite evidence, including from Australia's own food standard setter, that the claims can mislead consumers into thinking alcohol products are healthier," Ms. Martin notes.
"Governments have failed to implement recommended changes to alcohol labels that would protect Australians' health, while at the same time allowing reforms that do the opposite."
Another Labelling Logic recommendation governments have failed to deliver is added sugar labelling. Despite years of reviews and strong public support, governments abandoned the reform in early 2026, leaving consumers in the dark about how much sugar is added to their food. Among the reasons cited was the cost to industry of updating labels.
This new report comes at a time when Australia is about to undertake the first major review of the legislation underpinning the food system in more than 30 years – the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 (FSANZ Act).
Ms. Martin says that this review is an important opportunity to fix our broken food system, but current proposals risk making things worse.
"Overweight and obesity are now the top preventable risk factor contributing to ill health and death, with diet at number three. Australians want to be able to lead healthy lives, but the current food environment doesn’t support this.
"The review of the FSANZ Act is a once in a lifetime opportunity to strengthen the system so that it actively supports healthier diets and better protects consumers from misleading or harmful industry practices – and it is not being taken.
"There are real concerns that proposed reforms will prioritise cutting red tape to make it easier for industry to grow their profits, at the expense of public health.
"The consequence of this is a future where unhealthy products continue to dominate, consumers continue to be exposed to confusing or inadequate information, and Australia's already poor diet and health outcomes continue to deteriorate. The burden will not only fall on individuals and families, but also on the health system and government budgets through rising healthcare costs and lost productivity.
Reforms must strengthen the system's capacity to support healthier diets, not further limit it,” Ms Martin concluded.
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