Solutions to Food Security in Australia: What's on the Table?

Food security impacts every Australian alive today, and all future generations.

That’s why we analysed 187 submissions made to the 2023 National Inquiry into Food Security and published our findings in the detailed report below.

Click to read the Solutions to Food Security in Australia report in full

Our analysis reveals several matters of national significance:

Findings

First, that such a wide range of stakeholders engaged with the process shows the importance attached to these matters by significant organisations across the country. There was broad representation across the food system, from paddock to plate.

Secondly, there was a high level of consensus amongst stakeholders on several key issues, above all the need for coordinated national policy and governance for food security, with a whole-of-government, whole-of-country approach as reflected in a National Food Plan or similar policy instrument.

Thirdly, whilst the Committee’s report reflected some of the key policy asks made in many submissions on several key items, there were also highly significant omissions, i.e.:

Food relief and food security: Several submissions called on the Committee to acknowledge that food relief is not the appropriate response to food insecurity, and that the government should legislate the human right to nutritious food for all Australians. The Committee signalled its support for food relief as a primary response to address household food security. While food relief can offer support in times of acute need, it cannot offer dignified food security.
Income support increases: Apart from subsidies to reduce the cost of food in remote community stores, the critical issue of increased income support payments to strengthen food security for the most marginalised Australians was entirely absent from the Committee’s report.
Climate change: The Committee’s recommendations on climate change were significantly weaker than those sought by stakeholders, with only one recommendation directly addressing the issue, and then only in a highly technical manner. Notably, there were no recommendations to support and incentivise Australian farmers to transition to sustainable food production as a priority need to tackle the challenges presented by climate change to Australia’s short, medium and long-term food security.
Agriculture and food production: The recommendations on food production were uneven. While the Committee’s recommendations supported calls from stakeholders for preservation and protection of agricultural land and waterways, stronger biosecurity protection, workforce training and urban agriculture, there was far less support for transitioning to sustainable and regenerative production methods and reducing reliance on external inputs.
Healthy food environments and food education: The Committee strongly supported greater emphasis in educational settings on food-related education but made no recommendations to tackle the pervasive issue of unregulated marketing on unhealthy and ultra-processed foods, including to children.
Food supply and distribution: The Committee made several recommendations to map and strengthen supply chain logistics and infrastructure, as well as invest in local and regional food economies. There were however no recommendations on the need to increase transparency for consumers through reviewing the labelling laws nor to include environmental and health criteria in international trade negotiations and agreements.
Corporate power and concentration: While several submissions identified excessive corporate power as a key driver of negative social and environmental impacts, referencing numerous inquiries and media stories about the way the power of the supermarket duopoly is exercised in Australia, the Committee did not address this key issue at all.

Roadmap

Our analysis shows the Australian Food Story report took some positive steps, but there is still much more to do, given the scale and urgency of the challenges we face. The recommendations in Australian Food Story, if implemented, would represent a significant advance for Australia in food systems and food governance. That said, the many major absences mean that this report falls far short of what a robust policy agenda and roadmap for a truly food secure Australia would entail. Such a roadmap would comprise:

A National Food Systems and Food Security Strategy and Action Plan, with significant annual funding through a National Food Security Fund
A Minister for Food supported by a multi-stakeholder National Food Security Council
A commitment to tackle food poverty and food insecurity at its roots, i.e. roll back and over time end the need for foodbanks, through a) a major increase in the level of Job Seeker allowance and b) a major expansion in social and affordable housing to alleviate pressures on family and household budgets
A commitment to make human health and ecological integrity the fundamental priorities of the National Food Systems and Food Security Strategy
Strong support for Australian farmers to make the transition to sustainable and regenerative forms of agriculture, reducing reliance on external inputs
Strong protection of farmland from the pressures of population growth, urban sprawl and competing development interests
A commitment to significantly invest in the localisation, regionalisation and diversification of our food and farming systems
A commitment to tackle entrenched corporate power across the food system, above all in the supermarket duopoly. This would include prominent disclosure of the prices they pay to farmers and to what extent they support farmers and food businesses. In cases where duopoly power is shown to reach excessive levels, divestiture powers should be exercised to expand affordable access to healthy food
Reform of the national curriculum to ensure that every Australian child knows where their food comes from, the people who produce it, what good nutrition means for their lifelong health and wellbeing and the impacts that the food and agricultural system has on the environment and climate change
A commitment to implement a universal healthy school meals program, with preferential sourcing from local and sustainable producers and food businesses
A commitment to treat the ultra-processed and unhealthy food industries on the same basis as tobacco, i.e. as a harmful industry that needs to be regulated and taxed accordingly, with taxes raised invested in the measures outlined above

Recommendations

Based on our analysis and our own knowledge and experience in this sector since 2015, we make the following recommendations to guide a truly inclusive, just, and sustainable national food policy response. These recommendations reflect the strongest areas of stakeholder consensus, critical gaps in the Committee’s final report, and key policy opportunities for the federal government as it moves forward with the development of the National Food Security Strategy, Feeding Australia.

1. Legislate the Right to Food at the federal and state levels

Despite strong advocacy from stakeholders, the Committee made no mention of the right to food. We recommend that the federal government follow the lead of 120 other countries and:

Legislate the right to adequate and culturally appropriate food, in line with Australia’s commitments under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
Embed this right into the National Food Plan and all related state, local, and agency-level policies.

2. Establish and Resource a National Food Plan with a whole-of-government approach

Over 50 submissions called for the development of a comprehensive National Food Plan. We recommend:

The development of a fully funded, participatory National Food Plan, led by a dedicated Minister for Food, with clear accountability mechanisms and measurable targets.
That the plan be co-designed with First Nations communities, people with lived experience of food insecurity, health experts, and community-based food actors.

3. Increase Income Support to Address Structural Drivers of Food Insecurity

More than 20 submissions called for urgent action to address the economic root causes of food insecurity. The federal government should follow the lead of Scotland and many other jurisdictions, adopting a ‘cash first’ approach to food poverty and food insecurity, in line with the right to food. We recommend:

Raise Job Seeker and related income support payments above the poverty line and indexing them to the cost of living. In addition, the remote area allowance should also be raised to reflect the increased costs of living in remote areas.
Support affordable housing and infrastructure that improves people’s ability to access, store, and prepare food.

4. Shift Beyond Food Relief to Dignified, Community-Led Responses

While the Committee focused heavily on funding food relief, many submissions challenged this approach as inadequate, not least because of the shame and stigma in accessing food in this manner. We recommend:

Increased funding for community food infrastructure, including First Nations food programs, school gardens, food hubs, urban farms, and local food systems that provide dignified access to good food.
A reduction in reliance on food relief as a primary policy mechanism.

5. Support Climate-Resilient and Environmentally Sustainable Food Production

There is clear momentum for transitioning to agroecological and regenerative practices. We recommend:

Policy and investment that supports climate-smart, ecologically sustainable food production, including regenerative agriculture, traditional food systems, and agrobiodiversity.
A climate resilience strategy to future-proof Australia’s food systems.

6. Improve Monitoring and Accountability

There is a lack of nationally consistent data on food insecurity and the impacts of policy. We recommend:

Regular, mandatory national monitoring of household food insecurity, using validated tools such as the 18-item USDA Household Food Security Survey Module that captures both adult and child experience.
The creation of a publicly accountable National Food Council to monitor progress on food system goals, with transparent reporting structures.

7. Address Corporate Power and Market Concentration in the Food System

The Inquiry did not sufficiently address widespread and long-standing concerns about supermarket concentration and power imbalances. We recommend:

The implementation of the ACCC’s 2025 recommendations, including divestiture powers.
A review of food procurement policies to favour local, sustainable, and healthy food producers.

8. Respond Publicly and Promptly to the Committee’s Report

To date, the federal government has not formally responded to the Committee’s 2023 report (though we do acknowledge the publication of the August 2025 discussion paper). We recommend:

A formal government response as soon as possible, outlining clear commitments to each of the 35 recommendations and broader food system reform as identified in this report.