Who writes the rules
Four bodies set what has to be on an Australian food pack. Knowing which is which tells you where to look when a question comes up.
| Body | What it controls | The instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) | Almost everything in the label: name, ingredients, allergens, nutrition panel, date marking, claims, legibility. | Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, Chapter 1 Part 1.2 (Standards 1.2.1 to 1.2.11) and Schedules |
| Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) | Country of origin labelling, and the general ban on misleading claims. | Country of Origin Food Labelling Information Standard 2016; Australian Consumer Law |
| National Measurement Institute (NMI) | How the net quantity is expressed, where it sits and how big it is. | National Trade Measurement Regulations 2009, Part 4 |
| State and territory food authorities | Enforcement. They are the ones who inspect and prosecute. | State food acts adopting the Code |
Retailers add their own requirements on top. They do not replace any of this. Our Coles and Woolworths guides cover the retailer layer.
The mandatory elements, one by one
Name of the food
A name or description sufficient to indicate the true nature of the food (Standard 1.2.2). Some foods have prescribed names that must be used. A brand name is not a food name: 'Crafted' is not enough, 'Crafted Ham, sliced' is. The name goes on the front of pack in practice, though the Code does not say where.
Statement of ingredients
Every ingredient listed in descending order of ingoing weight (Standard 1.2.4). Compound ingredients over 5 percent need their own components listed. Food additives are declared by class name and either their name or number (for example 'preservative (202)'). Water is an ingredient. Characterising ingredients need a percentage on the label (Standard 1.2.10): if the product is called 'strawberry yoghurt', the pack says how much strawberry is in it.
Allergens
Since 25 February 2024, Standard 1.2.3 requires the allergens in Schedule 9 to be declared using their required names, both in the statement of ingredients and in a separate summary statement. The rules that affect layout:
- In the ingredient list, the allergen appears in bold, in a font no smaller than the other ingredients, for example 'maltodextrin (wheat)' with wheat in bold, or 'milk powder' with milk in bold.
- A separate summary statement in bold, beginning with 'Contains', in the same field of view as and directly next to the ingredient list.
- Required names must be used. Tree nuts are named individually (almond, cashew and so on), molluscs and crustacea are named as such, cereals are named individually, and 'gluten' is added to the summary statement when wheat, barley, oats or rye containing gluten are present.
- The full list: peanut, tree nuts (each named), milk, egg, fish, crustacean, mollusc, sesame, soy, lupin, wheat, and gluten where relevant, plus sulphites at 10 mg/kg or more.
- Food packaged before 25 February 2024 under the old rules could be sold until 25 February 2026. That window has closed; every pack on shelf must now comply.
Nutrition information panel
Standard 1.2.8 sets the panel. It must show energy (kJ), protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugars and sodium, per serving and per 100 g (or 100 mL), in the prescribed format and order, with the number of servings per package and the serving size. If you make a nutrition content claim about another nutrient (fibre, calcium, omega-3) that nutrient joins the panel. The format is prescribed closely enough that the safest approach is to reproduce the Code's layout exactly and style only the type.
Date marking
Standard 1.2.5. Foods with a shelf life under two years need a best before or use by date; use by is reserved for foods that become unsafe, not merely lower quality. The words 'best before' or 'use by' must appear with the date, or with a statement saying where on the pack the date is. Bread has its own 'baked on' and 'baked for' options. Leave a clear, printable area for the date coder on the substrate and confirm with the manufacturer where their coder can reach.
Supplier name and address
The name and business address in Australia or New Zealand of the supplier (manufacturer, packer, importer or vendor). A PO box is not a business address. A website is not a substitute.
Lot identification
A lot or batch code so the product can be traced and recalled (Standard 1.2.2). Usually applied by the manufacturer's coder with the date; the artwork needs the space.
Country of origin
The Country of Origin Food Labelling Information Standard, administered by the ACCC. For most packaged food that is grown, produced or made in Australia, the pack carries the standard mark: the kangaroo in a triangle, a bar chart showing the percentage of Australian ingredients, and the text ('Made in Australia from at least 80% Australian ingredients', for example). Imported food carries a country of origin statement in a clearly defined box. The mark has set proportions and minimum sizes and the artwork is downloaded from the government's Country of Origin Labelling tool rather than redrawn.
Net quantity
Trade measurement law, not the Food Standards Code. The measurement marking must be in metric, on the principal display panel, and at a minimum character height set by the largest dimension of the package:
| Largest dimension of the package | Minimum character height |
|---|---|
| 120 mm or less | 2 mm |
| Over 120 mm, up to 230 mm | 2.5 mm |
| Over 230 mm, up to 360 mm | 3.3 mm |
| Over 360 mm | 4.8 mm |
Stamped or embossed markings must be at least three times the printed minimum. The marking has to be 'clearly visible', which the NMI reads as not obscured by design elements and not on a seam or a crimp. Use 'g' and 'mL', not 'gm' or 'ml' in styled variants that lose the meaning. If the pack is sold by count, the count is the measurement.
Directions for use and storage
Required where the safety of the food depends on them (Standard 1.2.6): keep refrigerated, cook thoroughly, consume within three days of opening. Advisory and warning statements are required for specific foods and ingredients (Standard 1.2.3), for example royal jelly, unpasteurised products, caffeine, aspartame and polyols. These are the statements with the minimum type size.
Legibility: the rule designers break most
Standard 1.2.9 requires every piece of mandatory information to be legible, prominent so as to contrast distinctly with the background, and in English. Warning statements must be in type at least 3 mm high, or 1.5 mm on a small package. There is no general minimum type size for the rest, which is exactly why inspectors and retailers apply judgement, and why they reject packs that technically contain everything.
- Contrast. Dark type on a light ground, or the reverse. Mid-grey on cream, white on a pale photograph, and tone-on-tone metallic all fail the distinct contrast test.
- Type size. Six point on a matte substrate reads; six point reversed out of a gloss black on a curved bottle does not. Print a proof at size and read it under a store's lighting before sign-off.
- Position. Information on a base, a seam, a crimp or under a label overlap is not prominent.
- Language. English is required. Other languages may be added but do not replace it.
A pack that contains every mandatory element and hides half of them is a non-compliant pack. Legibility is the requirement.
Small packages
A package with a surface area under 100 cm² is a small package under the Code. It is exempt from the nutrition information panel (unless a claim is made), the statement of ingredients in some circumstances, and the date marking words in some circumstances, but it still needs the name, lot identification, supplier details, allergen declarations and, where required, warning statements at the 1.5 mm minimum. Check Standard 1.2.1 for the exact exemptions before relying on any of them; sachets, single-serve tubs and miniatures are the usual candidates.
Health Star Rating
The HSR is a front-of-pack graphic scoring a food from half a star to five, calculated from its nutrients under the HSR Calculator. It has been voluntary since 2014 with a style guide governing the artwork: the star graphic, optional energy and nutrient icons, minimum sizes and clear space. In February 2026 Australian and New Zealand food ministers agreed to begin the process of making it mandatory after voluntary uptake missed its target. The timetable and final form are still being settled.
The practical advice: reserve a position for the HSR on the front of pack now, calculate the rating before the design is locked (a low score can change what you want to lead with), and follow the HSR style guide artwork exactly. Both major retailers already expect it on Own Brand.
Claims on the front of pack
Standard 1.2.7 governs nutrition content claims ('high in protein', 'source of fibre', 'no added sugar') and health claims. Content claims have conditions: 'high protein' needs a set amount of protein per serve; 'low fat' has a threshold; 'no added sugar' has its own criteria. General level health claims ('calcium is good for bones') must come from the pre-approved list in Schedule 4 or be self-substantiated. High level health claims (about serious disease) are pre-approved only. Foods that fail the nutrient profiling scoring criterion cannot carry health claims at all.
Beyond the Code, the Australian Consumer Law bans misleading representations. 'Natural', 'artisan', 'farm fresh', 'clean' and 'sustainable' are not defined in the Code but they are still claims, and the ACCC has pursued brands over them. Our guide to claims on pack covers this in detail.
A working back-of-pack layout
Every category has its own conventions, but the same architecture holds for most packaged food. Reading down a typical back panel:
- Product story or usage copy, if any. Optional. Keep it above the regulatory block so the mandatory information is not broken up.
- Ingredients, with allergens in bold, immediately followed by the 'Contains' statement in bold in the same field of view.
- Advisory and warning statements, at 3 mm minimum.
- Nutrition information panel in the prescribed format.
- Storage and directions for use.
- Country of origin standard mark, at its minimum size, unobstructed.
- Supplier name and address, then a clear area for the date and lot coder.
- Barcode with its quiet zones, away from seams and curves.
- Recycling label (ARL) and any retailer or certification marks.
The net quantity sits on the front (principal display panel), at its trade measurement minimum, not in this block.
What gets artwork rejected
- 'Contains' statement missing, not bold, in a different panel, or smaller than the ingredient list.
- Allergen not using the required name ('nuts' instead of 'almond', 'seafood' instead of 'fish' or 'crustacean').
- Nutrition panel in a non-prescribed layout, or missing per-100 g column.
- Country of origin mark redrawn, resized below minimum, or with a percentage that does not match the supplier's records.
- Net quantity in the wrong position, below the character height, or written as '500gm'.
- Date marking without the words 'best before' or 'use by', or no space left for the coder.
- Mandatory type reversed out of a photograph or printed tone-on-tone.
- A content claim ('high protein', 'low sugar') without meeting the Code's conditions.
- A New Zealand or overseas label reused without the Australian supplier address or country of origin mark.
Questions people ask
The name of the food, a statement of ingredients with allergens in bold and a separate bold 'Contains' statement, a nutrition information panel, date marking, the supplier's name and Australian address, lot identification, country of origin using the standard mark, net quantity at the trade measurement minimum size, and any required directions, advisory or warning statements. All of it must be legible, prominent and in English.
There is no general minimum. Standard 1.2.9 requires mandatory information to be legible and prominent with distinct contrast. Warning statements must be at least 3 mm high (1.5 mm on small packages), and the net quantity has minimum character heights of 2 mm to 4.8 mm depending on package size under trade measurement law.
Using the required names, in bold in the ingredient list in a font no smaller than the other ingredients, plus a separate bold summary statement beginning with 'Contains' in the same field of view and directly next to the ingredient list. Tree nuts, cereals, molluscs and crustacea are named individually and 'gluten' is added where relevant. Mandatory since 25 February 2024.
Not yet. It has been voluntary since 2014. Food ministers agreed in February 2026 to begin the process of making it mandatory; the timetable is still being settled. Design the front of pack to carry it.
The standard mark (kangaroo, bar chart and text) can go on any panel but must be clearly visible and at or above its minimum size. The artwork is generated from the government's Country of Origin Labelling online tool, not redrawn. Imported food carries a country of origin statement in a clearly defined box.
A package with a surface area of less than 100 cm². Small packages are exempt from some requirements, including the nutrition information panel when no claim is made, but still need the name, supplier details, lot identification, allergen declarations and warning statements at 1.5 mm.
Sources
- Labelling, Food Standards Australia New Zealand
- Allergen labelling (Standard 1.2.3 and Schedule 9), FSANZ
- Truth in labelling, weights and measures and legibility, FSANZ
- Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, Federal Register of Legislation
- Country of origin food labelling, ACCC
- Guide to the sale of pre-packaged goods, National Measurement Institute
- Health Star Rating system
Published . Last reviewed . Next scheduled review . Regulatory content is re-checked against the primary sources above at each review. See our editorial standards.
