What the Health Star Rating is
The HSR is the Australian and New Zealand front-of-pack interpretive nutrition label, introduced in 2014 under a joint government and industry scheme. It rates a packaged food from half a star to five stars in half-star steps. The rating is produced by the HSR Calculator from the product's composition per 100 g or 100 mL: energy, saturated fat, total sugars and sodium count against it; protein, dietary fibre and the percentage of fruit, vegetables, nuts and legumes (FVNL) count for it. Products fall into categories (non-dairy beverages, general foods, oils and spreads, dairy foods, cheese and so on) with their own scoring tables.
The system is governed by the Health Star Rating Advisory Committee and documented in the HSR System Implementation Guide, now at version 9 (December 2025), which combines the calculator rules and the style guide. The rating is calculated as sold unless the food must be rehydrated, diluted or mixed with water, or drained of water or brine, in which case it may be calculated as prepared. A cake mix made up with milk, eggs and oil, or tuna in oil, is rated as sold.
Which foods it applies to
The HSR is intended for packaged foods that are required to carry a nutrition information panel and whose composition can vary: multi-ingredient packaged foods, and single-ingredient foods such as flours, milks, oils and canned fruit and vegetables. It may be used on other foods (unpackaged, NIP-exempt, eggs, sugar, plain water, minimally processed fruit and vegetables, which automatically rate five stars), though it is generally not appropriate on NIP-exempt products with little nutritional value such as herbs, spices, tea and coffee.
It must not be displayed on infant formula, food for infants, toddler milks and formulated supplementary foods for young children, formulated supplementary sports foods, food for special medical purposes, anything over 0.5 percent alcohol, zero-alcohol beverages that resemble or are marketed as variants of alcoholic drinks, alcohol kits and cocktail mixes, or kava. It should not be used on foods for further processing, delivered meals to vulnerable people, or hospital food.
The graphic: what is fixed and what is flexible
The HSR system graphic has four kinds of element: the stars (rating shown by shading, the number stated, the words Health Star Rating beneath), an energy icon (kJ per 100 g or 100 mL, or per pack for single-serve packs, optionally with a percentage daily intake), three prescribed nutrient icons (saturated fat, sugars, sodium) and one optional positive nutrient icon (for example fibre or calcium). The Implementation Guide's design principles:
- The stars element must be used whenever the HSR appears. The energy icon is not permitted on its own.
- All elements must be presented exactly as shown in the Guide's Figure 1. All five stars must be visible, with shading behind the number earned. Stylised versions are not permitted.
- The stars element should be larger than the energy and nutrient elements.
- The business chooses colour and size. The graphic must meet the legibility requirements of the Food Standards Code (Standard 1.2.1-24) and contrast with its background; a white or contrasting panel can sit behind it. Monochrome is acceptable; illegible is not.
- It scales to the pack as long as every element used stays legible.
- Front of pack, as displayed in the supermarket. Where the shopper sees a different face (a chest freezer, a cylindrical container), it goes on the commonly visible face. It need not be duplicated; if it is, the rating must be identical.
The four display options
| Option | Elements | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stars + energy + three prescribed nutrients + one optional nutrient | The full graphic; preferred where the pack allows |
| 2 | Stars + energy + three prescribed nutrients | Standard full-size packs |
| 3 | Stars + energy | Limited space |
| 4 | Stars only | Small packs, or products whose HSR cannot be calculated from the NIP (for example drained of oil or syrup) |
The options can be laid out horizontally or vertically. Businesses are encouraged to use as many elements as the pack can carry, and are responsible for choosing the option.
Rules inside the icons
- Nutrient values are per 100 g or 100 mL (placed to the right of the stars), or per pack for a single-serve pack, or per nominated serve where the Guide allows. 'As prepared' must be stated after the reference where the rating is calculated that way.
- A percentage daily intake figure in the energy icon is only permitted for per-pack presentation, and using it triggers the full percentage daily intake column in the NIP.
- The word low may appear in the saturated fat, sugars or sodium icon only where the food meets the Code's conditions for a low claim. Low is never used on energy.
- An optional positive nutrient icon, with or without the word high, is a nutrition content claim under Standard 1.2.7: the nutrient must meet the Schedule 4 threshold and appear in the NIP. It cannot be used for gluten, lactose, glycaemic index or similar.
- Values should match the NIP. The HSR and the NIP are read together by the shopper and the compliance checker.
The move to mandatory: where it stands
In 2019 food ministers set uptake targets and agreed to consider mandating the HSR if industry did not reach 70 percent of intended products by 14 November 2025. The target was missed: uptake was 39 percent in Australia and 36 percent in New Zealand. In July 2024 ministers had already asked FSANZ to begin preparatory work. On 13 February 2026, by majority, ministers asked FSANZ to prepare a proposal to mandate the HSR in the Food Standards Code, citing low uptake, limited effectiveness and undermined consumer trust.
FSANZ published Proposal P1067 on 21 April 2026 and stated that, on current evidence, amending the Code to mandate the HSR appears warranted. The proposed approach: require the HSR symbol on most packaged foods for retail sale where a NIP is required, standardise the design and location of the symbol, and prescribe the algorithm. The proposal runs under FSANZ's major procedure with two rounds of consultation. The first call for submissions ran from 7 May to 5 July 2026 and is closed. A second call, a draft variation and a report to ministers follow, and ministers make the final decision. Any mandate will come with a transition period.
Three design implications. First, a mandated symbol will be standardised in design and location, so a brand's freedom to pick the smallest option in the corner is likely to shrink. Second, the algorithm will be prescribed, so reformulating to lift a rating is a product decision with a label consequence. Third, a pack designed now has a reasonable life of two to three years; design it to carry the full graphic in a fixed front-of-pack position and the mandate costs nothing.
Designing with the HSR
- Reserve the space early. Option 2 (stars, energy, three nutrients) is the sensible default on a standard pack; put it in the lower part of the front panel where it does not compete with the brand block.
- Run the calculator before the design starts. A two-star product and a four-and-a-half-star product want different front panels. There is no rule about hiding a low rating, but there is a shopper who reads it.
- Keep the brand colour out of the graphic. Mono black or white on a contrasting panel is legible, cheap to repro and matches what the mandate is likely to standardise.
- Do not round. The rating is what the calculator says; a half star is a half star.
- Check the range. Variants in a range often rate differently; the HSR is per product, and a shared front-panel template has to accommodate a different number on each.
- Keep the calculator inputs on file. The retailer, and in future the regulator, can ask for them.
Questions people ask
Not yet. It is voluntary, but after industry missed the 70 percent uptake target in November 2025, food ministers asked FSANZ in February 2026 to prepare a proposal to mandate it. Proposal P1067 was published in April 2026, FSANZ says mandating appears warranted, and consultation is under way. A ministerial decision and a transition period follow.
Front of pack, as the product is displayed in store. On a cylindrical container it goes on the face carrying the brand and net quantity. It does not have to be repeated on other faces, but if it is the rating must be the same.
Yes. Option 4 in the Implementation Guide is the stars alone, intended for small packs or products whose rating cannot be derived from the NIP. The stars are the one element that must always appear; the energy icon can never appear without them.
Yes. The business chooses colour and size, provided the graphic meets the Code's legibility requirements and contrasts with its background. A white or contrasting panel behind it is allowed.
Infant formula and infant foods, toddler milks and formulated supplementary foods for young children, sports foods, food for special medical purposes, products over 0.5 percent alcohol, zero-alcohol versions of alcoholic drinks, alcohol kits and kava.
As sold, unless the food must be rehydrated, diluted or mixed with water, or drained of water or brine, and the label says so. Products mixed with milk or drained of oil or syrup are rated as sold; if the NIP is on a drained basis, only the stars may be shown.
Sources
- Health Star Rating System Implementation Guide v9 (December 2025)
- P1067 Health Star Rating System, FSANZ
- Food Ministers' Meeting communiqué, 13 February 2026
- HSR preparatory work and NIP review, FSANZ
- Health Star Rating system, healthstarrating.gov.au
Published . Last reviewed . Next scheduled review . Regulatory content is re-checked against the primary sources above at each review. See our editorial standards.
