Starting the conversation about Australia's food security future

While Australia’s food system is productive and resilient, it will continue to face a range of challenges, such as: climate change, economic shocks, biosecurity threats, geopolitical factors and supply chain disruptions.

These were some of the reasons why the Australian Government committed $3.5 million to develop Feeding Australia: A National Food Security Strategy. The strategy aims to boost the productivity, resilience and security of the country’s food system, and was recently open for submissions after a discussion paper with specific questions was released in August.

The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) lodged its formal submission to the government’s development of a National Food Security Strategy, saying it welcomed its commitment to safeguarding Australia’s food future.

AFGC CEO Colm Maguire commended the leadership of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon Julie Collins MP, in initiating this vital national conversation, and highlighted the importance of developing a long-term, whole-of-economy approach to food security.

“Minister Collins has demonstrated a clear commitment to strengthening Australia’s food security, and we commend her for launching this much-needed process,” Maguire said. “Australia has a unique opportunity to act now to build resilience into our food system. Importantly, this relies heavily on supporting the domestic manufacturing sector and ensuring efficient, reliable supply chains.

“The ability to process and manufacture food onshore, transforming raw produce into consumer-ready goods, is essential to national food resilience,” Maguire said. “A strategy that fails to support this capability risks weakening Australia’s ability to respond to future shocks.”

The AFGC is urging the government to prioritise mapping vulnerabilities in both international and domestic supply chains, including risks associated with critical inputs like packaging and ingredients, many of which are imported from concentrated global sources.

In its submission, the AFGC is calling for the National Food Security Strategy to recognise the strategic importance of domestic food and grocery production as a national asset and ensure manufacturers have the support needed to thrive in a volatile global environment.

“Food security is national security,” Maguire said. “A resilient and efficient food supply chain, underpinned by strong local manufacturing, must be at the heart of this strategy.”

The AFGC looks forward to continued engagement and collaboration with the government, industry and the broader community as the strategy progresses.

The government is currently reviewing and considering all the submissions and survey responses — a full summary of these is expected in November 2025.

Image credit: iStock.com/mars58