Role
The Food Ministers’ Meeting oversees and is responsible for the food regulation system. The members are the decision makers in the system.
They approve overarching food policy and sign off on all food standards.
The members must assess and balance:
- the national interests of Australia and New Zealand
- their own views
- the views of consumers and industry.
For more detail, see the terms of reference in the Food Ministers’ Meeting operating procedures.
Members
Membership consists of the ministers responsible for health and food safety in:
- the New Zealand Government
- the Australian Government
- each of the 8 Australian state and territory governments.
Each government can also nominate ministers from related portfolios, such as primary industries and consumer affairs. The chair is an Australian Government minister responsible for health matters.
This is in line with the Food Regulation Agreement and the joint food standards treaty.
View the current members.
Observers
Representatives from the below organisations attend meetings as observers:
How they work
If possible, the members make decisions by consensus.
They can also resolve matters by voting. Each government has a lead minister for voting purposes. Each of the 10 governments has one vote, with 6 votes required for a decision.
The members receive support from the Food Regulation Standing Committee, a subcommittee that provides policy advice.
The Food Regulation Secretariat provides support services to the Food Ministers’ Meeting and its subcommittees.
Meetings
Members must meet in-session at least once every calendar year.
The next Food Ministers’ Meeting will be held on 15 November 2024.
Matters for committee consideration must be received at least 2 weeks before the meeting.
Meeting outcomes
The Food Ministers’ Meeting releases communiques after each meeting.
Notices of requests to review standards
The Food Ministers’ Meeting can request a review of a:
- draft food standard
- draft variation to a food standard.
View the notices of review requests.
To find out when this can occur and what the process is, go to draft food standards.
The New Zealand member of the Food Ministers’ Meeting can also choose to:
- modify a standard
- request a separate standard
- opt out of a standard.
Further information on when this can occur can be found in the Joint Food Standards Treaty.
View New Zealand notices related to food standards.
Policy guidelines
View the policy guidelines that have been approved by the Food Ministers’ Meeting.
Contact
If you have any queries, please contact the Food Regulation Secretariat.