24 June 2026
The National Food Council (the Council) met on Wednesday 24 June 2026. The meeting was chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Victoria Anderson.
The Secretary welcomed members and outlined the meeting’s focus on the production and processing sectors, as well as the cross-cutting themes of sustainability and climate change.
The Secretary provided members with an update on the current H5 (bird flu) situation, noting there have been no detections in the agriculture or food sectors to date and no evidence the virus has spread beyond migratory seabirds. There is no impact on domestic food supply, and Australia’s status as free from HPAI in poultry, in accordance with international standards, remains unchanged. The Australian Government is well prepared and is leading national coordination efforts, working closely with state and territory governments to monitor and respond to the situation.
The Secretary also noted developments in the Middle East, including the recent agreement between the United States and Iran, and the steps towards reopening the Strait of Hormuz and the restoration of freedom of navigation. The Secretary updated members on the Australian Government’s work to secure critical fuel and fertiliser supplies.
The department provided members with an update on the consultation and co-design process for the National Food Security Strategy to date. Members noted that over 500 participants had attended 35 workshops around the country and online to provide input to the Strategy’s development. Participants were from a broad cross section of the community and food system. Members noted that a summary of the consultations would be published following the completion of the process.
The National Farmers’ Federation and the Australian Food and Grocery Council provided the Council with insights into components of productive and resilient production, processing and manufacturing systems. This included perspectives on sovereign capability, input costs, regulatory burden, processing and distribution networks, and workforce availability. Members explored how the strategy may be able to address challenges and opportunities highlighted in the presentations.
The Australian Climate Service presented an overview of Australia’s first National Climate Risk Assessment, what the findings mean for long-term adaptation planning and why understanding national climate risks is important for Australia’s food security. Farmers for Climate Action provided a presentation with insights into initiatives and actions underway in the agriculture sector to manage climate risk. Members discussed the climate related risks to Australia’s food system and food security and implications for the food security strategy.
The Council will meet again at the end of July to discuss outcomes of the co-design process and next steps for the development of the strategy.
Attendees
- Dr Christopher Downs
- Mel Gatfield
- Simeon Gilding
- Barry Irvin AM
- Dr Liz Jackson
- Dr Leisa McCarthy
- Claire McClelland
- Pat O’Shannassy
- David Stout
- Victoria Anderson, Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Chair)
- Matt Lowe, Deputy Secretary, Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Policy Group
- Paul Denny, Assistant Secretary, Food Policy Branch
Guest attendees
- Hamish McIntyre, President, National Farmers’ Federation
- Dr Duncan Craig, Australian Food and Grocery Council
- Verity Morgan-Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer, Farmers for Climate Action
- Ross Henry, Program Manager, Australian Climate Service
Apologies
- Su McCluskey
- Dr Tracy Sullivan