20 May 2026
The National Food Council (the Council) held its latest meeting on Wednesday 20 May 2026. The meeting was chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Victoria Anderson.
The Secretary welcomed members online and outlined the meeting’s focus on public health and nutrition, equity and access, as well as an update on the conflict in the Middle East.
The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon Julie Collins MP, addressed the Council, outlining the government’s response to the Middle East conflict, including actions underway to support producers’ access to critical inputs including fuel and fertiliser. This includes the Australian Fuel Security and Resilience Package announced on 6 May 2026, providing $7.5 billion for the establishment of a Fuel and Fertiliser Facility to increase supply and storage of fuel and fertiliser domestically and over $3 billion to establish an Australian Fuel Security Reserve. Council members welcomed the announcement, noting the importance of building energy sovereignty for food security.
The Minister reflected on how the impacts of current challenges have reinforced the importance of a strong, resilient food system and the development of the National Food Security Strategy. The Minister noted progress on the strategy has continued with 26 co design workshops held across the country, providing an opportunity for close to 350 stakeholders from across the food system to inform the strategy’s development. A second phase of workshops will commence this week, building off the insights from the first phase, and focusing on the key themes raised by stakeholders. These workshops are scheduled over May and June.
Mr Andrew Henderson, Principal, AgSecure, provided the Council with an update on the interim National Food Supply Chain Assessment. The interim assessment has focused on the supply chain for liquid fuels, reflecting the impact of the Middle East conflict, and the importance of diesel fuel to the agricultural sector and associated supply chains. This forms part of the broader assessment which will consider a range of critical agricultural inputs.
Professor Anne Marie Thow, University of Sydney, provided an overview of the health impacts of food insecurity. Professor Thow outlined the health system and food system factors that shape food choices and nutrition, including the influence of 'food environment’ factors such as price, marketing, retail and nutritional information, as well as opportunities for food system policies to support improved nutritional outcomes.
OzHarvest presented data and insights on household food insecurity in Australia, its causes, the communities most affected, and opportunities across the food system to reduce both food waste and food insecurity.
Foodbank Australia briefed the Council on the results of the latest food insecurity research and outlined factors that shape equity and access including economic, behavioural, environmental and social factors.
The Council discussed opportunities to improve food security, the interactions of the food, health and social support systems and how these issues link to broader issues such as food education and literacy, local infrastructure and housing. The Council emphasised the importance of continuing to take a broad, whole-of-system approach to the strategy development to enable the consideration of the interconnected issues influencing and impacting the food system.
Attendees
- Dr Christopher Downs
- Mel Gatfield
- Simeon Gilding
- Barry Irvin AM
- Dr Liz Jackson
- Dr Leisa McCarthy
- Claire McClelland
- Su McCluskey
- Pat O’Shannassy
- David Stout
- Dr Tracy Sullivan
- The Hon Julie Collins MP, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
- Victoria Anderson, Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Chair)
- Matt Lowe, Deputy Secretary, Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Policy Group
- Paul Denny, Acting First Assistant Secretary, Agricultural Policy Division
- Larissa Arney, Acting Assistant Secretary, Food Policy Branch
Guest attendees
- Kate O’Hara, CEO, Foodbank WA
- Erica Goldfinch, Chief Partnerships and Commercial Officer, Foodbank Australia
- James Goth, CEO, OzHarvest
- Andrew Henderson, Principal, AgSecure
- Professor Anne Marie Thow, Professor of Public Policy and Health, University of Sydney
- Sky May, ThinkPlace