Australian Food Labelling Requirements: A 2026 Compliance Checklist

Food labelling in Australia runs on the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, with FSANZ writing the standards and state and territory authorities enforcing them. That split matters, because a label that reads well in a design file still has to survive an inspector reading it on a shelf. This checklist works through Standard 1.2.1 and sits alongside more label printing guides.

Most producers do not come unstuck on the obvious items. They come unstuck on an allergen name that was never updated, a country of origin mark applied to the wrong category of food, or measurement marking a millimetre too short. The back half of this article covers what the food labelling requirements in Australia mean for print runs and artwork revisions.

What must every food label carry under Standard 1.2.1?

Standard 1.2.1 of the Food Standards Code sets out the required label information at section 1.2.1-8, and it is the backbone of the food labelling requirements every producer works to. Read it as a checklist rather than as prose, because that is how an audit reads it.

Required label information under s1.2.1-8:

• Name of the food, described so that a buyer is not misled about what it is.
• Lot identification, so a single production run can be isolated and recalled.
• Name and business address of the supplier.
• Any advisory statement or warning statement that applies to that food.
• Statement of ingredients.
• Date marking.
• Storage conditions and directions for use where they are needed for health or safety.
• Nutrition information, presented as a nutrition information panel.
• Country of origin information.

How is legibility judged, and why does it fail in production?

Two further sections govern presentation. Section 1.2.1-24 sets the general legibility requirement, and s1.2.1-25 applies a stricter legibility rule to warning statements. Neither is satisfied by type size alone.

Legibility is decided at print, not at design. Contrast between text and background, ink density on the chosen facestock, and how a clear or metallised material lets the container colour show through all change what a person can actually read. A panel that passes on a proof at 200 per cent can fail on a curved 250 mL bottle.

What did Plain English Allergen Labelling change?

Plain English Allergen Labelling, made under Proposal P1044, became mandatory on 25 February 2024 after a three-year transition. Stock labelled before that date could be sold through, but any artwork produced since has had to comply.

The change is that allergens must be named in words consumers recognise. FSANZ requires casein and whey to be declared as Milk, and semolina as Wheat. Technical ingredient names that once satisfied the Code no longer stand on their own.

Declaration mechanics that catch producers out:

• Allergens appear in bold within the ingredient list, and again in a bolded summary statement beginning with the word Contains. It is both, not either.
• Tree nuts and molluscs are declared individually, not as a single group name.
• Added sulphites are declared at 10 mg/kg or more.

When does a nutrition information panel become mandatory?

A nutrition information panel declares seven values: energy in kilojoules, protein, total fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugars and sodium. It is presented in two columns, one per serving and one per 100 g or 100 mL.

The trigger most often missed is that any nutrition claim makes a panel mandatory. A front-of-pack line about protein or fat content pulls a full panel onto the back of a product that might otherwise have been exempt.

That has a direct print consequence. Adding a panel to artwork designed without one rarely means dropping text into spare white space. It usually means redrawing the back panel and, often enough, specifying a larger label.

Which foods need the three-part country of origin mark?

Country of origin food labelling operates under the Country of Origin Food Labelling Information Standard 2016 and is administered by the ACCC. It divides foods into priority and non-priority.

Priority foods carry the three-part standard mark: the kangaroo-in-a-triangle symbol, a bar chart showing the minimum proportion of Australian ingredients by ingoing weight, and a text statement.

Non-priority foods need a text statement only. That category includes confectionery, tea and coffee, biscuits, bottled water, soft drinks and alcohol. Applying the standard mark to a non-priority food is a common artwork error, because the mark is visually assertive and looks like the more thorough option.

Is the Health Star Rating compulsory?

No. The Health Star Rating is voluntary and carries no fee. It scores energy, saturated fat, sodium and total sugars, offset by protein, fibre and fruit, vegetable, nut and legume content.

Ratings run from half a star to five stars in half-star increments across six calculator categories, and the graphic may be scaled provided it stays legible. No minimum millimetre height is specified for it, which shifts the burden onto proofing and press control rather than onto a rule you can measure against.

What do these rules mean for how your labels are actually printed?

Measurement marking, supplier details and lot codes make a food label a moving target. The National Measurement Institute requires the packer’s name and an Australian street address; a PO box or an email address is not acceptable. Minimum character heights scale with package size, as the table below sets out.

The practical effect is that food producers now hold more label versions than they once did. One recipe change moves the ingredient list, the allergen summary and possibly the nutrition panel. Where labels were pre-printed in bulk, that change writes off whatever remains on the shelf.

Short digital runs exist to absorb that. We supply food label printing as finished rolls and we supply the printers, so a producer can decide whether a revision becomes a reprint charge or a file change. Businesses running several SKUs off one base design often move to printed product labels at medium volume, which can be produced without printing plates.

Label materials, adhesives, inks and finishes should be selected according to the intended application and relevant Australian requirements. Discuss specific technical or regulatory requirements with Digital Label Services before production.

How tall does measurement marking have to be?

The National Measurement Institute sets minimum character heights for measurement marking according to the package’s maximum dimension.

On cylindrical, spherical, oval or conical containers the marking must sit wholly within a 60-degree arc either side of the vertical centre line.

Frequently asked questions

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References and further reading

• Food Standards Code Standard 1.2.1 — Federal Register of Legislation. the required label information at s1.2.1-8 and legibility at s1.2.1-24 and s1.2.1-25
• Plain English Allergen Labelling — FSANZ. the 25 February 2024 compliance date and the required allergen names
• Allergen labelling for consumers — FSANZ. bolded declarations, the Contains statement and the 10 mg/kg sulphite threshold
• Country of origin food labelling — ACCC. priority versus non-priority foods and the three-part standard mark