Australia is advancing plans to make the Health Star Rating system compulsory on all packaged food products after voluntary uptake fell significantly short of government targets.

The Health Star Rating, a front-of-pack nutritional labelling system introduced in 2014 to help consumers compare the relative healthiness of foods with a simple half-to-five star scale, has only appeared on about thirty-seven per cent of eligible products, far below the seventy per cent target set by food ministers for November 2025. As a result, food ministers from the Commonwealth and a majority of states and territories are poised to ask Food Standards Australia New Zealand to prepare a formal proposal for regulation that would mandate the labels in the coming year.

The move reflects mounting concern among health officials, medical associations and public health advocates that the voluntary approach has failed to deliver transparent, consistent information across the food supply.

Leading health organisations, including VicHealth, the Australian Medical Association and The George Institute for Global Health, have written to ministers urging mandatory rating labels, saying that diet-related diseases place increasing strain on the health system and that clear front-of-pack information will support better consumer choices.

Research shows that the voluntary system has been applied selectively by manufacturers and is more likely to appear on products with higher ratings, undermining its usefulness as a comprehensive guide for shoppers.

Government representatives have argued that mandating the Health Star Rating system will level the playing field for producers and give all Australians straightforward nutrition data at the point of purchase.

Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care Rebecca White said that the current uptake was “well below what is expected” and that compulsory ratings would enhance consumer decision-making.

Public consultations and regulatory processes to amend the national food standards code are expected to follow if ministers agree to progress the mandate.

At the same time, some nutrition experts have suggested that the underlying algorithm for calculating star ratings may also need review to better account for ultra-processed foods and avoid unintended incentives.

With the issue now front-of-mind in Canberra and across state capitals, the government is signalling that a mandatory Health Star Rating regime could be introduced within the next year as part of broader efforts to strengthen food labelling and public health outcomes.