Skip to main content

Country of Origin Labelling for Food

COAG Decision Regulation Impact Statement – Legislative and Governance Forum on Consumer Affairs

On 31 March 2016, Consumer Affairs Ministers agreed on changes to the country of origin labelling system for food. As a result of the decision, many foods such as fresh produce and processed food products will be required to include a kangaroo logo to indicate the food is made, produced or grown in Australia, and a bar chart indicating the proportion of Australian ingredients with a supporting text statement. In addition, it was decided that producers wishing to use a safe harbour defence under consumer law in relation to country of origin claims would no longer be required to pass a ‘production cost’ test. A Regulation Impact Statement was prepared under the Council of Australian Governments’ RIS requirements to support the decision. The RIS found that that the decision would increase costs for many food importers, manufacturers and retailers, but would benefit consumers looking for more detailed information on the origin of their food. In addition, the removal of the production cost test is likely to result in reduced compliance costs for businesses in all sectors that make country of origin claims about their products. The Australian Government Department of Industry, Innovation and Science prepared the decision RIS. The RIS was assessed as compliant by the Office of Best Practice Regulation.