Partners and links

Government policy/guidelines

The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care has developed guidelines for all school canteens in Australia. These guidelines provide information to school canteen managers who want to supply healthy food and drinks in their canteens.

In 2019, The Good Practice Guide: supporting healthy eating and drinking at school, was published by COAG Health Council and COAG Education Council and endorsed for release by Health and Education Ministers Nationally. The guide “supports school communities to create environments where students are enabled and supported to make informed healthy food and drink choices”.

In addition, there are a number of different government canteen policy/guidelines across Australian States and Territories. Whilst there are some differences between jurisdictions they are all based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines (2013) and most use a traffic light system to categorise food and drinks.

The policy/guidelines are reviewed regularly by policy owners including the Departments of Health and Education.

Below you will find a link to each State and Territory’s policy/guidelines.

Australian Capital Territory

Canteen Associations and Networks

Most States and Territories also have organisations who support school canteens to help implement policies and guidelines.

FOCIS recognises the important role of Canteen Associations and Networks and aims to advocate for greater effectiveness and efficiency based on collaboration.

FOCIS member Association and networks include:

Healthy Eating Advisory Service (Victoria)

Western Australian School Canteen Association

Fresh SNAP (WA)

School Food Matters (Tasmania)

ACT Nutrition Support Service

Healthy Kids Association (NSW)

Queensland Association of School Tuckshops

Partners and links

FOCIS has partnerships with those that aim to support, promote, facilitate and empower school communities. We also acknowledged that finding reliable food and nutrition information on the internet can be tricky. FOCIS recommends seeking further advice from the following sources:

Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia

Australian Dietary Guidelines

Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy

Diabetes Australia

Dietitians Australia

Environmental Health Australia

EON Foundation

Foodbank Australia

Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ)

Heart Foundation

LiveLighter

Nutrition Australia

Stephanie Alexander Kitchener Garden Foundation

Government Health Strategies

FOCIS welcomes the Government’s announcement of the following strategies to improve the health and wellbeing of all Australians.

National Preventative Health Strategy 2021 – 2030

National Obesity Strategy 2022 – 2032

News and Events

Whole Grain Week

As part of Whole Grain Week 2023, the Grains and Legumes Nutrition Council has developed an on-line recipe book full of delicious ways to increase the whole grains in your diet. The recipes can be download here.
Advocacy and Communications Officer

FOCIS is currently looking for dynamic Advocacy and Communications Officer to join our team. If you would like to be part of an organisation advocating for the role of school food services in creating a whole school approach to healthy food environments, this could be the position for you. This role is for 7.5-10 hours per week and you will work from home, so can be located anywhere in Australia. For more information see our advert on SEEK or contact us on admin@focis.com.au.
Creating a whole school approach to healthy eating

The whole school approach to healthy eating is an evidence based approach that works to develop a healthy food culture in schools that positively impacts the eating habits of students. For more information see this recent article written by FOCIS and published in Education Australia.
Queensland's Best Tuckshop Recipes

Congratulations to Southport State School Tuckshop Convener, Angelique Scarpignato, for winning the 2023 Queensland Tuckshops Recipe of the Year competition with her recipe for Butter Chicken.
More information about the competition and this healthy recipe can be found in a recent article by the Bursar.
Food-EPI Australia reports for all jurisdictions

Deakin University have completed their reports for the Food-EPI Australia 2022 initiative. These are now available online.
The Federal Government report was released first as part of the International Congress on Obesity in October 2022, and the jurisdictional reports progressively released, in conjunction with NGOs in each jurisdiction.
Education Australia - Canteen Food and Beverage

The March edition of Education Australia contains some interesting articles on the importance of children eating a healthy diet at school. This article on School Food Services - providing a nutritious food services to support student learning, is written by the FOCIS Executive. The article discusses the importance of a whole school approach to healthy eating and the role school canteens play in supporting student health and wellbeing and the impact a healthy diet can have on brain development and academic achievement.
There is also an article from Nutrition Australia, ACT's senior dietitian, Leanne Elliston, on how staying well-nourished and hydrated at school impacts students energy and concentration levels.
School lunch boxes should be practical and affordable

The pressure to make the perfect school lunch box is on the rise but with parents busier than ever it is important to remember that healthy lunches do not have to be unwrapped or organic. This article from the ABC shows how Queensland tuckshops are providing healthy affordable lunches that children love to eat.
Fact Sheets and Position Statements

FOCIS has developed a suite of fact sheets and position statements that cover topics such as 'Make money not waste' and 'Sweeteners', check them out today.