National data on the prevalence of food insecurity in Australia: implications for health promotion

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released new data showing that one in eight Australian households experienced food insecurity in 2023. This marks the first nationally representative prevalence estimates collected by the federal government in a decade, and importantly, the first time the ABS has adopted an internationally comparable, validated and sensitive measure of household food insecurity. The findings confirm that food insecurity is a mainstream public health and equity challenge, warranting urgent attention from health promotion professionals, policymakers and researchers.