Australia wastes about 7.6 million tonnes of food a year — roughly 312kg per person — at a cost of around $36.6 billion to the economy. Retail and wholesale account for 527,000 tonnes of that, or 7%.
Seven per cent sounds like someone else’s problem. It isn’t, for two reasons. Retailers sit at the point where the 32% of waste generated in households gets decided — through range, pack size, pricing and date management. And since 1 July 2026, some Australian retailers have had legal obligations attached to it.
This article covers where Australia’s food waste actually comes from, what changed in NSW this year, the legal difference between “use by” and “best before” that governs what you can mark down, and how the EM Cloud™ Food Date Check module handles it.
AUSTRALIAN FOOD WASTE — 2018–19 BASELINE
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7.6 Mt
Food wasted each year across the supply chain
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$36.6bn
Annual cost to the Australian economy, around 1.4% of GDP
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70%
Of Australia’s wasted food is edible
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7%
Share from retail and wholesale — 527,000 tonnes
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National figures are from Food Innovation Australia Limited’s National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study (2021), which uses a 2018–19 base year. These remain the current official national numbers — no updated national baseline has been published as at August 2026. Verified against DCCEEW and End Food Waste Australia in August 2026.
Most coverage stops at “households are the biggest contributor”, which is true but not useful if you run a store. Here is the full supply chain:
| Segment | Tonnes per year | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Households | 2,464,000 | 32% |
| Primary production | 1,683,000 | 22% |
| Manufacturing | 1,276,000 | 17% |
| Hospitality and food service | 1,217,000 | 16% |
| Retail and wholesale | 527,000 | 7% |
| Distribution | 258,000 | 3% |
| Institutions | 251,000 | 3% |
FIAL, National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study, 2021, base year 2018–19. Retail and wholesale are reported as a combined figure — no published Australian source isolates supermarket-only tonnage.
The wider consequences of that 7.6 million tonnes:
For scale, the UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024 found 1.05 billion tonnes of food wasted globally in 2022 — around 19% of all food available to consumers, and more than a billion meals a day.
Fair question, and worth answering honestly rather than inflating the number. Three reasons.
First, influence beyond your own bin. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 — the target Australia’s strategy aligns to — is explicitly worded to halve food waste “at the retail and consumer levels”. Range decisions, pack sizes, promotional structures, date labels and markdown timing all shape what happens in the 32% after the customer gets it home.
Second, it is margin. Every unit written off was bought, freighted, handled, refrigerated and then thrown away. Champions 12.3, analysing 1,200 business sites across 17 countries, found every $1 invested in food waste reduction returned $7 to $21 in savings. That is international rather than Australian data, but the direction is not controversial.
Third, and newest: it is becoming a compliance matter.
Two NSW requirements commenced on 1 July 2026, and both are already in force.
1. Food donation record-keeping for large supermarkets
Supermarkets in NSW with a gross floor area of 1,000m² or more are required to keep monthly records of food donated, reportedly including the weight donated, quantities by prescribed food category, and details of the receiving organisation — and to record months in which nothing was donated. Records are to be retained for six years. Non-compliance is an offence.
2. Mandatory food organics separation for businesses
Businesses generating 3,960 litres or more of general waste per week must separate food organics from 1 July 2026. The threshold tightens to 1,980 litres from 1 July 2028, and 720 litres from 1 July 2030.
Check your own position. The FOGO separation thresholds are published by the NSW EPA. The supermarket donation record-keeping detail above is drawn from industry-body guidance rather than legislation we have read directly — if you operate in NSW, confirm your obligations with the NSW EPA before relying on this summary. Other states and territories have different arrangements.
The direction of travel is the point. Food waste is moving from a sustainability talking point to something a retailer has to be able to measure and evidence. Whatever your state, being able to report what you wrote off, what you marked down and what you donated is becoming an operational requirement rather than a nice-to-have.
This distinction governs what you can and cannot do with stock approaching its date, and it is the foundation of any automated markdown rule.
| Use by | Best before | |
|---|---|---|
| What it signals | Health and safety | Quality |
| Can you sell it past the date? | No — it is illegal to sell food past its use-by date | Yes, provided it has not deteriorated or perished and remains fit for consumption |
| Markdown candidate? | Before the date only. Must be withdrawn on the date | Before and after the date, subject to a quality check |
| Donation candidate? | Not past the date | Past-best-before donation is permitted |
Both date types are governed by Standard 1.2.5 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. Note the practical implication: a date-driven rule alone is not enough for best-before stock. The date makes it eligible; a quality check makes it saleable.
Consumer confusion between the two is itself a source of waste. RMIT research published with End Food Waste Australia in June 2025 found that poor label design and inconsistent date labelling drive disposal of edible food, and recommended a unified national date labelling framework. End Food Waste Australia projects that clearer date labels and storage advice could help prevent close to a million tonnes of food waste by 2030 — a modelled projection rather than measured waste, but a significant one.
The Food Date Check module inside EM Cloud™ tracks date-sensitive stock and acts on it before it becomes a write-off rather than after.
Worth noting that this approach is what the sector itself now recommends. End Food Waste Australia’s Guide to Food Waste Reduction for Australian Retailers (2025) advises retailers to use dynamic pricing models that discount as remaining shelf life diminishes, and digital shelf-edge price tickets to automate markdowns — which is EM Cloud™ Food Date Check working alongside EM ESL.
We should be straight about the evidence, though. There is no robust published Australian figure for how much waste markdown automation prevents. The Australian trials that exist have not published effect sizes. What can be said is that the practice is recommended by the national body, that the ROI evidence on food waste reduction generally is strong, and that the alternative — discovering the problem at write-off — has a known cost.
Waste is a decision made days earlier.
Usually by nobody in particular.
Australia’s National Food Waste Strategy, published in 2017, aims to halve national food waste by 2030, aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3.
Is Australia on track? There is no published government assessment answering that question — we looked. Globally, Champions 12.3’s 2025 progress report concluded the world is not on track and called for a radical rethink. Australia is not named in it.
The most encouraging Australian evidence comes from the Australian Food Pact. End Food Waste Australia reported that across 2022 to 2024, its 26 signatories achieved a 13% reduction in food waste, $57 million saved, 254 million meals donated and a 59% reduction in food waste sent to landfill. The Pact now covers around 83% of the Australian supermarket sector.
That is genuine progress from the businesses that opted in. It also shows what is achievable, which makes the absence of a national progress assessment more conspicuous rather than less.
For independent retailers, there is a straightforward version of all this. Around 70% of the food Australia wastes is still edible. Some of it is sitting in your chillers with four days left on it. Whether it sells, gets donated or gets thrown out is decided by whether anyone knows it is there in time.
About 7.6 million tonnes across the supply chain, or roughly 312kg per person, costing the economy around $36.6 billion a year — approximately 1.4% of GDP. Around 70% of that wasted food is edible. These figures come from Food Innovation Australia Limited’s National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study (2021), using a 2018–19 base year, and remain the current official national numbers.
Which part of the supply chain wastes the most food?Households, at 2,464,000 tonnes or 32% of the national total. Then primary production (1,683,000 t, 22%), manufacturing (1,276,000 t, 17%), hospitality and food service (1,217,000 t, 16%), retail and wholesale (527,000 t, 7%), distribution (258,000 t, 3%) and institutions (251,000 t, 3%).
What is Australia’s 2030 food waste target?To halve national food waste by 2030, set out in the National Food Waste Strategy (2017) and aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3. There is no published Australian government assessment of whether the target is on track. Globally, Champions 12.3 reported in 2025 that the world is not on track.
Can you legally sell food past its best before date?Yes. “Best before” is a quality indicator, and food marked best before may lawfully be sold after that date provided it has not deteriorated or perished and remains fit for human consumption. “Use by” is different — it is a health and safety date, and it is illegal to sell food past its use-by date. Both are governed by Standard 1.2.5 of the Food Standards Code.
What do NSW supermarkets have to report about food donation?From 1 July 2026, NSW supermarkets with a gross floor area of 1,000m² or more are required to keep monthly food donation records, reportedly including weight donated, quantities by prescribed food category and receiving organisation details, and to record months where nothing was donated. Records are to be kept for six years and non-compliance is an offence. Separately, NSW businesses generating 3,960 litres or more of general waste per week must separate food organics from the same date. Confirm your specific obligations with the NSW EPA.
How does a POS system help reduce food waste?By making date-sensitive stock visible early enough to act on. The EM Cloud™ Food Date Check module tracks stock against use-by and best-before dates, applies staged markdowns as remaining shelf life shortens, treats the two date types according to their different legal consequences, and records what was marked down, written off or donated. Auto Order reduces the overstock that creates date-sensitive waste in the first place. End Food Waste Australia’s 2025 retailer guide recommends exactly this approach — dynamic pricing that discounts as shelf life diminishes, with digital shelf-edge tickets to automate markdowns.
Is a retailer legally protected when donating surplus food?All Australian states and territories have Good Samaritan-style provisions limiting civil liability for food donors acting in good faith. Coverage differs by jurisdiction — notably, several exclude food recovery organisations that redistribute others’ donations. Past-best-before food may be donated; past-use-by food may not. Check your jurisdiction’s current legislation, and speak to Foodbank, OzHarvest or SecondBite about how they handle it.
Does reducing food waste actually pay for itself?The best available evidence says yes, though it is international. Champions 12.3 analysed 1,200 business sites across 17 countries and found every $1 invested in food waste reduction returned $7 to $21 in savings. In Australia, End Food Waste Australia reported that Australian Food Pact signatories cut food waste 13% and saved $57 million across 2022–2024. There is no robust published Australian figure specifically for markdown automation.
Tell us which departments give you the most write-offs and we’ll show you how the EM Cloud™ Food Date Check module handles staged markdowns, date-type rules and the reporting behind them.
BOOK A DEMOOr call 1300 722 289 · marketing@gapsolutions.com.au