Guide · Front of pack
Health Star Rating explained — how it works, and what it is not
Half a star to five stars on the front of the pack. It looks like a rule and it is not one: the Health Star Rating is voluntary, it sits outside the Food Standards Code, and it never replaces the nutrition information panel. Here is how the number is arrived at, and where the traps are.
It is not in the Food Standards Code
Worth saying plainly, because a great deal of writing about the Health Star Rating implies otherwise: the Code does not mention it. Search Standard 1.2.8, Standard 1.2.7 or Schedule 12 and you will not find it. The Health Star Rating is a system of the Australian and New Zealand governments, administered outside the Code, and its rulebook is the Health Star Rating system Implementation Guide. The Guide says so about itself:
“This Guide and its provisions are intended as a guide only … The information in this Guide should not be relied upon as legal advice.”
Two practical consequences. You cannot be fined for not carrying a star rating. And carrying one does not discharge a single obligation under the Code — the nutrition information panel, the ingredient list and the allergen declarations are all still owed.
Six categories, and the category decides everything
Before anything is calculated, the product is placed in one of six categories. The same nutrition values put into two different categories give two different star ratings, so this step is not a formality:
| Category | What belongs in it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Non-dairy beverages, jellies, water-based ice confections |
| 1D | Milk, dairy beverages and qualifying dairy alternatives |
| 2 | All other foods that do not fit another category |
| 2D | Other dairy foods, not frozen, at least 75 % dairy or permitted alternative |
| 3 | Oils and oil-based spreads — edible oil, edible oil spread, margarine, butter |
| 3D | Cheeses with a calcium content greater than 320 mg/100 g |
Note the calcium threshold on 3D. A cheese below 320 mg/100 g is not a category 3D product, and reaching for the 3D table because “it is a cheese” is the single most common category error.
How the number is arrived at
The arithmetic is a balance of two sides, per 100 g or 100 mL:
- Baseline points — awarded for energy, saturated fat, total sugars and sodium. More of these, more points, worse outcome.
- Modifying points — awarded for protein, dietary fibre, and fruit, vegetable, nut and legume content. These are subtracted.
The remaining score is converted to stars on a table that is different for each of the six categories. Two quirks are worth knowing before you predict a rating:
- In category 1 the conversion table starts at four stars. Five and four-and-a-half are not reachable by calculation there — they are reserved for the automatic ratings below.
- Category 1 scores only energy and sugars. Saturated fat and sodium do not count for a non-dairy beverage at all.
Three products that are not calculated at all
Some products receive their rating automatically. The Guide is explicit that “the Calculator should not be used to determine the rating for these products”:
| Product | Rating |
|---|---|
| Plain water | 5 stars |
| Unsweetened flavoured water | 4.5 stars |
| Fresh fruit and vegetables | 5 stars |
The trap: it is not the nutrient profiling score
Schedule 5 of the Food Standards Code carries a nutrient profiling scoring criterion, and it looks very much like the Health Star Rating calculation. It is not the same thing, and it answers a different question: the Schedule 5 score decides whether you may make a health claim at all under Standard 1.2.7. The star rating decides what picture goes on the front.
| Schedule 5 (the Code) | Health Star Rating (the Guide) | |
|---|---|---|
| Categories | 3 | 6 |
| Protein points, maximum | 5 | 15 |
| Fibre points, maximum | 5 | 15 |
| Legally binding | yes — it gates health claims | no |
The sugar thresholds differ too, by fractions of a gram. Run one calculation and use the answer for the other purpose, and the numbers will be wrong in a way nobody notices until an auditor does.
What this means in practice
If you are deciding whether to carry the rating: it is a marketing decision, not a compliance one. Retailers increasingly expect it, and a good score is a selling point — but a poor one is printed just as large.
Whatever you decide, the underlying numbers are the same seven values that the nutrition information panel needs. Get those right first; the stars follow from them.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Health Star Rating mandatory in Australia?
No. It is voluntary and appears nowhere in the Food Standards Code. The nutrition information panel, by contrast, is mandatory under Standard 1.2.8. A star rating never replaces the panel.
How is the Health Star Rating calculated?
The product is placed in one of six categories, then scored: baseline points for energy, saturated fat, total sugars and sodium, offset by points for protein, fibre and fruit, vegetable, nut and legume content. The score converts to stars on a table that differs by category. Water and fresh produce are rated automatically.
Is the Health Star Rating the same as the nutrient profiling score?
No. The Schedule 5 nutrient profiling scoring criterion decides whether a health claim may be made; it has three categories and different point caps. They look alike and are not interchangeable.
This article is general information and does not replace legal advice. The mandatory requirements quoted here are from the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, Standard 1.2.8 (F2015L00395, Compilation 6) and Schedule 12 (F2015L00482, Compilation 2), on the Federal Register of Legislation. The Health Star Rating itself is described from the Health Star Rating system Implementation Guide, Version 9.1; the Guide is not law and says so. For a calculation you can rely on, use the official Health Star Rating Calculator.