Restricting Infant Formula Marketing in Australia

Overview

In October 2024, the Australian Government announced its intention to mandate the Marketing in Australia of Infant Formula: Manufacturers and Importers (MAIF) Agreement.

The MAIF Agreement was a voluntary agreement between infant formula manufacturers and importers to not advertise and market infant formula products (for use from 0 to 12 months) in order to support breastfeeding in Australia. The MAIF Agreement was in place from 1992 and ended on
28 February 2025 after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) decided not to reauthorise it. Further information on the ACCC’s decision can be found on the ACCC's Public Register. 

The Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (Department) is now seeking public views on options to mandate infant formula marketing controls in Australia. This would be one part of a suite of measures taken by the Government to promote and support breastfeeding and support the health of mothers and babies.

While the Government has committed to introducing regulations on infant formula marketing in line with the former MAIF Agreement, the options presented in this consultation considers whether to broaden the scope of the regulations to include toddler milk products and/or marketing activity by retailers.

Why your views matter

The Department is seeking your views on the scope of legislation currently being developed to restrict infant formula marketing in Australia. 

We want to know your views on:

• The costs and benefits of each option presented
• Barriers and enablers
• The impact on priority populations 
• Monitoring, enforcement and evaluation considerations 

Your views will be used to inform future processes including an Impact Analysis and legislation development on restricting infant formula marketing in Australia. 

Please read the accompanying consultation Discussion Paper that provides context to the consultation, including what is being proposed and why. This can be found under the ‘related’ section at the bottom of this page.

You can submit your views through the online survey. The questions in the survey match the questions in the Discussion Paper. A preview of the survey is available for download under the ‘related’ section at the bottom of this page.

Please provide evidence or examples wherever possible to support your comments. Any data that could be included in a Cost Benefit Analysis would be particularly helpful. 

Although not mandatory, we encourage you to respond to all questions.

All submissions are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 in Australia. There are grounds for withholding certain information, such as commercially sensitive information. Please indicate in your response if you consider there are aspects of your submission which contain commercially sensitive information.