Right now, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing is in the final weeks of a public consultation that will decide how broad these new rules will be. The shift has been building for some time as health regulators weigh up concerns about commercial pressure on new parents against long‑standing calls from industry for clear, consistent rules that keep pace with modern retail and digital marketing practices.
Under the old setup, baby formula makers and importers operated under a voluntary code known as the Marketing in Australia of Infant Formulas Agreement, first introduced in 1992. That code stopped brands from running traditional advertising or promotional campaigns and even required users to tick consent boxes before accessing brand websites. But in February 2025 the national competition regulator decided the arrangement was no longer fit for purpose, arguing that a self‑regulated model could not deliver the level of consumer protection now expected in a market that spans supermarkets, pharmacies and online stores.
The new framework now being designed seems likely to bring in mandatory, legally enforceable restrictions on manufacturers and brands and may also widen the net to include toddler milk products and retail marketing activity. If this happens, it could limit how retailers promote formulas in store and online and could change how parents encounter these products in search results, catalogues and promotions. The outcome of the consultation looks set to influence everything from product packaging to digital access rules, although the final impact will depend on how far the government decides to go when drafting the legislation.
