Welcome to the Australian Local Food System Policy Database. This is a collection of policies from New South Wales (NSW) and Victorian local governments that relate to healthy, sustainable, and equitable food systems.
For further information about using the database and how it was created see How to use the database. You can search the database by using the fields below. Domain refers to eight broad categories under which various topics are situated. The domains and topics are based on a framework of recommendations for local government action on creating a healthy, sustainable, and equitable food system (also located on the ‘How to use the database’ page linked above).
To cite the database: Reeve B, Carrad A, Rose N, Charlton K & Aguirre-Bielschowsky I (2021) Australian Local Food System Policy Database. Available at: https://law-food-systems.sydney.edu.au/policy-database (access date).
Suggested search terms
Hold Ctrl to select multiple terms. Using ‘any words’ functions as an “OR” search. Using ‘all words’ functions as and “AND” search.
Search Criteria:
| Document title | Relevant text in the policy | Domain | Topic | State | Local Government name | Council type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Infrastructure (Open Space and Recreation) Strategy and Action Plan | Community Gardens Policy (2012) The City Canada Bay recognises community gardening as a valuable recreational activity that contributes to health and well-being, positive social interaction, community development, environmental education and sustainable principles, protection and use of open space. The policy identifies that Community gardens should be managed and implemented by the community, however this must be undertaken in such a way that the needs of all stakeholders are taken into account. | Sustainability and Environment | Food production on LG land | NSW | Canada Bay | Metropolitan |
| Social Infrastructure (Open Space and Recreation) Strategy and Action Plan | community gardens, | Sustainability and Environment | Food production on LG land | NSW | Canada Bay | Metropolitan |
| Social Infrastructure (Open Space and Recreation) Strategy and Action Plan | Increased diversity of recreation opportunities including outdoor fitness stations, outdoor multipurpose courts, community gardens, dog | Sustainability and Environment | Food production on LG land | NSW | Canada Bay | Metropolitan |
| Social Infrastructure (Open Space and Recreation) Strategy and Action Plan | There are opportunities to provide an increased diversity of recreation opportunities to support passive and informal recreation including: • Outdoor fitness stations • More diverse and unique play spaces • Outdoor multipurpose courts • Dog off-leash areas • Community gardens | Sustainability and Environment | Food production on LG land | NSW | Canada Bay | Metropolitan |
| Social Infrastructure (Open Space and Recreation) Strategy and Action Plan | Action 2.22: Continue to work with motivated local community groups to find locations for community gardens, in particular in high density areas. | Sustainability and Environment | Home and community gardening | NSW | Canada Bay | Metropolitan |
| Social Infrastructure (Open Space and Recreation) Strategy and Action Plan | Approach Audit Community gardens provide and facilitate a range of social, recreation and environmental benefits for individuals and communities, including providing a focal point for building social connections between community members, cultures, ages and income groups, and community partnerships. Community gardens play a role in access to food, especially among lower-income and under-served communities, as well as connecting people with the sources of their food. Importantly, they provide access for older people who may have downsized from homes with gardens, and for communities living in high density. Community gardens provide access to outdoor space including opportunities for gentle physical exercise; passive recreation with benefits for mental health; and opportunities for learning in nature, including for children and young people and intergenerational skill-sharing. Furthermore, they may provide opportunities to break down cultural barriers, including through learning about other cultural food traditions. Community gardens work best when championed and self-managed by motivated local community groups. Consideration of soil contamination is important when deciding a location. There are no industry benchmarks for the provision of community gardens. Currently there are 4 community gardens in Canada Bay including one under construction: • Concord Community Centre • Chiswick Community Garden (Blackwall Point Reserve) • Rhodes Community Garden (Hoskins Reserve), and • Rhodes Park 5 Senses Garden. There is also a mobile community garden used to host gardening workshops around the LGA. In the future, Council should work with motivated local community groups to find locations for community gardens, in particular in high density areas. | Sustainability and Environment | Home and community gardening | NSW | Canada Bay | Metropolitan |
| Social Infrastructure (Open Space and Recreation) Strategy and Action Plan | Child and Family Needs Strategy (2013) The Child and Family Needs Strategy provided the City of Canada Bay (CCB) with an opportunity to ask two fundamental questions: • How child and family friendly is our community? • What could be done to improve our City from the perspective of children and families? Key relevant indicators and strategies include a focus on: • More affordable programs and services to improve health outcomes and recreation opportunities • Inclusive recreation opportunities and environment for children with disabilities • Involving children in community garden participation | Sustainability and Environment | Home and community gardening | NSW | Canada Bay | Metropolitan |
| Social Infrastructure (Open Space and Recreation) Strategy and Action Plan | Community Gardens Policy (2012) The City Canada Bay recognises community gardening as a valuable recreational activity that contributes to health and well-being, positive social interaction, community development, environmental education and sustainable principles, protection and use of open space. The policy identifies that Community gardens should be managed and implemented by the community, however this must be undertaken in such a way that the needs of all stakeholders are taken into account. | Sustainability and Environment | Home and community gardening | NSW | Canada Bay | Metropolitan |
| Social Infrastructure (Open Space and Recreation) Strategy and Action Plan | community gardens, | Sustainability and Environment | Home and community gardening | NSW | Canada Bay | Metropolitan |
| Social Infrastructure (Open Space and Recreation) Strategy and Action Plan | Increased diversity of recreation opportunities including outdoor fitness stations, outdoor multipurpose courts, community gardens, | Sustainability and Environment | Home and community gardening | NSW | Canada Bay | Metropolitan |
| Social Infrastructure (Open Space and Recreation) Strategy and Action Plan | There are opportunities to provide an increased diversity of recreation opportunities to support passive and informal recreation including: • Outdoor fitness stations • More diverse and unique play spaces • Outdoor multipurpose courts • Dog off-leash areas • Community gardens | Sustainability and Environment | Home and community gardening | NSW | Canada Bay | Metropolitan |
| Social Plan | Forbes and District Meals on Wheels: The target groups of this service include the frail and aged, people with disabilities and their carers. Their aim is to provide quality food services to assist people who are in the target group to enable them to live comfortably in their own home. The services provided includes two hot meals delivered seven days per week or alternatively they have a frozen food service. | Health and Wellbeing | Nutrition in vulnerable populations | NSW | Forbes | Regional |
| Social Plan | Forbes and District Meals on Wheels Association Incorporated: The aim of this service is to provide quality food to assist people who are frail, aged, people with disabilities and carers who need additional support to enable them to live comfortably in their own homes. The service provides hot, two course meals, delivered seven days per week. Alternatively, frozen food service can be obtained. The service is run through the HACC centre located on Harold St. | Health and Wellbeing | Nutrition in vulnerable populations | NSW | Forbes | Regional |
| Social Policy Framework | POSITION STATEMENTS WILL BE ADDED OVER TIME Initial position statements to be developed will be focussed on: Gambling Harm, Affordable Housing, Alcohol and Other Drug Related Harm, Access to Adequate and Nutritious Food, Mental Health and Wellbeing, and Active Living. | Social Policy | Affordable housing | Victoria | Ballarat | Regional |
| Social Policy Framework | The initial policy position statements to be developed will be: • Gambling Harm • Affordable Housing • Alcohol and Other Drug Related Harm • Access to Adequate and Nutritious Food | Social Policy | Affordable housing | Victoria | Ballarat | Regional |
| Social Policy Framework | Ensure ongoing management of agricultural land for agriculture and food security | Sustainability and Environment | Sustainable local food production | Victoria | Ballarat | Regional |
| Social Sustainability Policy & Action Plan | Affordable housing We will work on policy, advocacy, planning controls and guidelines, land use, property and levy programs to aid the delivery of affordable housing in the city | Social Policy | Affordable housing | NSW | Sydney | Metropolitan |
| Social Sustainability Policy & Action Plan | Diverse housing tenures and types Increase supply of subsidised social, affordable rental and supported housing 1.7 Implement a range of strategies to increase the supply of subsidised housing for lower income earners – including through subsidised land sales and grants to the community housing sector; the use of planning and property mechanisms (eg levies); research, monitoring and advocacy activities, and other collaborative initiatives with government and non-government organisations | Social Policy | Affordable housing | NSW | Sydney | Metropolitan |
| Social Sustainability Policy & Action Plan | Diverse housing tenures and types • Increase supply of subsidised social, affordable rental and supported housing • Increase supply of housing universally designed for people of all ages and abilities • Improve housing choices for renters | Social Policy | Affordable housing | NSW | Sydney | Metropolitan |
| Social Sustainability Policy & Action Plan | Increase supply of subsidised social, affordable rental and supported housing # social, affordable and supported housing initiatives supported/ promoted by the City $ value of City investment in social, affordable rental and supported housing initiatives # City-supported social, affordable rental and supported housing dwellings initiated and completed Housing affordability – Community Wellbeing Indicators # social and affordable housing units in LGA and % of total housing supply Mix of dwelling types and sizes in the local housing market Property development activity – Community Wellbeing Indicators | Social Policy | Affordable housing | NSW | Sydney | Metropolitan |
| Social Sustainability Policy & Action Plan | Previously announced commitments Delivering new affordable and supported housing developments in the inner city Addressing the housing needs of lower-income earners and people experiencing homelessness is fundamental to sustaining a socially just and inclusive city. We will seek to partner with the NSW Government and housing and support services to deliver new supported housing for people experiencing homelessness, and social and affordable rental housing for people on lower incomes. Schemes would be designed to reduce homelessness by providing long-term, stable accommodation and on-site social services to help people to maintain their tenancies. This ‘Housing First’ model recognises that having a secure home is vital for accessing opportunities and improving wellbeing. | Social Policy | Affordable housing | NSW | Sydney | Metropolitan |
| Social Sustainability Policy & Action Plan | Strategic advocacy Advocacy is important to us. We will advocate on behalf of our community to other levels of government, statutory authorities and other agencies on shared issues, such as transport and affordable housing. | Social Policy | Affordable housing | NSW | Sydney | Metropolitan |
| Social Sustainability Policy & Action Plan | We will continue to use the levers we control to increase affordable housing supply. These include planning policies and investment in new developments. But substantially increasing supply will require concerted action at state and federal government levels. We will continue to advocate for greater action on behalf of inner-city communities | Social Policy | Affordable housing | NSW | Sydney | Metropolitan |
| Social Sustainability Policy & Action Plan | Establishing a food business incubator It is proposed to pilot a Sydney Food Business Incubator in the city as a three-year pilot project involving the University of Sydney, federal and state government and social enterprise sector partners. A food business incubator is a scheme that supports people who are disadvantaged to establish food-based startup businesses. This is through vocational education and training in value-added food production, along with business development skills. The initiative fosters the development of a sustainable network of businesses that increase the wider community’s access to healthy and affordable food. This model for addressing food insecurity – along with its underlying causes of economic exclusion and rising inequality – is being established in cities across the world, most notably Detroit and other US cities. The Sydney incubator proposed by the University of Sydney is based on these best practice models. The initiative is planned to become one of the suite of responses by the City and its partners to food insecurity in our prosperous city, which affects 8.5 per cent or approximately 17,000 of our residents – and rising (Community Wellbeing Indicators, 2016). It will enable residents’ participation in the city’s vibrant food economy and contribute to the growth of the city’s ecosystem of sustainable food-based enterprises. It will support some of the Sydney’s most vulnerable people to feed themselves, while delivering broader food security, social justice and community resilience outcomes. Residents will be engaged to participate in the scheme through the city’s networks of social housing communities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and refugee and asylum seeker communities. This three-year pilot offers Sydney the opportunity to actively participate in national and global food justice networks, to share learnings from the rigorous research and evaluation that will be a core component of this federal research pilot, and to deliver direct positive social impacts in the local area. The pilot project brings potential to scale up across the city’s urban renewal areas – bringing longer term social and economic benefits. | Health and Wellbeing | Nutrition in vulnerable populations | NSW | Sydney | Metropolitan |
| Social Sustainability Policy & Action Plan | Social programs and services We will continue to provide social services and support, including childcare services, homelessness services, support and lifestyle programs for young and older people, community transport, food services, | Health and Wellbeing | Nutrition in vulnerable populations | NSW | Sydney | Metropolitan |
| Social Sustainability Policy & Action Plan | Reduce food insecurity 1.16 Collaborate with local businesses, government agencies and not-for-profit organisations to address food insecurity, including through initiatives that address entrenched social and economic disadvantage; increase the affordability and accessibility of healthy and nutritious food, and provide nutrition education for the community. | Health and Wellbeing | Education/events on food system issues | NSW | Sydney | Metropolitan |
| Social Sustainability Policy & Action Plan | People focused urban design and planning Enhance personal amenity in the public domain for people of all ages and abilities 3.1 Enhance amenity and opportunities for rest and respite in the public domain, including through increased provision of street planting; public seating and water fountains; | Health and Wellbeing | Access to safe drinking water | NSW | Sydney | Metropolitan |
| Social Sustainability Policy & Action Plan | Reduce food insecurity 1.16 Collaborate with local businesses, government agencies and not-for-profit organisations to address food insecurity, including through initiatives that address entrenched social and economic disadvantage; increase the affordability and accessibility of healthy and nutritious food, and provide nutrition education for the community. | Health and Wellbeing | Accessible healthy food retail | NSW | Sydney | Metropolitan |
| Social Sustainability Policy & Action Plan | Improve local environmental conditions to support health and wellbeing 3.10 Enhance the environment through a range of approaches in collaboration with government and non-government organisations and communities, including greening streets; delivering green roofs and walls on new developments; delivering community gardens and verge gardens; increasing green pedestrian networks, and improving environmental quality – including levels of air, noise and light pollution. | Sustainability and Environment | Food production on LG land | NSW | Sydney | Metropolitan |
| Social Sustainability Policy & Action Plan | Sustainable environment: urban ecology (vegetation cover, vegetation communities, community gardens) – Community Wellbeing Indicators | Sustainability and Environment | Food production on LG land | NSW | Sydney | Metropolitan |