Healthy choices: policy directive frequently asked questions

• Reporting to the Department of Health on Healthy choices: policy directive implementation in 2023 will be on foods (new) and drinks (as per reporting in 2022). Reporting will be open on 1 September 2023.
• The Department of Health and Healthy Eating Advisory Service (HEAS) acknowledge the burden and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health services’ activities and are committed to taking a supportive and flexible approach with health services in implementing state-wide policies.
• As in 2022, health services will report using the online Progress Tracker reporting tool. This reporting will involve submission of selected FoodChecker assessments and response to some other general questions.
• All of your individual health service details submitted for the 2022 reporting will be on the system, making it easier just to update as needed and add new information regarding your food provision.
• For drinks reporting, this will just be an update (if any) of your 2022 FoodChecker assessments.
• The Healthy Eating Advisory Service will be providing one-on-one support to all health services to help them with reporting via the Progress Tracker
• Details on how to access and use Progress Tracker for Policy directive reporting are available on the HEAS website.
• The Department of Health and HEAS acknowledge the burden and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health services’ activities and are committed to taking a supportive and flexible approach with health services in implementing state-wide policies.
• We aim to take a supportive approach with health services in implementing this healthy food and drinks policy. Please continue to reach out and communicate to the HEAS nutrition policy advisors and/or the Department for support if you are having trouble meeting the policy targets or reporting. Understanding your health service’s situation will help us work with you to tailor a plan for meeting the policy targets and an alternative timeframe for achieving them.

Health services will be given time to meet this new policy directive, with it being phased in across two years.

• The Department of Health and Healthy Eating Advisory Service (HEAS) acknowledge the burden and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health services’ activities and are committed to taking a supportive and flexible approach with health services in implementing statewide policies.
• We aim to take a supportive approach with health services in implementing this healthy food and drinks policy. Please continue to reach out and communicate to the HEAS nutrition policy advisors and/or the Department for support if you are having trouble meeting the policy targets or reporting. Understanding your health service’s situation will help us work with you to tailor a plan for meeting the policy targets and an alternative timeframe for achieving them.
• Health services are encouraged to continue their great efforts in implementing the Healthy choices: policy guidelines for hospitals and health services and those who have not, contact the Healthy Eating Advisory Service to get started.

The Healthy Eating Advisory Service are the experts in supporting health services to understand and implement the Healthy Choices guidelines and Policy directive.

We can help your organisation to meet the Policy directive with:

• Coaching and training for staff on implementing the Healthy Choices guidelines
• Assistance with engaging with staff and contractors, and developing organisational policies
• Tailored advice on healthier menus, recipes and products
• Access to online menu, recipe and product assessments, using FoodChecker

Catering needs to meet the Policy directive targets but you will not need to submit a FoodChecker assessment for your Policy directive reporting to the Department of Health. Health services will be asked whether they have a healthy eating policy/procedure or guideline that includes Policy directive catering requirements.

You should still use FoodChecker to assess your catering to help plan and implement your healthy catering policy and ensure you are meeting the Policy directive targets.

All Victorian public health services are strongly encouraged to implement the Healthy choices: Policy directive for health services across all of their retail food outlets – both in-house and privately/commercially managed. This includes retail outlets that have food supplied from an inpatient/resident food service, managed by an external contractor.

This will help Victorian health services meet the target in the Victorian Cancer Plan 2020-2024 for “at least 80 per cent of hospital and health services’ retail outlets and vending machines to meet recommended Victorian nutrition standards” by 2024.

Ensuring that in-house managed retail food outlets meet the new Healthy choices: Policy directive for public health services is a first step in a phased approach to ensuring the provision and promotion of healthier food and drinks in our public health services.

If your health service has no (or limited) provision of food and drinks across any of their sites you are still required to submit some information to the Department of Health via the online portal. The questions you need to answer will be brief (and will not require a FoodChecker assessment). This provides the Department with a complete state-wide picture of the Healthy choices: Policy directive implementation and provides the opportunity to keep your health service’s contact details up to date in the portal. It also helps us track the changes over time to food/drink environments.

You can conduct as many assessments as you wish – only the assessment you select for final submission to the new online Policy directive reporting tool will be visible to the Department of Health.

The Department of Health will only be able to see the FoodChecker assessment you choose to submit to the reporting portal of Progress Tracker.