How Food Insecure Are People Living in Australia?

Abstract

Food insecurity has been an overlooked problem in Australia, with the extant literature voicing concerns around the reliability of the official measure of food insecurity. I provide population prevalence estimates of food insecurity in Australia using fresh data on Food Insecurity Experience Scale reported, for the first time, in the 2020 Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. A single parameter Rasch model is estimated to establish the validity and reliability of FIES as a tool to measure food insecurity in Australia. Cross-nationally comparable prevalence estimates, based on FAO's global reference scale, indicate that in 2020, one in sixteen people experienced moderate to severe food insecurity. Using Australia-specific thresholds on the national scale, one in eleven people were food insecure. Severe food insecurity is a concern in Australia. South Australia and Queensland are the most food-insecure states. Certain subpopulations, such as lone persons, are at higher risk of food insecurity. Household-level measures of food insecurity may hide intrahousehold food hardship. The single-item official measure underestimates the prevalence of food insecurity. Experiential measures such as the US Household Food Security Survey Module must be validated using national-level data prior to their application as instruments to measure food insecurity in Australia. Food security policies must be context specific.