The process of reviewing the Australian Dietary Guidelines is underway with the announcement of the members of the Dietary Guidelines Expert Committee on 15 September.

Members

Chair: Professor Sarah McNaughton, Deakin University, VIC

Associate professor Lauren Ball, Griffith University, QLD

Emeritus Professor Colin Binns, Curtin University, WA

Associate Professor Sandra Campbell, Charles Darwin University

Adjunct Professor Robyn Littlewood, University of Queensland

Dr Penelope Love, Deakin University, VIC

Dr Evangeline Mantzioris, University of SA

Professor Gita Mishra, University of Queensland

Dr Odette Pearson, South Australian Health and Medical Research Council

Dr Trevor Webb, Flinders University, SA

Associate Professor Sze Lin Yoong, University of Newcastle, NSW

What will they do?

They will follow the process for developing Dietary Guidelines set out by the National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC), including the Terms of Reference. They will advise the NHMRC on the evidence to be considered and the final recommendations for the revision of the 2013 Dietary Guidelines, including:

• The priority topics for review
• Suitable research questions to guide the review of the evidence
• The quality of the evidence reviews
• Draft recommendations in the revised guidelines
• Comments received from public consultation

How were they selected?

The Expert Committee was selected by the National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) from a group of applicants who submitted expressions of interest. Applicants were required to declare any actual or perceived interests. There is also a Dietary Guidelines Governance Committee that will oversee the whole process to enhance transparency, and consider possible conflicts of interest and potential for bias.

What expertise do they bring?

Expert Committee members were appointed based on their expertise in evidence translation, epidemiology, research methodology, food and health relationships and nutrition communication.

Next steps?

Finalise the review scope (the scoping process commenced in early 2021) and then contract evidence reviewers and call for supporting evidence on finalised review topics in the first quarter of 2022.

Further information is available at the NHMRC website, including the opportunity to be placed on the contact list for ongoing updates.