Australia’s supply chains proved generally resilient in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, unexpected trade restrictions, the devastating 2019-20 bushfires and 2021 floods in eastern Australia.

Nevertheless, these experiences have highlighted Australia’s and Victoria’s supply chains potential vulnerabilities, such as geopolitical (for example, a trade war), environmental (a natural disaster), economic (a financial crisis), societal (a pandemic) and infrastructure-related (a cyberattack).

For example, the floods in South Australia in January 2022 had wide ranging consequences to all sectors in Victoria and prolonged impacts to operations for some due to shortages of raw material and rail damage interrupting transportation of the materials.

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Publish year Assurance activity Summary Organisation
2024 Planning a resilient food system for Victoria (External link) A report that discusses the emerging field of food resilience planning, it focuses on taking actions to strengthen the resilience of food systems, and its relevance for the state of Victoria. Independent
2023 Reshaping Australian Food Systems (External link) Acknowledging that Australia’s food systems are embedded within an interconnected global system, this report identifies opportunities and R&D priorities based on research into work undertaken to-date internationally and locally, and into the perspectives of the cross-sectoral stakeholders consulted during the project. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
2023 Australian Food Story: Feeding the Nation and Beyond (External link) A report that identifies and aims to address challenges in Australia's food security, it makes 35 recommendations focused on food production, consumption and trade; access to key production inputs and their impact on production costs; food supply chain and its vulnerabilities; climate change and biosecurity; and addressing food insecurity. Parliament of Australia
2022 Building the resilience of Melbourne’s food system – a roadmap (External link) A report that makes recommendations for increasing the resilience of Melbourne’s food system to shocks and stresses related to climate change and pandemic, this roadmap was developed through a collaborative co-design process with stakeholders. It makes 4 overarching recommendations to support an integrated
‘food systems’ approach to promoting resilient, equitable, healthy and sustainable food systems 		Academia
2022 The future of the digital CBD (External link) A report that sets out the challenges posed by supply chain disruptions during the pandemic and explores how to develop supply chains that are resilient, adaptable and responsive to social needs. It also outlines how new technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence can facilitate innovation in supply chains that provide greater resilience and adaptability. Academia
2022 Food production and supply in New South Wales (External link) This NSW inquiry examined improving food security and equitable access to food, and reducing food waste and destruction. It is also examined technologies to bring food production into cities, and ways to preserve productive land and water resources, as well as how food production impacts the environment. The report includes observations on Victorian legislation and practices. Independent
2021 Vulnerable Supply Chains: Study report (External link) An examination of the factors that make supply chains vulnerable, with a focus on international linkages and dependencies. The report developed a new approach to identify vulnerabilities to disruption, which it applied to Australian imports and exports, and considers strategies to manage risks and the circumstances under which government might intervene. Productivity Commission
2021 Resilience in the Australian food supply chain (External link) An examination of the extent of food supply chain resilience in the face of disruption—especially, how quickly it can regain capacity to distribute food to consumers in the event of a crisis or emergency. It identifies nine key areas for possible action or further investigation to strengthen food supply chain resilience. Australian Government