The Food Standards Australia New Zealand Board is the accountable authority for the agency. It must govern FSANZ in a way that promotes:
- the proper use and management of public resources
- the achievement of the agency's purpose, and
- the sustainability of the agency.
Under the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 (FSANZ Act), the FSANZ Board is appointed by the relevant Australian Minister in consultation with the Food Ministers' Meeting and must include qualified people from all walks of life.
The Board has 12 members. Members are drawn from specialist areas such as public health, food science, human nutrition, consumer affairs, food allergy, medical science, microbiology, food safety, biotechnology, veterinary science, primary food production, the food industry, food processing or retailing, small business, international trade, food regulation, consumer rights and consumer affairs policy, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and government.
The Board meets eight times a year (four face-to-face meetings and four by videoconference). Read the current meeting schedule
Outcomes of FSANZ Board meetings are published on the FSANZ website.
The Board members
All Board members, with the exception of the CEO, are part-time.
Members are listed alphabetically after the Chairperson and CEO. The reference next to each member's name refers to the role specified in section 116 of the FSANZ Act which the member fulfils.
Ms Glenys Beauchamp AO PSM [s.116 (1)(a)]
Ms Glenys Beauchamp AO PSM was appointed Chair of the FSANZ Board from 4 November 2021 to 31 August 2025.
Ms Beauchamp has had an extensive career in the Australian Public Service, serving as Secretary of three Commonwealth Government departments including the Department of Health from 2017 - 2020; Department of industry, Innovation and science from 2013-2017 and Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport 2010-2013.
Ms Beauchamp has extensive national board experience and is currently a board member of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care; Board Member, McGrath Foundation Ltd, and Chair of the Australian Building codes Board. She is also on the Advisory Board of Region Group Pty Ltd and adviser with Proximity Advisory Pty ltd and Dragoman Pty Ltd.
Ms Beauchamp has served on numerous national health, science, community and industry boards including the Digital Health Agency, Australian Sports Commission, CSIRO (ex-officio for three years); Innovation and science Australia (ex-officio); Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal; Australian Statistics Advisory Council; and the Administrative Review Council.
Dr Sandra Cuthbert (Chief Executive Officer) [s.116 (1)(b)]
Dr Sandra Cuthbert was appointed Chief Executive Officer of FSANZ on 31 March 2022 to 31 March 2027.
Sandra has extensive leadership, policy, corporate governance and stakeholder engagement experience across the public and private sectors. She has held senior roles with the Australian Government departments of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Finance and Agriculture and Water Resources, as well as Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).
Sandra brings a practical understanding of the complex environment that FSANZ operates within, drawing on her experience managing the agency's stakeholder engagement, corporate and food safety functions between 2018 and 2021. She has a reputation for delivering outcomes on complex and time critical projects, most recently as the Assistant Secretary, Commonwealth-State Relations at PM&C.
Sandra has post graduate qualifications in science and law and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Ms Suzanne Chetwin CNZM [116(1)(d)]
Sue Chetwin led ConsumerNZ for 13 years until her recent resignation. The organisation is a highly trusted, public-facing not-for-profit, which advocates on behalf of consumers. Research into public health, nutrition and food labelling form a significant part of consumer's work.
Sue is a founding member of the consumer and Public Health Dialogue which provides insights to FSANZ. She is an experienced and award-winning journalist, having been editor of two national Sunday newspapers and the founding editor of the Herald on Sunday. Sue is currently studying fulltime to complete a law degree at Victoria University of Wellington. She is a director of the Financial Markets Authority, is chairing a review of InternetNZ policies and was recently appointed to a Law Society Independent Review group.
Ms Teresa Ciprian [116(1)(c)]
Teresa Ciprian has a background in the commercialisation, innovation, marketing and business development of branded consumer dairy and other foods.
She has significant international business experience, having held several senior roles with Danone in both the USA and France from where she worked in a number of international markets. Her primary focus was on identifying, developing and delivering global growth initiatives with central and locally based teams. As Food science graduate, her early career technical roles spanned quality control, analytical chemistry and product development.
Since returning to New Zealand, Teresa has advised a number of internationally focused businesses on their growth strategies and has developed a governance portfolio that also includes the boards of Zespri, Firstlight Foods Ltd, AgResearch, Aspeq and Phytomed Medicinal Herbs.
Ms Josephine Davey [s.116(1)(g)]
Jo Davey is a company director and consultant experienced in general management, innovation, food safety, regulatory affairs and product development in the dairy and food manufacturing sectors. She is a Director of Pirrama Consulting Pty Ltd, which provides management and technical consulting services to the food and beverage industries.
In addition to her FSANZ role, Jo serves as a Director of the Subtropical Dairy Programme (a Regional Development Programme of Dairy Australia) and as a Director of PPB Pty Ltd, a start-up diagnostics company.
Previous directorships include Dairy Food Safety Victoria, Dairy Innovation Australia Ltd and its predecessor organisations, and Australian Dairy Proteins. She was a member of the industry Advisory Committee for CSIRO's Food Futures Flagship for 10 years. She has also served as the national and state President of the Dairy industry Association of Australia and President of the Australian Institute of Food science and Technology.
Jo has held senior commercial and technical roles in the Dairy Farmers Group and was the Managing Director of a start-up food company, Diabetes Smart.
Dr Michael Dunbier CNZM [s.116(1)(c)]
Dr Michael Dunbier is a research scientist with expertise in genetics and plant breeding. He is a former director of DSIR Crop Research and was the founding Chief Executive of Crop & Food Research. He is currently a Director of the Foundation for Arable Research.
Previous Chair roles include Pastoral Genomics, the BioProtection Centre of Research Excellence, SunPrime Seeds (Aust), Arable Food Industry Council, Vegetable Research and Innovation Board of HortNZ and the Ministry of Research, science and Technology International science and Technology Advisory Committee. Previous directorships include AgResearch, Foundation for Research, science and Technology, Grains Research and Development Corporation (Aust), Quality Wheat CRC (Aust), Lincoln International and Dairy InSight.
In 2005, Michael received the Bledisloe Medal from Lincoln University and in 2011 the Jubilee Medal from the New Zealand Institute of Agricultural science. He is a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Agricultural science.
Mr John Hart OAM [s.116(1)(g)]
John Hart is Executive Director of Business Group Australia, Executive Chair of Australian Chamber - Tourism and on the Board of the Tourism Australia, the Australian Business Register, The Angus Knight Group, Hospitality Training Network and Food Standards Australia and New Zealand.
He was Executive Director of Restaurant & Catering Australia between 1999 and 2020. Restaurant & Catering Australia is the peak industry body representing restaurants, cafes and caterers across Australia. John came to the Association from Tourism Training NSW where he was Executive Officer for five years.
John has spent over 35 years working in the hospitality industry in operational, HR and IR roles, trained in food and beverage management at the Ecole Hotelliere Lausanne, in Switzerland, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Business Law and a Master of Business Law.
John currently also served as Chair of the Commonwealth Vocational Education and Training Advisory Board between 2013 and 2017 and was previously on the Prime Ministers Business Advisory Council. In 2021, he received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Queen's 95th Birthday Honours.
Professor Palatasa Havea ONZM [s.116 (1)(ca)]
Professor Palatasa Havea (Tasa) started a new role in February this year as the Dean of Pacific Students' Success at Massey University, Palmerston North. He had a 26 year long successful research career in the dairy industry. His research focused on understanding how the molecular changes in dairy proteins can lead to the desired balance between being nutritional and functional ingredients in food products.
Tasa invented a number of patented technologies that bring tens of millions of dollars of annual foreign earnings to the NZ economy. He also brings a distinguished record of leadership in the Pacific community, serving on a range of boards, committees and reference groups including the Health Research Council, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social Development, and the Ministry of Pacific Peoples. In 2018, he received the Queen's new year's medal, NZ Order of Merit, in recognition of his services to the dairy industry and the NZ Pacific community.
Professor Mark Lawrence [s.116(1)(e)]
Mark Lawrence is Professor of Public Health Nutrition at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University. He has 35 years' experience working as a practitioner and academic in food policy and regulation at local, state, national and international levels. Mark's research interests focus on investigating healthy and sustainable food systems, dietary guidelines, ultra-processed foods, Nutrient Reference Values and food labelling and fortification.
He is: an external advisor to the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization; Fellow of the Public Health Association of Australia; Member of the International Union of Nutritional sciences Task Force on Sustainable Diets; Chair of the Advisory Board for Cochrane Nutrition; Member of NHMRC's Synthesis and Translation of Research Evidence committee; Team leader of the ARC-funded project, 'Reforming evidence synthesis and translation for food and nutrition policy'; Former member of NHMRC's Dietary Guidelines Working Committee; and was Acting Principal Nutritionist at the then National Food Authority, 1993-97.
Ms Jane Lovell [s.116(1)(f)]
Jane has an extensive background in on farm food safety and quality assurance. She has worked across the supply chain, including retailer distribution centres, pack houses, export businesses, freight and logistics and a broad range of farming enterprises.
She has firsthand experience of the workings of government and has qualifications in science, Corporate Governance and Leadership, and has a Masters in International Relations focussing on food security.
She has held executive roles with farming and seafood advocacy organisations, managing a commercial certification body, food labelling and bespoke scientific services businesses. Jane also has considerable experience in the not-for-profit sector, including more than a decade as Managing Director of TQA Australia.
Jane has been a member of numerous government working groups and committees including the Biosecurity Futures Group, Agvet Chemicals Stakeholder Review Group, Working Group on Safety and Quality System Equivalence, National Technical Reference Group for Food Safety Auditor Competency Standards and Environmental Management Systems (EMS) Steering Committee.
Jane also runs a small farm breeding cattle and pleasure horses.
Mr Deon Mahoney [s.116(1)(f)]
Deon Mahoney is Head of Food Safety at the International Fresh Produce Association. He also provides food safety consultancy services and is a member of the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment.
Deon has over 35 years' experience with the food industry, performing various roles including microbiological risk assessment, risk communication, food policy development, drafting and enforcement of food legislation, training and education, and establishing quality assurance programs.
Deon has previously worked for the WHO, the FAO, as well as with FSANZ and Dairy Food Safety Victoria. His international work has involved placements in over 25 countries, providing high level scientific advice and guidance on ways to manage food safety.
Deon is a fellow of Australian Institute of Food science and Technology (AIFST), and a non-executive director on the Boards of AIFST and the Fresh Produce Safety Centre Australia New Zealand.
Dr Roscoe Taylor [s.116(1)(f)]
Dr Taylor is a specialist in public health medicine with a broad background in general practice, humanities and environmental science. He occupied the statutory position of Director of Public Health in Tasmania from 2002 - 2015 and was also Chief Health Officer 2012-15. He has continued to work across a number of jurisdictions, maintaining interests in environmental health, communicable diseases and chronic disease prevention.
Registers of Board members' interests
FSANZ Board members must declare material personal interests, as well as certain broader interests, and exclude themselves from any decision making that could be considered a conflict of interest.
Under subsection 125(6) of the FSANZ Act, entries recorded in the Register of FSANZ Board Members' Material Personal Interests must be published on the internet.
In addition, entries recorded in the Register of FSANZ Board Members' Other Interests are also published on the website.
The FSANZ Board Charter outlines the objectives of the Board and the various roles and responsibilities of FSANZ Board members.
Board Outcomes
Outcomes of FSANZ Board meetings are published regularly.
Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee Charter
The FSANZ Board established the Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee (FARMC) in compliance with section 45 of the Performance, Governance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) and Section 17 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014.
The FARMC Charter sets out the committee's objectives, authority, responsibilities, composition and tenure, reporting and administrative arrangements.