What is food, nutrition and dining?
Food and nutrition refer to what the body needs to stay healthy, prevent malnutrition and reduce the risk of disease, including heart disease. Dining refers to how food is provided and enjoyed. Enjoying meals improves quality of life. [1]
From 1 November 2025, the Australian Government’s Food and Nutrition Quality Standard (Standard 6) requires residential aged care providers to offer safe, nutritious and appealing food. Meals must meet each person’s dietary, cultural, and personal preferences and support a sociable dining experience. [2]
Why does this matter for rights-based care?
Food is recognised as a fundamental human right: ‘Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of themselves and their family, including food.’ [3] Every person has the right to adequate food for health and wellbeing. Good nutrition and hydration are especially important for older people to maintain health and prevent decline.[4]
Meals and dining strongly influence dignity, wellbeing and quality of life. Lack of autonomy, limited choice and inflexible meal practices can increase the risk of malnutrition, poorer health and reduced quality of life. [5-9]
Ignoring residents’ food preferences, especially soon after moving into long-term care, can undermine dignity and lead to weight loss, muscle decline and reduced function. [9]
Person-centred approaches to meals and dining refer to deciding what to eat, when to eat, where to eat, and with whom a resident dines. [9] This means understanding each resident, respecting their preferences, and tailoring support, including food choices. [6, 10, 11] Cultural and religious needs, such as halal food, are also important to identity and rights. [12] By supporting residents to select meals that reflect their individual tastes and preferences, residential aged care services can promote a sense of familiarity, dignity and continuity of personal identity. [9]
Leadership, organisational culture, and staff knowledge about proper food and nutrition all influence how well person-centred dining practices are implemented. [10, 11, 13]
Want to learn more?
These Australian Government resources explain why nutritious meals and positive dining experiences matter:
- Standard 6: Food and nutrition
- Food, nutrition & dining information for providers
- Why meals matter
- About improving food and nutrition in aged care
- Guidance for in-home meal requirements August 2025
- Food, nutrition & dining: resources for providers
- Dining in residential aged care – tips, tricks and what to avoid.
ARIIA has additional resources to support healthy and nutritious food in aged care:
- Introducing tasty, nutritious, and safe meals in aged care
- Informed choice
- Accommodating for dietary requirements
- Understanding the dining experiences of older adults
You can also contact the Food, Nutrition and Dining Hotline – 1800 844 044 for questions and complaints about meals.
What can be done?
Meal planning and scheduling
Organisations:
- Involve residents in meal planning and daily routines to support autonomy.
- Offer flexible mealtimes and allow residents to choose what, when and how much they eat.
The evidence:
- Offering understandable choices about meals, activities, and social participation is essential to upholding person-centred care and exercising one's own free will. [5, 7]
- Ignoring preferences and providing instructions about eating may lead to challenging behaviours. [6]
Pleasant dining experiences and environments
Organisations:
- Create dining spaces that feel welcoming and comfortable, with good lighting, supportive seating, low noise and opportunities for social interaction.
The evidence:
- The mealtime experience plays an important role in supporting the health, wellbeing and overall quality of life of residents. Mealtimes provide not only essential nutrition and hydration, but also important opportunities for social connection, independence and personal choice. A positive, respectful and person-centred mealtime environment can enhance dignity, promote autonomy, and contribute to residents’ physical health, emotional wellbeing and sense of belonging within the service. [14]
Person-centred care approaches
Organisations:
- Implement policies that support person-centred approaches by balancing staff members’ focus on tasks with meaningful interactions with the residents.
Aged care workers:
- Sit with residents during mealtime(s) to get to know them better, and to offer support when needed.
- Learn each resident’s dining preferences and support them where possible.
The evidence:
- Person-centred care emphasises knowing the individual, respecting preferences, and tailoring support. [6, 10, 11]
Staff training
Organisations:
- Provide ongoing training about the right to nutritious food, enjoyable dining and person centred practice.
Aged care worker:
- Seek training to support residents when they refuse food, balancing encouragement without coercion.
The evidence:
- Offering understandable choices in areas such as meals, activities, and social participation is essential. [5]
- One dimension of nutritional care is the challenge in navigating the fine line between coercion and motivation, in particular when a malnourished resident does not want to eat. [13]