International trade in agricultural and food commodities is essential to global food and nutrition security. Trade is enhanced by systems-based and science-based approaches to regulation that address risks to animal and plant biosecurity, zoonotic disease, food safety and nutrition. The World Trade Organization Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) recognises the ‘three sisters’ – the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) – as the international standard-setting bodies squarely at the centre of this nexus between biosecurity, health and trade. The standards set by these bodies are integral to maintaining a transparent rules-based trading environment and reducing risk for those operating in the increasingly connected global value chain. I will explore how the work of the three sisters intersect to influence food import and export systems, continuing to adapt in a changing world, and I will discuss Australia’s crucial role in promoting science-based standards and guidance that facilitate trade in safe food, with a focus on the important role Australia plays in contributing to the work of Codex.