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Last night the Labor Government unveiled its budget for 2025/2026 which included no new direct support for the independent brewing industry – but perhaps a glimmer of hope.

The budget included the commitment already made to pause the indexation of excise on draught beer from 1 July 2025. As we said at the time the draught beer freeze announcement was made – this is a step in the right direction.

BUT we know many independent breweries will not benefit from this in a market dominated by two foreign owned multinationals who have locked up 83% of the draught beer market via lucrative contracts. So ultimately, to quote the Opposition Treasury spokesperson it is a ‘bandaid over a bullet wound’.

The Independent Brewers Association advocated in the strongest terms for Labor to move their other promise to increase the excise rebate by $50,000 forward from mid 2026 to 2025 as that would have had a greater benefit for our Australian owned businesses. But to no avail.

Australian owned breweries are continuing to close, and consumers have less choice in part because independent brewers do not have free market access to sell their beer. 

In 2023, the Inquiry into promoting economic dynamism, competition and business formation confirmed that Australia has one of the most concentrated beer markets in the world, and the then Assistant Minister Leigh said at the time of the report “that there are plenty of reasons to look into the beer industry”.

Last night, the budget seemed to focus heavily on supporting small business and increasing competition so we are at a loss as to why a review into the beer industry was not funded in the budget. There is, however, a glimmer of hope that some of the announcements will ultimately benefit our sector.

The Government has committed to boost funding to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) by $38.8 million to crack down on misleading and deceptive pricing practices and unconscionable conduct in the supermarket and retail sector. This appears to be the implementation of the recommendations from the supermarket inquiry – none of which encompass the issues faced in the alcohol retail sector. But the inclusion of the broader retail sector gives room for hope.

The Government has also committed to working with states and territories to extend Unfair Trading Practices protections to small businesses – doubling down on the announcement made last week.

“We will be the first ones knocking on the door of the ACCC ensuring that some of the funding they have been allocated goes to addressing the shocking market conditions in the beer industry.

“Never has there been a point in time where so many federal inquires have made recommendations to address our issues – and we will be holding any future Government’s to account for those recommendations.” Said Kylie Lethbridge, CEO of the Independent Brewers Association.

Looking forward, the Coalition have claimed to be unashamedly pro small business. They have also claimed to want to fight back on duopolies and foreign ownership and support tax reform– so here is what we are hoping will be addressed in their budget reply tomorrow:

• Expanding the two-year freeze on excise to ALL beer (not just draught) from 1 July 2025;
• Committing to an increase in the excise rebate of $50,000 from 1 July 2025;
• Commit to a review of the brewing industry to ensure fair market access for Australian OWNED business.