News

This week I’ve lost sleep thinking about the rising fuel costs and the implications of this massive shift in the economy on our members.  And then yesterday the interest rate rise felt like another big kick in the guts for small business.

I know, that I’m likely not alone in the sleepless nights as we all consume the headlines and face down the uncertainty of what the current economic situation could mean.  

What the IBA is clear on is that the future of brewing industry in Australia needs a robust independent brewing sector and we will fight for our community to weather this storm.  Throughout all of the challenges over the last few years – our industry has stood on our own two feet – and we should be proud of that.

Many of our regional and rural breweries are going to experience the economic impacts more immediately than others, with logistics providers already significantly increasing rates to regional areas.  This is not a slight on them, just the reality of what breweries are facing. With 56% of independent breweries being regional and rural Australia its likely that a big cohort of our members are making difficult decisions in their businesses right now.

Yesterday, I met with the Board and we grappled with how best to support our members through these challenging times. 

Today, we started the process to formally join the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia – this is a body that represents the interests of over 1.1million small business at a Federal level.  Its been on our advocacy strategy plan for a while, but we’ve jumped on it because we want to make sure that if any benefits or relief is handed out by the Federal government to small businesses – IBA members don’t miss out.

We will lend our advocacy to any calls for fuel excise reduction and are pro-actively looking for relief and support for our members at every level of Government.

We know, that depending on how this economic situation plays out, it just might be the straw that broke the camel’s back for some of our members – and what we want you to know is that there is support available as you grapple with what to do.  

There is Mental Health Coaching for Small Business owners and other mental health services – we know the benefits of having someone to talk to.

Some of our members might be considering restructuring, merging or even closing entirely.  There is a specific ATO process called small business restructuring that can be helpful for businesses that have all of their ATO lodgements and employee entitlements paid up – we can connect you with breweries who have been through the process or the right professional in your state or area if this is an area you want to learn more about.  The Australian Government has a step-by-step guide to help navigate closing your business.

At the end of the day – we believe in the future of independent beer and we will fight for it.  But if the right decision for a member (and their employees and families) is closure, we are here to support you in that process too.

We are going to advocate everywhere we can and we are going to look for practical ways to support our members.  At the same time, we are not taking our eye off the prize of beer excise reform, protecting our regulatory environment, providing member resources and promoting independent beer to the consumer. Its important that in an industry built on community, none of our members feel alone in the challenge. If you have an idea, a suggestion or need to be connected with a professional for support – get in touch with us.

Sabrina Kunz
Chief Executive Officer