The Albanese Labor Government will freeze the indexation on draught beer excise for two years, in a win for beer drinkers, brewers and hospitality businesses.
Indexation is applied twice a year under arrangements in place for decades. While the February indexation accounted for a small percentage of the cost of a pint, this change will help pubs and their patrons.
We will freeze indexation on draught beer for two years from the next indexation date of August 2025.
This will take pressure off the price of a beer poured in pubs, clubs and other venues, supporting businesses, regional tourism and customers across Australia.
The Government will consult with the sector on the implementation of this measure.
This announcement comes on top of new tax relief announced last week for Australia’s distillers, brewers and wine producers.
Currently brewers and distillers get a full remission of any excise paid up to $350,000 each year.
We will increase the excise remission cap to $400,000 for all eligible alcohol manufacturers and we will also increase the Wine Equalisation Tax producer rebate cap to $400,000 from July 1 2026.
Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese:
“My Government is building Australia’s future and to do that we need to support our small and medium local businesses to thrive.
“Freezing the excise on draught beer is a common sense measure that is good for beer drinkers, good for brewers and good for pubs.”
Quotes attributable to Treasurer Jim Chalmers:
"This is a modest change but will help take a little bit of the pressure off beer drinkers, brewers and bars."
SATURDAY, 1 MARCH 2025