For some time, Australian brewers and beer drinkers have called for relief from ever-increasing excise taxes imposed on the amber stuff.

Now, as part of federal Labor’s 2025/26 budget aimed at winning the hearts of voters, the Albanese government hopes a pitch that’ll slow the ever-growing cost of beer will win over the bellies of voters too.

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Tuesday night announced the government would pause indexation on draught beer excise for two years.

Usually, excise rates are indexed biannually, based on the increase in the consumer price index. This has made it more expensive for brewers to manufacture beer, and – and the other end of the chain – led to higher prices for drinkers too.

If Labor is re-elected and the budget measure is passed, then the indexations due in August 2025, February and August 2026 and February 2027 will not occur.

This means lovers of beer from a tap at a pub will finally get some hip-pocket relief when it comes to an after-work pint.

Australian Hotels Association CEO Stephen Ferguson said it was a “win for the millions of men and women who like to go down to their local and have a beer”.

“It’s a win for common-sense in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis – every little bit make a difference,” said Ferguson, whose association represents hotels and pubs that will benefit from the pause on keg beer excise indexation.

“It’s great to see the Albanese government has listened and acted on this unpopular hidden tax.”

But the move is penance for small to medium-sized brewers who focus on canned beer rather than kegs. Often, independent brewers are unable to secure coveted spots on pub bars because multinational brewers have the cash and muscle to squeeze smaller players off the bench.

In South Australia, Big Shed Brewing co-founder Craig Basford said Chalmers’ announcement on excise taxes was “the very bare minimum” to “make it look like the government actually gives a shit about this industry”.

“There is never any talk about the price of canned/bottled beer. This is despite the fact that it too goes up at the same rate, but also starts at a higher rate,” Basford said.

“People do not understand that there are two rates of excise, regardless of them being the same product. The government has chosen to freeze not lower one, which will only lead to greater disparity.”

He said tap beer was the hardest market for independent brewers to make inroads.

“This is because tap contracts lock independent brewers out and ensure that the vast majority of tap beer comes from two Japanese multinational brewers in Lion and Asahi,” he said.

“The result of this is that the tax freeze (don’t forget that this doesn’t reduce the tax burden, just does not increase it) does little to help the independent beer sector. This is a sector that supplies only a small fraction of beer consumed but delivers 50 per cent of the jobs, local jobs.”

Big Shed Brewing co-founders Jason Harris and Craig Basford. Photo: John Krüger

Mount Barker-based Prancing Pony co-founder and CEO Corrina Steeb agreed. He said Chalmers’ announcement “completely missed the mark”.

“It doesn’t actually assist small breweries at all, it only really helps the large multinationals,” she said.

Steeb said 90 per cent of her brewery’s output was canned beer, so the change “is obviously not going to help us much at all”.

“The second point is, the excise on canned beer is much higher than the excise on draught beer already,” she said.

“Excise is the single-highest cost ingredients in beer for us in a can.”

Ultimately, Steeb said the change would make it “harder for small businesses who haven’t got the economy of scale”.

“It just hampers the growth of businesses and that’s really sad,” she said.

“I don’t think there’s anything in the budget that really benefits small business, and it just shows again that we have been completely overlooked.”

Prancing Pony co-founder Corinna Steeb. Photo: David Simmons/InDaily

It’s a position reflected by Council of Small Business Organisations Australia CEO Luke Achterstraat, who said the federal budget was a “missed opportunity” and that small businesses were largely overlooked “during the most challenging environment in living memory”.

“Unfortunately, the budget largely recycles existing policies and fails to substantially deliver for the 2.5 million small businesses in Australia and the five million people they employ,” he said.