Thursday, 6 August, 2026
Drinks Trade, Cody Profaca
This is one of the largest increases to occur outside of Covid and marks the 79th time Australia’s spirits excise has increased in line with inflation since twice-yearly automatic indexation was introduced by the Hawke Government in 1983, spearheaded by then-Treasurer Paul Keating.
It also follows new research showing that taxed spirits are becoming unaffordable, leading to rising drink costs and demand for cheap, illicit alternatives.
Illicit alcohol now accounts for 7.5 per cent of total Australian alcohol by volume, with this figure even higher for bottled spirits.
“We have a system where twice-yearly tax hikes on alcohol have been on auto-pilot since the early 1980s,” said Steven Fanner, executive director at Spirits Council of Australia, which recently rebranded from Spirits and Cocktails Australia.
“This means that from next week the tax on spirits is now over $110 per litre of pure alcohol – a rate six times higher than the United States and about double New Zealand.”
Steven Fanner warns that illicit alcohol could follow a similar direction to illicit tobacco unless the government intervenes.
Click HERE to read the full article.