The Australian spirits industry looks forward to participating in the Inquiry into Food and Beverage Manufacturing in Australia, announced by the Federal Government. The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Resources commenced the inquiry following a referral from the Minister for Industry and Science, the Hon Ed Husic MP, on 18 March 2024. The Terms of Reference are highly relevant to the spirits sector, comprising a broad suite of opportunities for expanding innovation and value-adding in the food and beverage manufacturing industry.

This announcement is very timely for the Australian spirits industry, which has clear potential for an export boom like that previously enjoyed by wine. Our industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years, with over 700 distilleries and manufacturing plants across the country, supporting more than 5,700 jobs in spirits manufacturing and a further 100,000 jobs throughout our value chain. We have built a reputation for producing innovative world-class spirits, building global consumer demand for quality spirits made in Australia.

The industry generates $15.5 billion in added-value to the Australian economy, however, this contribution could be even greater with policy settings that encourage domestic and foreign investment in our industry. We will then be in a position to enhance our manufacturing capabilities, grow exports and create jobs at our distilleries, half of which are located in regional areas.

This is the first ever Federal Government inquiry that is open to the spirits sector, which has made remarkable progress in recent years.

Spirits manufacturing needs a comprehensive plan to ensure our growth is sustainable over the longer term. Without targeted interventions, the Australian spirits industry will be left behind as governments in other emerging spirits markets – like Japan and Ireland – invest in the potential of their domestic industries.

A webinar was conducted on 28 March that included the ADA Board, ADA State Presidents, the Spirits & Cocktails Australia Board, and the SCA Corporate Affairs Committee. The webinar addressed the Parliamentary Inquiry ToR, process, timeline and key stakeholders. It then discussed the proposed industry response and the need to activate our network.

Taking advantage of the MOU between ADA and SCA, a taskforce has been set up between the two organisations and Nicole Lestal will be the taskforce lead and support will be provided by ADA and SCA. We have met with the committee members, the Ministers office, the Committee secretariat, the Assistant Minister, the Department and have begun to brief industry stakeholders.

State Presidents will be requested to host a similar workshop for their State organisations in the coming week.

All divisions, groups and individuals will be encouraged and assisted to make a submission to the inquiry.

As previously advised to members, the AGM has been postponed in light of the proposed governance reforms. We have advised WA Consumer Protection Division that we have delayed our AGM and they acknowledged our delay. Once the new Constitution is finalised, it will be circulated to Members and the Annual General Meeting will be called that will include Special Resolutions.

Since 1 July 2021 the Excise remission scheme for manufacturers of alcoholic beverages (Remission scheme) has provided eligible alcohol manufacturers with a full (100%) automatic remission of excise duty, up to a maximum of $350,000 per financial year, on alcoholic beverages they manufacture and enter into the Australian domestic market for home consumption. The Remission scheme replaced the Excise refund scheme for alcohol manufacturers (Refund scheme).

There has been some significant discussion from members about the Remission scheme and the consequences of the market distortion the scheme creates. The board has had lengthy discussions, as have the recent States Presidents meeting as well as other member engagement.

One of the board members, Ian Schmidt from Iniquity, has prepared a short opinion piece about unintended consequences and some erroneous myths. The Executive have asked that a discussion board be established in the members portal to have a member forum about this topic. It will be restricted to members only by logging onto the members portal.

Participate in the Discussion Forum

We are excited to announce the launch of the Certificate IV in Artisan Fermented Products (Distilling), marking the first accredited course for craft distillers in Australia. This achievement made possible by the support of Agriculture Victoria, Spirits Victoria Association, Australian Distillers Association, National Distilling Institute, and industry experts, underscores Victoria's leadership in distillery education. This is an Australian first!

Victorian Distillers will be leading the country as the first cohort begins this exciting journey.

The following are the first cohort had their first day on 19 March at Starward Distillery. The first cohort of students are:

Course Information

We have launched the pilot program for the highly anticipated "Introduction to Distillery Safety Course".

This initiative, brought to you by the support from Agriculture Victoria and The Spirits Victoria Association, Australian Distillers Association and Valudus Risk Assessment, aims to embed safety standards within the Victorian distillery industry.

This course will be led by the esteemed Sebastian Reaburn. This one-day, in-person course is designed to equip distillery professionals, like yourself, with relevant, industry specific, workplace safety training. The comprehensive curriculum covers essential safety protocols and responsibilities, ensuring participants understand the critical importance of compliance and the potential ramifications of non-adherence.

Course Information

This Safety program will be made available to all members in the future.

  

Deloitte was engage by SCA to report on the Economic Contribution of the Spirits Industry in Australia. Deloitte was engaged by Spirits & Cocktails Australia to do a follow up report to the industry analysis that was conducted a couple of years ago. This report took the opportunity to ask additional questions to enable further insights and analysis.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT HERE

The key insights have been used in the Pre-Budget Submission and will be used in the preparation for the Parliamentary Inquiry and associated advocacy.

Thank you to the 250 distillers that participated. The input by members ensured the report is relevant, credible and reliable. In acknowledgement of the effort required to complete the survey, Spirits & Cocktails Australia and the ADA offered three prizes for those who completed the survey.

The winners were selected at random by Deloitte. They are:

Winner	Distillery	Name
1	Settlers Spirits	Phillip Jeffries
2	Woodwater Distillery	Justin Mok
3	Nine Circles	Cat Coathup

The report noted The Australian spirits industry supports economic activity both directly through its operations and through purchases from suppliers.

In 2022-23, this economic activity was worth nearly $15.5 billion in total value add and supported over 100,000full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs across Australia, of which approximately 51,300 people are directly employed in the industry.

The Australian spirits industry supply chain is made up of four stages, starting with approximately 700 spirit manufacturers that produce 366 million litres of finished product within Australia, attracting 3.5 million patrons to their distillery doors in FY23.

Key findings included:

Spirits Industry Survey also reveals the important contribution to regional Australia, with 48% of respondents located outside of capital cities.

Strong grow is expected for the spirits industry with 69% of spirits manufacturers expecting revenue to increase in FY24 and Revenue is expected to increase by 10% on average in FY24.

Capital investment is expected to rise by 2.3% in FY24, with 30% of spirits manufacturers expecting their capital expenditure to increase.

Barriers to growth

ADA and SCA have made a submission to Liquor & Gaming NSW on the proposed amendment to the regulation on undesirable products.

We’ve lent on the rationale from ABAC on Hard Solo to stress that any amendment to the regs should only apply to alcohol products led by soft drink brands – and not the reverse (i.e. products led with alcohol brands, like Jim Beam and cola).

It is important that we support the proposal on these grounds, as our failure to do so may result in a broader/ more restrictive definition at some later stage which may limit our members’ product innovation.

ABC recently ran a series of stories about competition and potentially misleading behaviours about the major retailers are using home brand style products that do not look like home brand products. See here. Nip of Courage provided comment. The Association was asked for comment and declined.

APISWA have shared with us information about concerning regulatory developments for the alcohol industry in Thailand.

The Office of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Committee (OABCC) has opened up public consultations for a draft Announcement on packaging and labelling, which foresees the introduction of graphic health warning labels (GHWLs) for alcoholic beverages. The OABCC had proposed this twice before (in 2009 and 2014), with the objective for Thailand to be the first in the world to implement such requirements. If enacted, the measure would be a world first for GHWLs for alcoholic beverages, and may spillover to other jurisdictions.

The Association has a made appropriate submissions and supported a similar campaign by SCA to oppose the GHWLs.

Australian spirits manufacturers are celebrating a bumper night at the World Whiskies Awards in London, with global honours awarded to several of our distilleries and their personnel.

The Whisky Magazine awards ceremony on Wednesday night featured the announcement of the World’s Best whiskies in the World Whiskies Awards and the Icons of Whisky global winners.

Australia shone in the 2024 Icons of Whisky Awards, with Tasmania’s Sullivans Cove Distillery – a three-time winner of World’s Best Single Malt – claiming four of the 27 Icons awards available on the night.

Sullivans Cove’s Heather Tillott and Ally Bhana respectively won the prizes for Distillery Manager and World Whisky Brand Ambassador, while the distillery also picked up the Sales Team and Brand Innovator gongs.

Fellow Tasmanians Callington Mill Distillery won the award for Visitor Attraction, while Seamus Carroll of The Whisky Club took home the prize for Scotch Whisky Brand Ambassador.

Australian Distillers Association chief executive Paul McLeay said it was yet another remarkable showing by the industry in a prestigious global event.

“For Australians to take out six of an available 27 Icons of Whisky awards demonstrates once again that our industry is world class,” he said.

“I would like to congratulate all the winners of these global awards, as well as our distillers who were named Country Winners on the night.”

McLeay said the awards cap off a momentous week for Australian spirits manufacturers, who are relishing the opportunity to participate in the Federal Government’s Inquiry into Food and Beverage Manufacturing in Australia, announced on Thursday.

“These latest global accolades certainly bolster our case for policy initiatives that will support our industry in its quest to grow exports of our premium spirits, which speak proudly of their Australian provenance,” he said.

Icons of Whisky 2024 – Global Winners

Distillery Manager
Heather Tillott, Sullivans Cove Distillery

Visitor Attraction
Callington Mill Distillery

Brand Innovator
Sullivans Cove Distillery

Scotch Whisky Brand Ambassador
Seamus Carroll, The Whisky Club

World Whisky Brand Ambassador
Ally Bhana, Sullivans Cove Distillery

Sales Team
The Team, Sullivans Cove Distillery

World Whiskies Awards 2024 – Global Winners

Best Label Design
Callington Mill Distillery – Blue Lake Lodge

World Whiskies Awards 2024 – Country Winners

Best Australian Blended
Coastal Stone – Xplore

Best Australian Blended Limited Release
Hellyers Road – Dark Harmony

Best Australian Blended Malt
Lark – Symphony No. 1

Best Australian Pot Still
Transportation Whiskey – The Journey Single Cask Cask Strength

Best Australian Rye
Backwoods Distilling Co. – Shiraz Cask

Best Australian Single Cask Single Malt
Hellyers Road – American Oak 16 Years Old

Best Australian Single Cask Single Rye
Whipper Snapper ­– Rye

Best Australian Single Malt
Lark – Fresh IPA Cask

Best Australian Small Batch Single Malt
Hellyers Road – Voyager Cask