Now lawMoney & Tax Introduced in the House of Representatives, 08 Oct 2025

Tax on imported keg beer is now frozen for two years

This law stops the tax on imported draught beer from going up with prices until August 2027. A partner law does the same for beer brewed in Australia. The aim is to help pubs and clubs.

Official name: Customs Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025

Who it affects

• Pubs, clubs and other venues that sell alcohol: The tax part of what they pay for keg beer stays the same for two years.
• Businesses that bring in keg beer from overseas: The tax they pay on draught beer stays at the February 2025 rate until August 2027.
• People who drink at the pub: The government does not expect lower prices at the bar. But the tax will not push prices up for two years.

Imported beer matches local tax

Australia has a special tax on alcohol, fuel and tobacco made here. Goods like these also come in from overseas. They pay a matching tax at the border, called customs duty. This keeps local and imported drinks on the same terms.

These tax rates usually go up twice a year. That happens on 1 February and 1 August. They go up by the same amount as prices in general.

The Consumer Price Index tracks how fast prices of everyday things are going up. The tax rises in line with it. This is called rising each year with prices.

The government says the high cost of living has hit pubs, clubs and other venues that sell alcohol. In its 2025-26 Budget, it said it would pause the tax rise for draught beer.

The Budget is the government's yearly plan for money in and money out. The government says the pause helps those venues and other local businesses. It says it helps tourism in country areas too.

This law covers imported beer. It changes the Customs Tariff Act 1995, the law for taxes on goods brought into Australia.

A partner law covers beer brewed in Australia. It is the Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025. It does the same thing for local beer.

Imported keg beer tax frozen

The law skips the price rise on imported draught beer four times. Those dates are 1 August 2025, 1 February 2026, 1 August 2026 and 1 February 2027.

Draught beer has a set meaning here. It is beer in a container of 8 to 48 litres that hooks up to a gas or pump system. It is also beer in any container over 48 litres.

In plain words, it means kegs and big tanks that are poured at the bar. Bottles and cans are not part of the freeze.

Rises start again on 1 August 2027. They will build on the frozen February 2025 rate. There is no catch-up jump for the missed rises. So the tax stays lower for good than it would have been.

Say you run a pub that pours an imported lager from kegs. Normally the tax on each keg would creep up every six months. Under this law, the tax part stays the same until August 2027.

Backdated to August 2025

The government gave the House of Representatives a formal tax notice on 24 July 2025. That is the lower house of Parliament. It is called a Tariff Proposal. That let the freeze start on 1 August 2025, before the law was passed.

A notice like this only protects border officers by law for 12 months. That would have ended on 24 July 2026. This law writes the freeze into the main law so it stays in place.

The law is backdated to 1 August 2025. The government says this can only help people who pay the tax. That is because it keeps their rate the same.

Start date

The bill was brought to the House of Representatives on 8 October 2025. It was debated over several months. The House passed it on 4 February 2026.

The Senate is the other house of Parliament. It passed the bill on 1 April 2026.

The Governor-General is the King's representative in Australia. He signed the bill into law on 8 April 2026. It became Act No. 37 of 2026. It is backdated to 1 August 2025.

How they voted

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

• Bill page on aph.gov.au
• Text of the bill
• Explanatory memorandum

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