The Victorian Government has committed $1.6 million in its 2026-27 budget to continue the Drink Victoria program and, for the first time, fund the development of a dedicated Victorian Craft Beer and Cider Strategy.
The budget papers state the funding will drive “growth in local production through education and marketing” and support development of the strategy, with the initiative sitting under the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action’s agriculture output.
The news has been welcomed by the Independent Brewers Association (IBA), which has had a seat on the Drink Victorian board for several years. Victoria is home to an estimated 147 independent breweries, which indirectly support around 7,529 jobs.
IBA chief executive Sabrina Kunz said the funding reflected the industry’s sustained advocacy effort.
“This is great recognition of the collective advocacy by the IBA and all our members. Communities around Victoria benefit from having a local independent brewery – they are also a critical part of the agricultural supply chain, particularly for hops, in the state,” she said.
“We look forward to working with Drinks Victoria and all stakeholders to deliver an actionable strategy that supports ongoing investment in Victoria’s small producers.”
IBA chair Evin Craney, who now represents the association on the Drink Victorian board, described the budget commitment as the first investment of its kind into Victorian craft beer. Writing on LinkedIn, Craney noted he had been raising the need for a formal craft beer strategy with government ministers for more than five years.
“Lobbying can often feel like a fool’s errand, and the wheels of government policy can move painfully slowly, but this is a testament to the IBA’s never-say-die attitude,” Craney wrote.
The Drink Victorian program was first launched in December 2021 with $1.5 million in joint funding from Agriculture Victoria and Global Victoria. It was developed by the Victorian Drinks Alliance – a collaboration between Food and Drink Victoria, Wine Victoria, Cider Australia, the IBA, the Australian Distillers Association and Spirits Victoria – in response to the compounding pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, bushfires, export disruptions and strong domestic competition.
A key driver behind the program’s creation was that only 20 per cent of Victorian venues were stocking locally made drinks at the time of its launch.
Increased Drink Victorian funding and direct investment in the sector were among the key asks in the IBA’s Grow Victorian Beer policy platform.
