SUMMARY

There were 189.1 million litres of pure alcohol available for consumption from alcoholic beverages in Australia in 2015-16. This was an increase from the amount available for consumption in 2014-15 (182.7 million litres), which is the first increase since 2006-07.

The volume of pure alcohol available for consumption in the form of beer increased by 4.5% between 2014-15 and 2015-16. The volume of pure alcohol available for consumption in the form of Ready to Drink (pre-mixed beverages) also increased by 3.1% and spirits by 3.6% during this period.

Of all pure alcohol available for consumption in 2015-16, beer contributed 39.9%, wine 37.5%, spirits and RTDs 18.8% and cider 3.8%.

On a per capita basis there were 9.7 litres of pure alcohol available for consumption per person in 2015-16, slightly more than the amount in 2014-15 (9.5 litres), however still less than the amount in 2013-14 (9.8 litres). As a standard drink consists of 12.5 mls of pure alcohol, this is equivalent to an average of 2.1 standard drinks per day per person aged 15 years and over, which is unchanged from 2014-15. Note that these figures will overestimate the true level of alcohol consumed as beverages, as adjustments have not been made for storage, wastage and other factors such as for alcohol used in cooking.

TABLE 1: PURE ALCOHOL AVAILABLE FOR CONSUMPTION Year ended 30 June Beer Wine(a) Spirits RTDs(b) Cider(c) Total VOLUME OF PURE ALCOHOL ('000 litres) 2011 r77 213 68 000 r24 032 r12 812 r2 731 r184 789 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 75 585 75 116 r75 862 72 102 75 371 69 044 68 719 68 890 70 219 70 862 r23 080 r24 031 23 174 23 436 24 280 12 490 12 130 11 610 10 962 11 301 3 063 r4 140 r5 027 6 008 7 273 r183 263 r184 136 r184 563 182 728 189 087 PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION OF PURE ALCOHOL(d) (litres) 2011 r4.30 3.79 1.34 0.71 0.15 r10.29 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 4.14 4.04 4.01 3.76 3.87 3.78 r3.69 3.64 3.66 3.64 1.26 1.29 1.23 1.22 1.25 0.68 0.65 0.61 0.57 0.58 0.17 r0.22 r0.27 0.31 0.37 10.04 r9.90 r9.76 9.52 9.70 r revised (see paragraph 5 to 7 of the Explanatory Notes). (a) Due to the changes in survey design between 2013-14 and 2015-16 and the interpolation method applied to calculate 2014-15 domestic wine data, comparisons between these years should be interpreted with caution (for details, see paragraphs 19 to 25 of the Explanatory Notes). (b) Ready to Drink (pre-mixed) beverages. (c) See paragraphs 34 to 37 of the Explanatory Notes for information on how estimates of cider were calculated. (d) Litres per person aged 15 years and over. Footnote(s): (a) Litres per person aged 15 years and over. (b) Ready to Drink (pre-mixed) beverages. Source(s): Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, Australia, 2015-16