About this publication

This publication provides estimates of apparent consumption of alcohol based on the availability of alcoholic beverages in Australia. It provides estimates of the quantity of pure alcohol available for consumption from beer, wine, spirits, and Ready to Drink (pre-mixed) beverages (RTDs), plus estimates of the total volume of beer and wine available for consumption.

Estimates are also provided of apparent per capita consumption for each of the alcoholic beverage types, for the population aged 15 years and over. This population is consistent with international standards for measuring trends in apparent consumption over time. See the Explanatory Notes for more information regarding population estimates used to calculate apparent per capita consumption.

It should be noted that estimates of 'apparent consumption' are derived using information relating to supply - that is, data on domestic sales of Australian produced wine, excise data on alcohol produced for domestic consumption, data on imports and an estimated component for home production. This estimation differs from personal consumption estimates from a survey where individual and group patterns may be derived. This apparent consumption estimate provides a measure of what alcohol is available for consumption in a given financial year (i.e. production). No adjustments are made for:

• retail or wholesale storage;
• duty-free alcohol imported by individual overseas travellers; or
• for alcohol that has been stored or cellared, used in the preparation of food or discarded as waste.