A big thanks to our guest speaker Dominique Lamb, QLD Small Business Commissioner, and all members who were able to join the webinar on the day.

The recording of the webinar is now available on YouTube - use the link below to access.

View the June PD Webinar on Youtube

Stay tuned for details of August's webinar, which will feature Trade and Investment Queensland.

The QHA Review have reached out to the QDA, with the opportunity to showcase QLD distilleries to the Hotel/Restaurant trade throughout QLD by way of a directory and venue review process. This same format has already assisted the Craft Brewers of QLD gain traction in the guest tap space and wholesale market over the last 3 yrs.

The proposed cost for a distillery interested in the opportunity is $1540 per annum, which includes:

If you are interested in this opportunity, please reach out to Simon Cross at the QHA Review, via email.

The Diageo team are working on a State of Queensland rum story they are pitching to media. It will look at the great history of rum making in Queensland, as well as the more recent innovations and direction of the industry. If you are a rum producer and interested in contributing, please reach out to the QDA team.

As previously communicated, the State Government has committed to fully fund 16 distilling traineeships as a pilot program has been approved.

Due to strong demand from members, the demand for the initial course exceeds the available places. An application process and criteria is being developed, and will be communicated to members once ready.

David Ridden and Matt Hobson met with Minister Glenn Butcher and the Department for a face to face meeting on 16th of May. The meeting was productive, with:

With a state election expected in the next 12 months, there will be an increasing need for QDA to represent the interests of distillers with local MPs and candidates. The QDA committee will be seeking help from members around the state to assist with this.

Planning is underway for the Queensland Distiller's Showcase, which will be held in Bundaberg over two days Friday 26th October and Saturday 27th October 2023.

The planned agenda for the showcase is:

The build of the Queensland Distillery Trail website is well underway. To make sure your distillery is listed at launch, please ensure you've completed the information form here as soon as possible:

INFORMATION FORM

For any questions about the distillery trail, please reach out to Teagan Peake. 

In a big win for Queensland Distillers, the 2024 Australian Distillers Association Conference will be held in Brisbane at the RNA Showgrounds. This will be a great opportunity to showcase Queensland's top shelf craft spirits.

In the QDA June professional development seminar, we'll be hearing from Dominique Lamb, QLD Small Business Commissioner. The seminar will be hosted via Microsoft Teams, which can be downloaded at the link below:

Link to install Microsoft Teams
Link to join Team Meetings
Link to download a calendar invite for the meeting

Being featured on the soon to be launched QDA Distillery Trail is a key benefit of membership. Please ensure you have completed your profile ASAP via this google form to ensure you are listed on launch:

Distillery Trail Profile