diff --git a/build.sbt b/build.sbt
index 34b68ef70..f50527959 100644
--- a/build.sbt
+++ b/build.sbt
@@ -100,7 +100,8 @@ lazy val zioKafka =
     .settings(
       libraryDependencies ++= Seq(
         kafkaClients,
-        scalaCollectionCompat
+        scalaCollectionCompat,
+        "dev.zio" %% "zio-concurrent" % zioVersion.value
       )
     )
 
diff --git a/zio-kafka-test/src/test/scala/zio/kafka/consumer/ConsumerSpec.scala b/zio-kafka-test/src/test/scala/zio/kafka/consumer/ConsumerSpec.scala
index ee456d1ab..fa10ff9ef 100644
--- a/zio-kafka-test/src/test/scala/zio/kafka/consumer/ConsumerSpec.scala
+++ b/zio-kafka-test/src/test/scala/zio/kafka/consumer/ConsumerSpec.scala
@@ -445,6 +445,39 @@ object ConsumerSpec extends ZIOSpecDefaultSlf4j with KafkaRandom {
                        .provideSomeLayer[Kafka](consumer(client, Some(group)))
         } yield assert(offsets.values.headOption.flatten.map(_.metadata))(isSome(equalTo(metadata)))
       },
+      test("access to the java consumer must be fair") {
+        val kvs = (1 to 10).toList.map(i => (s"key$i", s"msg$i"))
+
+        val expectedResult = (0 to 9).toList.map(i => i.toLong -> i.toLong)
+
+        for {
+          topic  <- randomTopic
+          client <- randomClient
+          group  <- randomGroup
+
+          _                  <- produceMany(topic, kvs)
+          committedOffsetRef <- Ref.make(Seq.empty[(Long, Long)])
+
+          topicPartition = new TopicPartition(topic, 0)
+
+          _ <- Consumer
+                 .plainStream(Subscription.Topics(Set(topic)), Serde.string, Serde.string)
+                 .take(10)
+                 .map(_.offset)
+                 .mapZIO(offsetBatch =>
+                   Consumer
+                     .committed(Set(topicPartition))
+                     .flatMap(offset =>
+                       committedOffsetRef.update(map =>
+                         map :+ (offsetBatch.offset -> offset(topicPartition).map(_.offset()).getOrElse(0L))
+                       ) *> offsetBatch.commit
+                     )
+                 )
+                 .runDrain
+                 .provideSomeLayer[Kafka](consumer(client, Some(group), commitTimeout = 2.seconds))
+          offsets <- committedOffsetRef.get
+        } yield assert(offsets)(equalTo(expectedResult))
+      } @@ TestAspect.timeout(20.seconds),
       test("handle rebalancing by completing topic-partition streams") {
         val nrMessages   = 50
         val nrPartitions = 6 // Must be even and strictly positive
diff --git a/zio-kafka/src/main/scala/zio/kafka/consumer/internal/ConsumerAccess.scala b/zio-kafka/src/main/scala/zio/kafka/consumer/internal/ConsumerAccess.scala
index 3d2f2e3dd..a3d6e1fbb 100644
--- a/zio-kafka/src/main/scala/zio/kafka/consumer/internal/ConsumerAccess.scala
+++ b/zio-kafka/src/main/scala/zio/kafka/consumer/internal/ConsumerAccess.scala
@@ -8,16 +8,18 @@ import zio.kafka.consumer.ConsumerSettings
 import zio.kafka.consumer.internal.ConsumerAccess.ByteArrayKafkaConsumer
 
 import scala.jdk.CollectionConverters._
+import zio.concurrent.ReentrantLock
 
 private[consumer] final class ConsumerAccess(
   private[consumer] val consumer: ByteArrayKafkaConsumer,
-  access: Semaphore
+  access: ReentrantLock
 ) {
+
   def withConsumer[A](f: ByteArrayKafkaConsumer => A): Task[A] =
     withConsumerZIO[Any, A](c => ZIO.attempt(f(c)))
 
   def withConsumerZIO[R, A](f: ByteArrayKafkaConsumer => RIO[R, A]): RIO[R, A] =
-    access.withPermit(withConsumerNoPermit(f))
+    access.lock.zipRight(withConsumerNoPermit(f)).ensuring(access.unlock)
 
   private[consumer] def withConsumerNoPermit[R, A](
     f: ByteArrayKafkaConsumer => RIO[R, A]
@@ -34,7 +36,7 @@ private[consumer] final class ConsumerAccess(
    * Do not use this method outside of the Runloop
    */
   private[internal] def runloopAccess[R, E, A](f: ByteArrayKafkaConsumer => ZIO[R, E, A]): ZIO[R, E, A] =
-    access.withPermit(f(consumer))
+    access.lock.zipRight(f(consumer)).ensuring(access.unlock)
 }
 
 private[consumer] object ConsumerAccess {
@@ -58,6 +60,6 @@ private[consumer] object ConsumerAccess {
 
   def make(consumer: ByteArrayKafkaConsumer): ZIO[Scope, Throwable, ConsumerAccess] =
     for {
-      access <- Semaphore.make(1)
+      access <- ReentrantLock.make(fairness = true)
     } yield new ConsumerAccess(consumer, access)
 }