diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/MacroInstance.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/MacroInstance.java
index a0484bfab..eeb9f7c06 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/MacroInstance.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/MacroInstance.java
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ public class MacroInstance extends Task implements DynamicConfigurator {
      *
      * @param macroDef a <code>MacroDef</code> value
      */
-    protected void setMacroDef(MacroDef macroDef) {
+    public void setMacroDef(MacroDef macroDef) {
         this.macroDef = macroDef;
     }