What is one standard drink Australia

It is important to understand what a standard drink is so that when you are drinking you can manage how much alcohol you consume. This can help you stick to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guidelines.

In Australia, a standard drink is any drink containing 10 grams of alcohol, regardless of container size or alcohol type (e.g beer, wine, spirit).

A standard drink is a unit of measurement. In the same way one metre measures a particular distance travelled, one standard drink measures a particular amount of alcohol consumed.

Because alcoholic drinks are sold and served in many different sizes, it's often difficult to know how many standard drinks you are consuming.

A standard drink may be less than you think. 

Australian food labelling law requires all packaged alcohol to include the number of standard drinks on its label.

Counting your standard drinks can help you stay within the NHRMC Guidelines.1 Health experts recommend to reduce the risk of harm from alcohol, healthy men and women should:

  • drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week; and
  • drink no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day.

The less you drink, the lower your risk of harm.

How many standard drinks are you pouring?

Find out how many standard drinks are in the drinks you typically pour by using our 'What is a Standard Drink' tool.

Different types of alcoholic drinks contain different amounts of pure alcohol. If you’re somebody who chooses to drink alcohol, this can make it tricky to keep track of how much you’re actually drinking.

In fact, one serving is usually more than one 'standard drink'.

For example, a 375ml stubby of full-strength beer is usually around 1.4 standard drinks.

An Australian standard drink contains 10g of alcohol (12.5ml of pure alcohol).

It’s handy info to know, because Aussie health experts recommend no more than 4 standard drinks a day and no more than 10 standard drinks in any given week.1

Why? Because each extra drink can increase the risk of injury and accidents and impact on long-term health. This is not to say drinking alcohol will inevitably cause these kind of issues for every person – but it does increase the risk.1

So, if you’re somebody who drinks and would like to keep an eye on your drinking, keeping track of the number of standard drinks in your beverage is one way to do this.

Our handy standard drinks guide can help:

  • Spirits 40% alcohol, 30ml nip
  • Wine 13% alcohol, 100ml average serving
  • Sparkling wine 13% alcohol, 100ml
  • Full Strength Beer 4.9% alcohol, 285ml glass
  • Light Beer 2.7% alcohol, 425ml glass
  • Cider 4.9% alcohol, 285ml glass

Keeping track of your drinks

Other factors that make it difficult to track how much you’re drinking include:

  • varying glass sizes at different venues
  • drinks mixed with unknown quantities of alcohol, e.g. in cocktails and alcoholic punches
  • shared jugs and casks
  • ‘topping up’ glasses before they’re empty.

You can also keep track of how many standard drinks you’re having by:

  • reading the label — all alcohol containers in Australia must show the number of standard drinks they contain
  • using an online calculator — check out the Drinks Calculator or the Standard Drink Calculator
  • asking the bar or restaurant staff — if you’re drinking a cocktail or other type of mixed drink, the bar staff should be able to tell you how many standards are in it.

Why count standard drinks?

For some people, counting standard drinks can be used as a way to help reduce their drinking and stick to the healthier Australian drinking guidelines.

By following the Australian drinking guidelines and having no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 in one day, you can reduce your immediate risk of injury and accidents and your risk of developing cancers, including breast, stomach and bowl.1 Read the guidelines here.

Counting your drinks can also help track your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels and help determine whether you’re OK to drive. As a general rule, if you’re planning on drinking, you should drink no more than 1 standard drink per hour.2 You can read more about this here.

Want to know more about standard drinks? Check out the standard drinks guide on the Department of Health website.

What are 'standard drinks' and why do we use them?

Standard drinks

A 'standard drink' is the measure of alcohol used to work out safe drinking levels.

A standard drink in Australia contains 10g of alcohol. This is always the same, no matter what type of alcoholic beverage or how it is served. As some drinks are stronger than others (for example, low-strength beer is around 2.7% whereas spirits are typically 40%), the higher the alcohol concentration of a drink, the less liquid it contains.

A serving of alcohol in a pub or club can often be larger than a 'standard' drink, for example a standard glass of wine is 100ml but a typical serve may be 150ml.

In Australia, all bottles, cans and casks containing alcoholic beverages are required by law to state on the label the approximate number of standard drinks they contain.

One Australian standard drink is equal to approximately:

  • 285 mL of full strength beer (4.8% alc. vol)
  • 375mL of mid strength beer (3.5% alc.vol)
  • 425 mL of low strength beer (2.7% alc. vol)
  • 100 mL of wine (red - 13% alc. vol, and white – 11.5% alc. vol)
  • 100 mL of champagne (12% alc. vol)
  • 30 mL of spirits (40% alc. vol)
  • 275 mL bottle of ready-to-drink beverage (5% alcohol content)

Glasses, bottles and cans of alcohol contain varying amounts of alcohol and can contain more or less than one standard drink - see our Standard drinks guide for more information.

Know your standards

Know Your Standards is an alcohol awareness program delivered in public libraries in NSW. 

Australian alcohol guidelines

The Australian Alcohol Guidelines provide information for Australians on reducing risks to health from drinking alcohol.

About alcohol

Alcohol is a drug that acts as a depressant and slows down the brain and nervous system.

What is a 1.0 standard drink?

375ml can or bottle full-strength beer = 1.4 standard drinks. 150ml wine = 1.4 standard drinks. 30 ml spirits = 1 standard drink.

How many mL is a standard drink Australia?

An Australian standard drink contains 10g of alcohol (12.5ml of pure alcohol). It's handy info to know, because Aussie health experts recommend no more than 4 standard drinks a day and no more than 10 standard drinks in any given week. Why?

Is 30ml one standard drink?

A standard drink contains 10 grams of alcohol. This is equal to: 285 mL of full strength beer. 425 mL of low strength beer.

What is one standard drink Australia beer?

One Australian standard drink is equal to approximately: 285 mL of full strength beer (4.8% alc. vol) 375mL of mid strength beer (3.5% alc.