Drink Driving Penalties In Australia

The legal blood alcohol concentration limit in Australia is 0.05% for fully qualified drivers and while Australia's drink driving laws vary between states, the penalties imposed increases with the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of the driver.

In most Australian states a BAC of 0.05% to 0.08% is considered a "low range" drink driving offence, 0.08% to 0.15% is a "mid range" offence, and over 0.15% is considered a "high range" drink driving offence involving severe drink driving penalties.

At the very least, drink driving offenders will generally face a substantial fine, demerit points and temporary suspension of their driver's licence. More serious offences also carry the risk of long-term licence disqualificaton, mandatory fitting of an interlock device, or even a prison term.

Most Australian states have lower blood alcohol limits (usually a BAC of 0.0) for professional drivers, novice drivers and/or drivers under the age of 26, previously disqualified drivers and operators of heavy vehicles and commercial passenger vehicles.

Drink Driving Penalties In New South Wales

Fist offence drink driving penalties in New South Wales for non-restricted drivers are as follows:

	0.05 to <0.08	0.08 to <0.15	Over 0.15
Maximum Fine	$1100	$2200	$3300
Maximum Prison Term	No	9 months	18 months
Automatic Disqualification	6 months	12 months	3 years
Maximum Disqualification	6 months	Unlimited	Unlimited
Immediate Licence Cancellation	No	Yes	Yes
Demerit Points	-	-	-
Mandatory Interlock Period	No	No	No

Drink Driving Penalties In Victoria

Fist offence drink driving penalties in Victoria for non-restricted drivers are as follows:

BAC Range	0.05 to <0.07	0.07 to <0.10	0.10 to <0.15	Over 0.15
Maximum Fine	$475	$675	$675	$1585
Maximum Prison Term	-	-	-	-
Automatic Disqualification	4 months	6 months	10 months	15 months
Maximum Disqualification	4 months	6 months	14 months	24 months
Immediate Licence Cancellation	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Demerit Points	10	-	-	-
Mandatory Interlock Period	No	6 months	6 months	6 months

Drink Driving Penalties In Queensland

Fist offence drink driving penalties in Queensland for non-restricted drivers are as follows:

	0.05 to <0.10	0.10 to <0.15	Over 0.15
Maximum Fine	$1766	$2523	$3532
Maximum Prison Term	3 months	6 months	9 months
Automatic Disqualification	1 month	3 months	6 months
Maximum Disqualification	9 months	12 months	2 years
Immediate Licence Cancellation	No	Yes	Yes
Demerit Points	-	-	-
Mandatory Interlock Period	No	No	No

Drink Driving Penalties In South Australia

Fist offence drink driving penalties in South Australia for non-restricted drivers are as follows:

	0.05 to <0.08	0.08 to <0.15	Over 0.15
Maximum Fine	$1100	$1300	$1600
Maximum Prison Term	-	-	-
Automatic Disqualification	3 months	6 months	12 months
Maximum Disqualification	6 months	12 months	3 years
Immediate Licence Cancellation	No	Yes	Yes
Demerit Points	4	5	6
Mandatory Interlock Period	No	No	No

Drink Driving Penalties In ACT

Fist offence drink driving penalties in the Australian Capital Territory for non-restricted drivers are as follows:

	0.05 to <0.08	0.08 to <0.15	Over 0.15
Maximum Fine	$750	$1500	$2250
Maximum Prison Term	-	6 months	9 months
Automatic Disqualification	2 months	3 months	6 months
Maximum Disqualification	6 months	12 months	3 years
Immediate Licence Cancellation	No	No	Yes
Demerit Points	-	-	-
Mandatory Interlock Period	No	No	12-48 months

Drink Driving Penalties In Tasmania

Fist offence drink driving penalties in Tasmania for non-restricted drivers are as follows:

	0.05 to <0.10	0.10 to <0.15	Over 0.15
Maximum Fine	$1570	$3140	$4710
Maximum Prison Term	3 months	6 months	12 months
Automatic Disqualification	3 months	6 months	12 months
Maximum Disqualification	12 months	18 months	3 years
Immediate Licence Cancellation	No	No	No
Demerit Points	-	-	-
Mandatory Interlock Period	No	No	15 months

Drink Driving Penalties In The Northern Territory

Fist offence drink driving penalties in the Northern Territory for non-restricted drivers are as follows:

	0.05 to <0.08	0.08 to <0.15	Over 0.15
Maximum Fine	$770	$1155	$1540
Maximum Prison Term	3 months	6 months	12 months
Automatic Disqualification	3 months	6 months	12 months
Maximum Disqualification	3 months	6 months	12 months
Immediate Licence Cancellation	No	No	Yes
Demerit Points	-	-	-
Mandatory Interlock Period	No	No	No

Drink Driving Penalties In Western Australia

Fist offence drink driving penalties in Western Australia for non-restricted drivers are as follows:

	0.05 to <0.08	0.08 to <0.15	Over 0.15
Maximum Fine	$1100	$1300	$1600
Maximum Prison Term	-	-	3 months
Automatic Disqualification	3 months	6 months	12 months
Maximum Disqualification	3 months	6 months	12 months
Immediate Licence Cancellation	No	No	Yes
Demerit Points	4	5	6
Mandatory Interlock Period	No	No	12 months