Drink Driving Limit in Australia for Visitors 2026: 0.05, Zero and Breath Tests

The limits by licence and state

The general limit is the same everywhere: under 0.05, which means less than 50 mg of alcohol in every 100 ml of blood. Every state sets a zero limit for learner and provisional drivers, and most add zero or 0.02 limits for drivers of buses, taxis and heavy vehicles. Western Australia goes further, with a zero limit for every novice driver in their first two years on a licence.

If you are visiting on a full licence from your own country, the NSW Government lists you under the 0.05 limit, and the Northern Territory lists fully licensed drivers from interstate and overseas the same way. Queensland applies the zero limit to drivers whose overseas licence is the equivalent of a learner, provisional or probationary one.

Random breath testing and drug testing

Random breath testing, which Australians call RBT, means police can stop any driver at any time and test their breath, with no suspicion needed. The NSW Government says police can ask you to speak or blow into a breath-testing device and can test any driver involved in a crash. Victoria Police also run larger testing stations, often called booze buses, where you must stop when directed.

Police can also stop drivers at random to test saliva for illegal drugs, with a stick wiped down the tongue. Victoria says refusing a breath test is generally treated more seriously than being over the limit, so stop, wait and follow the officer's directions. A site can sit on a country road on a Sunday morning as easily as outside a city pub on a Friday night.

What a drink adds up to

There is no reliable way to count drinks to a BAC. Weight, food, sex, tiredness and the strength of the pour all change it, and Australian beers, wines and pub measures vary widely. Victoria says coin-operated and personal breath testers can be used as a guide but can be inaccurate and cannot be used as evidence.

Victoria's road safety advice puts the risk plainly: at a BAC of 0.05, your risk of a crash is about double the risk at zero. The only reliable plan is to choose who drives before anyone drinks, and for that person not to drink at all.

The morning after

Alcohol leaves the body slowly, and sleep does not speed it up. Victoria warns that if you drank a lot the night before, you are still likely to be over the legal limit the next day, and that learner, probationary and professional drivers on a zero limit should rethink driving at all.

On a road trip, the morning after a campground barbecue is when this catches people, because the first leg starts early. Plan a late start or a short first leg after a big night, and let a driver who did not drink take the wheel.

Alcohol and fatigue together

Alcohol and tiredness each slow your reactions, and together they compound. Both are worst on the first day of a trip, after a long flight, and on a long day's drive to a campground where a cold drink is waiting at the end.

Fatigue is the larger everyday risk on Australian highways, so plan days of four hours or less behind the wheel and stop every two hours. Some outback and Aboriginal communities also restrict carrying alcohol at all, with signs on the roads into them, so check the rules for the area before you stock the fridge.

Penalties, licences and hire cars

Penalties rise with the reading. In Western Australia, a first offence between 0.05 and 0.08 can be settled with an infringement notice, but a second offence goes to court, with a fine of up to $2,000, at least six months' disqualification and possibly an alcohol interlock. Higher readings bring immediate licence suspension in every state, and a high-range offence is a criminal matter.

A suspension stops you driving in that state whatever licence you hold, and a conviction can affect a visa. Hire agreements also set their own rules for a driver over the legal limit, so read yours before you collect the vehicle.

Plan the drive around the night in AussieCamps

The easiest way to keep drinking and driving apart is to stay where you eat. AussieCamps lists campgrounds and holiday parks close to towns, wineries and pubs, with the facilities the park agencies publish, and bookable holiday parks and motels you can reserve in the app.

Add the next morning's leg to a trip and AussieCamps shows its distance and time, so you can see whether a late start still gets you there in daylight. Place details stay readable with no signal; the map, directions and weather need a connection. AussieCamps runs on iPhone.

Places along the way