Standard drinks
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. The Australian alcohol guidelines inform Australians of the health risks of drinking alcohol and provide advice on how to keep these risks low.
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.
Know your standards
Know your standards is an alcohol awareness program delivered in public libraries in NSW.
The aim of the program is to provide community members with information and resources to improve their knowledge and awareness of standard drinks and the Australian alcohol guidelines.
The awareness program in public libraries consists of:
- print and online information resources
- practical demonstrations of the differences in what constitutes a standard drink for commonly used alcoholic beverages
events and activities - Print resources include the Know your standards pocket guides and postcards. These resources feature illustrated standard drink measurements for light beer, full strength beer, red/white wine, champagne, spirits (shots and pre-mix) and cider (middy and bottle).
Know your standards promotional material
Know Your Standards promotional material is available in many public libraries.
Standard drinks pocket guide
This business card sized pocket guide features illustrated standard drink measurements for light beer, full strength beer, red/white wine, champagne, spirits (shots and pre-mix) and cider (middy and bottle), as well as tips to keep safe. Pocket guides are available to order for PDHPE teachers, school libraries, public libraries and other organisations.
Standard drinks postcard
This postcard features illustrated standard drinks measurements for light beer, full strength beer, red/white wine, champagne, spirits (shots and pre-mix) and cider (middy and bottle), as well as the definition of a standard drink. Postcards are available to order for PDHPE teachers, school libraries, public libraries and other organisations.