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. ¹

Alcoholic beverages are sold and served in many different sized containers. Different types of beverages contain different amounts of alcohol, and glass sizes are often not the same. A glass or container can hold more than one standard drink of alcohol. This can make it difficult to know how many standard drinks you consume. Using standard drinks to measure your alcohol consumption is more accurate than counting the number of glasses or other containers you have consumed.

If you are drinking packaged liquor the number of standard drinks should be written on the side of the beverage container.

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 these National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guidelines: ¹

GUIDELINE 1

For healthy men and women, drinking no more than two standard drinks on any day reduces the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury.

GUIDELINE 2

For healthy men and women, drinking no more than four standard drinks on a single occasion reduces the risk of alcohol-related injury arising from that occasion.

Use this tool to see if you can correctly pour a standard drink.