An Australian standard drink contains 10 grams of alcohol (12.5 ml of pure alcohol). By counting standard drinks you can keep track of how much you are drinking.

This factsheet provides a guide to how many standard drinks are in common containers of alcohol.

For more information about a specific alcoholic drink, read the label on the bottle, can or cask. It will list approximately how many standard drinks are inside the container.

How many standard drinks are in a …. ?

Sometimes it can be difficult to keep track of how much alcohol you are actually drinking because:

  • glass sizes are not the same in different places
  • different types of drinks contain different amounts of pure alcohol
  • Sometimes drinks are mixed with unknown quantities of alcohol, such as in cocktails and alcoholic punches
  • sometimes jugs and casks are shared
  • glasses may be “topped up” before they are empty.

Some of these problems can be overcome by using a standard measure of the amount of alcohol that is being drunk, called a “standard drink”.

what is a standard drink

Middy/pot of beer (285 ml)

  • Full strength (4.9% alc./vol) = 1.1 standard drinks

Stubby/can of beer (375 ml)

  • Full strength (4.8% alc./vol) = 1.4 standard drinks

Red wine (13% alc./vol)

  • Average serve (150 ml – about half a glass) = 1.5 standard drinks
  • Bottle (750 ml) 11-13% = 6-8 standard drinks

White wine (11.5% alc./vol)

  • Standard serve (150 ml – about half a glass) = 1.4 standard drinks

High-strength spirits (40% alc./vol)

  • Nip (30 ml shot glass) = 1 standard drink
  • Bottle (700 ml) = 22 standard drinks

Ready-to-drink (RTD) or pre-mixed spirits/wine

  • 375 ml premix can full strength (5.0% alc./vol) = 1.5 standard drinks
  • 660 ml bottle high strength (7.0% alc./vol) = 3.6 standard drinks

What are the potential problems with drinking too much alcohol?

Drinking in excess of recommended guidelines can have harmful effects on your health.

These risks include:

  • Short-term risks and harms such as hangovers, headaches, nausea, shakiness, vomiting, memory loss, risk of falls and injury, assaults, car accidents, unplanned pregnancy, and accidental death
  • Long-term risks and harms such as cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, brain damage, memory loss and sexual dysfunction.

Excessive alcohol use can also affect many other areas of your life, including family, work and personal relationships. You may feel ashamed and embarrassed by your behaviour while intoxicated. You might experience problems at work or school and legal and financial problems. For example, you might lose valuable items such as mobile phones, spend recklessly while intoxicated, damage your own or public property, or have to take time off work or school due to hangovers.

Low risk drinking guidelines

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol, recommend:

  1. To reduce the risk of an alcohol-related injury or disease during their lifetime, healthy men and women should drink no more than two standard drinks on any day.
  2. To reduce the risk of an immediate alcohol-related injury, healthy men and women should drink no more than four standard drinks on any one occasion.
  3. For children and young people under 18 years of age, not drinking is the safest option.
  4. Maternal alcohol consumption can harm the developing fetus or breastfeeding baby. For women who are pregnant, are planning a pregnancy, or are breastfeeding, not drinking is the safest option.

Remember, there is no safe level of drinking.

More information

  • For more information about standard drinks and the Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol visit www.alcohol.gov.au.
  • If you are worried about the amount you are drinking, and would like help to cut down, see your family doctor or contact the alcohol and other drug service in your state or territory.
  • For more information on drugs and drug prevention contact DrugInfo.

For more information, please click on the Alcohol and Drug Foundation’s (previously Australian Drug Foundation) logo below.

Australian Drug Foundation logo