What is a 1.0 standard drink?

Different types of alcoholic drinks contain different amounts of pure alcohol. If you’re somebody who chooses to drink alcohol, this can make it tricky to keep track of how much you’re actually drinking.

In fact, one serving is usually more than one 'standard drink'.

For example, a 375ml stubby of full-strength beer is usually around 1.4 standard drinks.

An Australian standard drink contains 10g of alcohol (12.5ml of pure alcohol).

It’s handy info to know, because Aussie health experts recommend no more than 4 standard drinks a day and no more than 10 standard drinks in any given week.1

Why? Because each extra drink can increase the risk of injury and accidents and impact on long-term health. This is not to say drinking alcohol will inevitably cause these kind of issues for every person – but it does increase the risk.1

So, if you’re somebody who drinks and would like to keep an eye on your drinking, keeping track of the number of standard drinks in your beverage is one way to do this.

Our handy standard drinks guide can help:

• Spirits 40% alcohol, 30ml nip
• Wine 13% alcohol, 100ml average serving
• Sparkling wine 13% alcohol, 100ml
• Full Strength Beer 4.9% alcohol, 285ml glass
• Light Beer 2.7% alcohol, 425ml glass
• Cider 4.9% alcohol, 285ml glass

Other factors that make it difficult to track how much you’re drinking include:

• varying glass sizes at different venues
• drinks mixed with unknown quantities of alcohol, e.g. in cocktails and alcoholic punches
• shared jugs and casks
• ‘topping up’ glasses before they’re empty.

You can also keep track of how many standard drinks you’re having by:

• reading the label — all alcohol containers in Australia must show the number of standard drinks they contain
• using an online calculator — check out the Drinks Calculator or the Standard Drink Calculator
• asking the bar or restaurant staff — if you’re drinking a cocktail or other type of mixed drink, the bar staff should be able to tell you how many standards are in it.

Why count standard drinks?

For some people, counting standard drinks can be used as a way to help reduce their drinking and stick to the healthier Australian drinking guidelines.

By following the Australian drinking guidelines and having no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 in one day, you can reduce your immediate risk of injury and accidents and your risk of developing cancers, including breast, stomach and bowl.1 Read the guidelines here.

Counting your drinks can also help track your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels and help determine whether you’re OK to drive. As a general rule, if you’re planning on drinking, you should drink no more than 1 standard drink per hour.2 You can read more about this here.

Want to know more about standard drinks? Check out the standard drinks guide on the Department of Health website.

1. National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol. Canberra: Australian Government; 2020.
2. Nadalin T.BAC explained: Everything you need to know: RACV; 2020 [12.11.2021].

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 the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guidelines.

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.

Because alcoholic drinks are sold and served in many different sizes, it's often difficult to know how many standard drinks you are consuming.

A standard drink may be less than you think. 

Australian food labelling law requires all packaged alcohol to include the number of standard drinks on its label.

Counting your standard drinks can help you stay within the NHRMC Guidelines.1 Health experts recommend to reduce the risk of harm from alcohol, healthy men and women should:

• drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week; and
• drink no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day.

The less you drink, the lower your risk of harm.

How many standard drinks are you pouring?

Find out how many standard drinks are in the drinks you typically pour by using our 'What is a Standard Drink' tool.

1

National Health and Medical Research Council. (2020).  Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.

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Australia's national alcohol guidelines use the 'standard drink' as a measure of alcohol consumed. One standard drink is defined as containing 10 grams of alcohol.

The number of standard drinks in a serving of alcohol varies between type, size, brand, packaged or poured drinks. If you are unsure, read the label. Alcohol packaging must state the number of standard drinks that the product contains.

If you are buying beer, ale, or stout in a glass or jug, these should be marked to indicate how many millilitres they contain. Spirits should be dispensed in fixed quantities of either 15ml or 30ml.

Be careful of the size of the glass that your alcohol has been served in – don’t assume that your glass holds 1 standard drink. If possible pour your own drinks or look for the line on the glass for a standard pour when you're out.

While these standard measurements should help, you also need to remember alcohol tolerance varies depending on your size, fitness, mood, drinking experience, food intake, and gender.

Number of standard drinks by alcohol type

Adapted from the National Standard Drinks Guide.

National alcohol guidelines

Australia's alcohol guidelines help people make informed decisions about low risk alcohol consumption.

Healthy adults

Drinking no more than 2 standard drinks on any day reduces the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury.

Drinking no more than 4 standard drinks on a single occasion reduces the risk of alcohol-related injury arising from that occasion.

Children under 18 years

Not drinking alcohol is the safest option. Children under 15 years of age are at the greatest risk of harm from drinking and for this age group, not drinking alcohol is especially important.

Young people aged 15−17 years should aim to delay the start of drinking for as long as possible.

In Australia, you must be 18 years or older to purchase alcohol or drink alcohol in a licensed premises.

Pregnant and breastfeeding women

Not drinking alcohol is the safest option for women who are planning a pregnancy, pregnant, or breastfeeding.

Read more about alcohol during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.

Last updated: 4 September 2015