Alcohol guidelines

Making informed choices when it comes to drinking

The Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol are produced by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)1. The guidelines can help you to make informed choices about your consumption if you choose to drink.

Guideline 1: Reducing the risk of alcohol-related harm for adults

To reduce the risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury, healthy men and women should drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day.
The less you drink, the lower your risk of harm from alcohol.

Guideline 2: Children and people under 18 years of age

To reduce the risk of injury and other harms to health, children and people under 18 years of age should not drink alcohol.

Guideline 3: Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding

A. To prevent harm from alcohol to their unborn child, women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy should not drink alcohol.

B. For women who are breastfeeding, not drinking alcohol is safest for their baby.

 

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