Australia drinks a lot. That much everyone agrees on. But how much, exactly — and what does it cost? Here's what the official government data from the AIHW, ABS, and NHMRC actually shows, without the spin in either direction.
According to the AIHW's National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) 2022-23, around 76% of Australians aged 14 and over had consumed alcohol in the previous 12 months. That makes it by far the most widely used psychoactive substance in the country — more than twice the rate of any illicit drug, and ahead of tobacco.
About 40% drink at least weekly. One in eight Australians (13%) drinks daily. And 17.1% drink at levels that put them at risk of harm over a lifetime — meaning they regularly exceed the NHMRC's recommended cap of 10 standard drinks per week.
To put 9.4 litres of pure alcohol per adult per year in context: a standard 750mL bottle of wine at 13% ABV contains about 7.7 standard drinks. At 9.4 litres of pure alcohol, the average Australian adult is consuming the equivalent of roughly 940 standard drinks per year — or around 18 per week. Given that 24% of Australians report not drinking at all, those who do drink are consuming considerably more.
Alcohol's contribution to death and illness in Australia is significant and well-documented. The AIHW's Australian Burden of Disease Study found that alcohol contributed to an estimated 5,500 deaths per year, accounting for around 3% of all deaths — making it the fourth leading cause of preventable death after tobacco, physical inactivity, and high body mass.
Alcohol-related hospitalisations are even more striking. In 2019-20, there were over 144,000 alcohol-attributable hospitalisations in Australia — a figure that has remained stubbornly high for years despite public health campaigns. That is roughly one alcohol-related hospital admission every three and a half minutes, around the clock, every day of the year.
The leading causes of alcohol-attributable death include liver disease (cirrhosis, alcoholic hepatitis), cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, alcohol poisoning, and injuries — including road crashes. Alcohol is involved in approximately 30% of fatal road crashes in Australia, according to the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE).
Alcohol and mental health: The relationship runs in both directions. AIHW data shows that people with mental health conditions are more likely to drink at risky levels, and alcohol dependence significantly worsens outcomes for anxiety, depression, and psychosis. Around 1 in 5 Australians who used alcohol treatment services in 2022-23 had a co-occurring mental health condition.
Putting a dollar figure on alcohol-related harm is methodologically contested — it depends on what you include. A landmark 2010 analysis by economists David Collins and Helen Lapsley estimated the social cost at $36 billion per year. More recent work using broader social cost accounting, including intangible costs like pain and suffering, pushes the figure to over $66 billion annually.
The direct, quantifiable costs include:
Against this, the alcohol industry contributes approximately $15.6 billion per year to Australia's GDP and employs roughly 270,000 people directly (Alcohol Beverages Australia). The net economic equation is, depending on what you count, significantly negative — but this is a contested area where industry and public health advocates have very different methodological assumptions.
What Australians spend on alcohol: The ABS Household Expenditure Survey shows the average Australian household spends approximately $32 per week on alcohol — around $1,660 per year. This varies substantially by income and geography, with higher-income households spending more in absolute terms but a smaller proportion of their budget.
Alcohol consumption is not evenly distributed across Australia. The ABS tracks apparent consumption (total alcohol available for consumption divided by adult population) by state and territory.
The Northern Territory sits in a category of its own. In 2021-22, the NT's apparent per capita alcohol consumption was approximately 14.3 litres of pure alcohol per adult — nearly 50% above the national average of 9.5 litres. This reflects both cultural factors and the demographic concentration of Darwin, which has a younger, male-dominated fly-in fly-out workforce in certain industries.
Among the states, South Australia and Tasmania tend to record above-average consumption. Victoria and New South Wales are broadly in line with the national average. The ACT, with its highly educated and relatively affluent population, drinks frequently but often at lower per-session volumes — it has low rates of risky drinking despite above-average overall consumption.
Notably, the Northern Territory's high consumption coexists with a significant proportion of the population who abstain entirely due to cultural or religious reasons. This means the average among those who do drink is even higher than the per capita figure suggests.
One of the genuinely positive trends in Australian alcohol statistics is the behaviour of young people. AIHW NDSHS data stretching back to 2001 shows a sustained, significant decline in drinking among Australians aged 14-24.
In 2001, around 47% of 14-17 year olds had consumed alcohol in the past year. By 2022-23, that figure had dropped to approximately 24% — a more than halving of the rate over two decades. Similar declines are recorded for 18-24 year olds, from around 90% consuming in the past year to closer to 73%.
Researchers attribute this trend to several factors: increased awareness of health risks, the rise of social media reducing peer pressure to drink at social events, changing attitudes to risk-taking among younger generations, and later onset of sexual activity and other risk behaviours that historically correlated with drinking.
The countertrend: While young Australians are drinking less than ever, AIHW data shows alcohol use among Australians aged 50 and over has remained stable or slightly increased over the same period. Older Australians account for a growing share of alcohol-related hospitalisations and deaths — partly due to ageing population dynamics, and partly because the cohort that came of age in the 1970s and 1980s has carried high drinking rates with them into middle and older age.
The relationship between alcohol and cancer is one of the most under-communicated public health facts in Australia. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen — the same category as asbestos and tobacco. There is no safe level of alcohol consumption when it comes to cancer risk.
Alcohol is directly linked to at least seven types of cancer:
The AIHW estimates that alcohol contributes to approximately 3,000 new cancer cases in Australia each year. Breast cancer is the largest single category — accounting for around 1,000 of those cases — reflecting alcohol's carcinogenic effect on oestrogen-sensitive tissue. The risk increases in a dose-response relationship: the more you drink, the higher your risk, with no threshold below which cancer risk is zero.
Only 1 in 3 Australians are aware that alcohol causes cancer, according to Cancer Australia surveys. This compares to awareness rates above 90% for the tobacco-cancer link — despite both substances being classified identically under IARC's framework.
Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) updated its Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol in 2020. The updated guidelines are significantly more conservative than the 2009 version and are based on the most current evidence of alcohol's long-term health risks.
The 2020 guidelines state:
A standard drink in Australia contains 10 grams of pure alcohol. Common examples: a 375mL can of mid-strength beer (3.5% ABV) = 1.0 standard drink; a 375mL can of full-strength beer (4.8% ABV) = 1.4 standard drinks; a 150mL glass of wine (13.5% ABV) = 1.6 standard drinks; a 30mL nip of spirits (40% ABV) = 1.0 standard drink.
FASD: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder affects an estimated 2-3% of Australians — up to 750,000 people — making it the most common cause of non-genetic intellectual disability in the country. It is entirely preventable. Despite this, awareness and diagnosis rates remain low, and the condition is significantly under-resourced in the Australian health system.
According to AIHW's Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services in Australia 2022-23, alcohol is the most common primary drug of concern among people seeking treatment. There were over 97,000 alcohol treatment episodes delivered across Australia in 2022-23 — accounting for 38% of all drug and alcohol treatment activity.
Despite this, demand significantly exceeds supply. The AIHW notes that many people who would benefit from treatment do not access it — due to cost, geography, stigma, or lack of awareness that effective treatments exist. Evidence-based pharmacological treatments, including naltrexone and acamprosate, are available through the PBS but remain underutilised.
Australia's alcohol statistics paint a complex picture. Consumption has been declining overall, particularly among young people. But the absolute harm — in deaths, hospitalisations, and social cost — remains enormous. Alcohol causes around 5,500 deaths per year, 144,000 hospital admissions, 3,000 cancers, and inflicts tens of billions in economic damage.
The NHMRC guidelines are clear and evidence-based: 10 drinks per week maximum, 4 per day maximum, no safe level for cancer risk. How Australia reconciles its culture of drinking with that evidence is one of the more contested public health questions on the national agenda.
For live tracking of health-related government data across Australia, including hospital admissions, drug and alcohol statistics, and public health spending, Tax Pit's health dashboard aggregates official AIHW, ABS, and state government data sources in real time.
How many Australians drink alcohol?
About 76% of Australians aged 14 and over consumed alcohol in the past 12 months, according to the AIHW National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2022-23. Around 40% drink at least weekly.
How many deaths does alcohol cause in Australia each year?
The AIHW estimates alcohol contributed to approximately 5,500 deaths in Australia per year, based on burden of disease analysis. Alcohol is the fourth leading cause of preventable death.
What is Australia's alcohol-related cost to the economy?
Estimates of the total social and economic cost of alcohol in Australia range from $14 billion (direct costs only) to over $66 billion per year when broader social costs including crime, productivity loss, and health expenditure are included.
What are Australia's official alcohol drinking guidelines?
The NHMRC 2020 Australian Guidelines recommend no more than 10 standard drinks per week and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day. For people under 18 and pregnant women, no alcohol is the safest option.
Which state has the highest alcohol consumption in Australia?
The Northern Territory consistently records the highest per capita alcohol consumption in Australia — approximately 14.3 litres of pure alcohol per adult in 2021-22, compared to the national average of around 9.5 litres (ABS).
Is alcohol use increasing or decreasing in Australia?
Overall alcohol consumption has been slowly declining since the mid-2000s, particularly among young people aged 14-24. However, alcohol use among Australians aged 50+ has remained stable or slightly increased over the same period, according to AIHW data.
Tax Pit tracks 500+ live data points across health, economy, crime, housing, and more — sourced directly from Australian government data.
View the Live Dashboard →