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Alcohol

International Students Living in Australia

Alcohol and the Law

  If a person is under 18 years of age they are breaking the law if they:

  • Buy alcohol
  • Receive or have alcohol in their possession
  • Drink alcohol in a hotel, licenced premises or public place (for example in the street, park) 
  • In some States you are permitted to consume alcohol in a licenced premises if you are with a parent or guardian.

There are laws governing how alcohol may be used:

  • Hotels or licenced premises must not serve people they believe are intoxicated or drunk.
  • In some places it is illegal to drink in public – like in the street or at a park.
  • It is illegal to give someone under 18 years of age alcohol unless it is given by a parent, guardian, husband or wife.
  • It is illegal to buy alcohol for someone under the age of 18 years.  

Binge Drinking

Alcohol is produced by fermentation – the reaction of yeast on liquids containing sugars and starches. In Australia, alcohol is the most widely used recreational drug.

Alcohol is absorbed into the blood stream of a person through the intestine and stomach.
If a person drinks a lot during the night, there may still be a high level of alcohol in their bloodstream the next day.

You can overdose on alcohol which can lead to a person vomiting, falling into a coma, nausea and a loss of bladder control.

When a person drink a lot of alcohol over a short period of time or continues to drink over  number of days this is termed binge drinking.

Mixing alcohol and drugs (including medicines) can be very dangerous – the effects of one drug may effect the other or even hide the effects of one of the drugs. A person may think they are alright without really knowing what is happening in their body.