ASSAD Number of alcoholic drinks, by age group

Since 1996, there has been a statistically significant increase in the proportion of secondary students surveyed reporting that they had not consumed alcohol in the week prior to the survey (1996: 70.9%; 2017: 90.3%). In 2017, younger students (12-15 years) were significantly more likely to report that they had not consumed alcohol in the last week than older students (16-17 years) (96.0% vs 78.3%, respectively).

The 2009 NHMRC Australian drinking guidelines recommend no alcohol consumption as the safest option for people under 18. 

Please note that this indicator was updated in 2022 and replaces all previous versions. 

The following estimates have a relative standard error between 25% and 50% and should be used with caution:

2017 12-15 year olds who consumed 1 to 5 alcoholic drinks
2011 and 2014 12-15 year olds who consumed 6 or more alcoholic drinks
2017 16-17 year olds who consumed 6 or more alcoholic drinks

The 2017 estimate for 12-15 years old who consumed 6 or more alcoholic drinks has not been published due to a relative standard error greater than 50% or small numbers.

For the purpose of reporting the Australian Secondary Students' Alcohol and Drug survey data on HealthStats, if the 95% confidence intervals of the estimates do not overlap, they are considered to be significantly different.