When drinking

Teens don’t need to drink alcohol to have a good time at Schoolies, and not all of them do chose to drink. It’s important to set clear rules and expectations around alcohol early on, and to also talk through strategies to help your teen feel comfortable in situations where they might feel pressured to do something they don’t want to do.

Alcohol during Schoolies

As a parent/guardian, you may think you are keeping your underage teen safe by providing them with a limited supply of alcohol but this isn’t always true. Not only can it be dangerous, it is illegal for you to supply alcohol to a minor in an unsupervised situation and you can be fined up to $10,676.

Top ten discussion points for the teen who chooses to drink alcohol at Schoolies:

1. it is illegal to drink alcohol at Schoolies under the age of 18
2. it’s an offence to supply alcohol to someone under the age of 18 – your teen could face fines of up to $10,444
3. it is illegal to drink in public and to be drunk in a public place – no matter what their age. These are the laws for all of Queensland - not just during Schoolies
4. under 18’s can’t carry alcohol in public (even if they’re holding it for a mate whilst he does up his shoe lace)
5. it’s okay to say no – if they think they’ve had too much or don’t want to drink at all, just say no
6. avoid mixing alcohol and medication (or any type of drug) - the side effects could be very serious
7. take it in turns to have one sober friend every night
8. give your body a break - just because it’s Schoolies doesn’t mean they have to drink every night (the human body is not designed to party for seven straight nights)
9. when out and about, if they (or a friend) have had too much to drink, they can always ask a Safer Schoolies volunteer for assistance
10. balconies can become very dangerous after drinking alcohol – stay well away from them if under the influence.