Australia Day Double Demerits in force from 25-28 January in ACT and NSW

Highway Patrol officers in New South Wales and the ACT will be handing out double demerit points for those caught breaking certain road rules over the Australia Day long weekend.

The double demerits period begins at 00:01 on Thursday 25 January and finishes at 11:59 on Sunday 28 January.

Any motorist caught speeding, drink driving, using their phone while driving, not wearing a seat belt, or not wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle will incur double the number of demerit points.

Twice the points are allocated against your license, but fines remain the same. It means if you get caught exceeding the speed limit by less than 10km/h you will incur two demerit points and a $137 fine, while using a phone while driving will see you slapped with 10 demerits.

Double demerits only apply in NSW and the ACT over the Australia Day long weekend, with WA choosing to exempt this period. Other states and territories do not enforce double demerits over public holidays, though Queensland does use them for repeat offenders.

The next double demerits period will be for the Easter public holiday, between 28 March and 1 April 2024.

The NSW and ACT's second rouble of double demerits for 2024 follows 2023's 7.3 per cent increase of lives lost to 1266 and a devastating start to the year, with 17 people killed on our roads since 1 January [↗].