Guide · 5 min read
Double demerits: when and where they apply
Four of Australia's eight states and territories double demerit points, and they do not do it the same way. NSW, the ACT and WA double them over long weekends and holiday periods; Queensland doubles them all year, but only for a repeat offence. Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory publish no double demerit periods. Here is how each works, from the governments' own notices.
State by state
| State | When | Which offences |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | Long weekends and holiday periods, announced before each one | Speeding, illegal mobile phone use, seatbelt and motorcycle helmet offences |
| ACT | Public holiday periods, often the same days as NSW | Speeding, seatbelt, mobile phone and helmet offences doubled; every other traffic offence carries one extra point |
| Western Australia | Long weekends and holiday seasons | Some offences, including speeding, seatbelts and mobile phones |
| Queensland | All year round, for a repeat offence within a year | Repeat mobile phone, seatbelt, speeding and motorcycle helmet offences |
| Victoria, SA, Tasmania, NT | None | Their demerit pages list no double demerit periods |
From Transport for NSW, the NSW Government, ACT Policing, the Department of Transport WA, the Queensland Government and Victoria Legal Aid, checked on 28 October 2026.
NSW and the ACT: the holiday periods
NSW announces each period shortly before it starts, and it covers the whole long weekend or holiday stretch, from midnight at the start to 11.59 pm on the last day. The ACT's periods are set around its public holidays and often match NSW's: Anzac Day 2024 ran from 24 to 28 April in both.
In the ACT the rule goes one step further than in NSW: speeding, seatbelt, mobile phone and helmet offences carry double points, and every other traffic offence committed in the period carries one extra point.
| Period | NSW double demerits |
|---|---|
| Christmas and New Year 2025–26 | From midnight on the night of 22 December 2025 to Sunday 4 January 2026 |
| Australia Day 2026 | Friday 23 to Monday 26 January |
| Anzac Day 2026 | Friday 24 April (from midnight) to 11.59 pm Monday 27 April, with Anzac Day on a Saturday and a public holiday on the Monday |
The last three periods for which Transport for NSW and the NSW Government published dates, as examples of how long they run. The next ones are announced before each holiday.
Western Australia
WA doubles the points for some offences, including speeding, seatbelts and driving while using a mobile phone, over long weekends and holiday seasons. Normally an offence carries 1 to 7 points; in the 2025–26 summer period, which ran until 4 January 2026, a seatbelt offence carried 8 points, a mobile phone offence started at 6 and running a red light carried 6.
Queensland: all year, for repeat offences
Queensland has no holiday periods. Instead, double demerit points apply all year round for certain repeat mobile phone, seatbelt, speeding and motorcycle helmet offences committed within a year of the previous one. A first offence carries the normal points, whatever the date.
If your licence is from another state
Demerit points from an offence interstate go back to your own licence through a national register. Victoria is the clear case: according to Victoria Legal Aid, VicRoads applies the points a Victorian driver would have got for the same offence in Victoria, and because Victoria has no double demerits, only single points are added. It could change that only by publishing the change in the Victoria Government Gazette.
For licences from other states, check with your own licensing authority how it records points from an interstate offence.
Crashes on the corridors now 2
Crashes, hazards and closures in Australian Capital Territory: Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY-SA 4.0) is not responding. Entries there may be missing.
- Princes HighwayCrash
Crash, tow truck allocated, Princes Freeway on the Princes Highway
Since Wed 28 Oct, 9:01 pm AEDT
Tow truck allocated by the Accident Allocation Centre on Princes Freeway near Werribee Main Rd, Werribee · No lanes reported blocked: proceed with caution
Department of Transport and Planning, Victoria · VIC · updated 52 min ago
- Hume HighwayCrash
Crash: 2 cars on the Hume Highway, at Como Road Greenacre
Since Wed 28 Oct, 9:43 pm AEDT
Hume Highway at Como Road Greenacre · Reduce your speed
Live Traffic NSW (Transport for NSW) · NSW · updated 9 min ago
Everything on the Pacific Motorway →Everything on the Hume Highway →Everything on the Bruce Highway →Everything on the Monash Freeway →Everything on the West Gate Freeway →Everything on the Princes Highway →Everything on the Newell Highway →Everything on the Pacific Highway →
Questions
- When are double demerits in NSW?
- Over long weekends and holiday periods, such as Christmas and New Year, Australia Day, Anzac Day and other long weekends. NSW announces the exact dates shortly before each one; a period runs from midnight at the start to 11.59 pm on the last day.
- Which offences attract double demerits?
- In NSW: speeding, illegal mobile phone use, seatbelt and motorcycle helmet offences. In the ACT, the same, plus one extra point for every other traffic offence in the period. In WA, some offences including speeding, seatbelts and mobile phones. In Queensland, repeat mobile phone, seatbelt, speeding and helmet offences within a year.
- Does Victoria have double demerits?
- No. Victoria has no double demerit periods, and Victoria Legal Aid says VicRoads adds only single points for an interstate offence committed by a Victorian licence holder during another state's double demerit period.
- Do double demerits apply in Queensland during holidays?
- Not as a holiday rule. Queensland's double demerits apply all year to a repeat mobile phone, seatbelt, speeding or helmet offence committed within a year of the previous one.
- Are there double demerits in South Australia, Tasmania or the Northern Territory?
- Their governments' demerit point pages list no double demerit periods.
Live now
Sources
- Double demerits now in force (22 December 2025)· Transport for NSW
- Double demerits in effect this long weekend (23 April 2026)· NSW Government
- Double demerit reminder following disappointing Easter period (23 April 2024)· ACT Policing
- Demerit points· Department of Transport WA
- Summer holiday road safety reminder as double demerits take effect (19 December 2025)· WA Government
- Demerit points schedule· Queensland Government
- Demerit points and driving interstate· Victoria Legal Aid
- Demerit points· Department of State Growth, Tasmania
- Demerit points· Northern Territory Government