Yes, if you are driving in Western Australia. The Road Safety Commission lists Friday 25 to Monday 28 September as the double demerit period for the King's Birthday long weekend, and Yahoo News Australia reported on 25 September that WA Police will be out across the state targeting speeding, alcohol and drug impairment, distraction, fatigue and failure to wear restraints.
Nowhere else has double demerits this weekend. The same report lists none in Victoria, NSW, the ACT, Tasmania, South Australia or the Northern Territory. NSW and the ACT move to double demerits the following weekend, from 2 October to 5 October, for the Labour Day long weekend.
Which WA offences carry double points this weekend?
The Road Safety Commission's list is short and specific. During the period, double demerits apply to speeding, drink or drug driving, failing to correctly wear a seatbelt or child restraint, running a red light, and illegal use of a mobile phone while driving. Driving a vehicle fitted with a device designed to evade a speed camera, or driving in a manner meant to evade one, is listed at 14 points during the period.
Transport WA says the points attached to an offence normally sit anywhere from 1 to 7, and that the allocation for some offences doubles over long weekends and holiday seasons. The Commission's page talks about points only. It says nothing about fines doubling, so do not assume the dollar amount changes.
One local exception matters if you live in the Pilbara. The Commission leaves the City of Karratha and the Town of Port Hedland out of this period, because those two areas observed their King's Birthday long weekend on Monday 3 August.
Why one doubled offence can end a novice licence in WA
Western Australia treats you as a novice driver until you have held a licence for at least 2 years. Transport WA says that includes a first time learner's permit holder, a provisional licence holder, and a driver from interstate or overseas who has not held a licence for two years.
The limits are far lower than for a full licence. A novice's learner's permit or provisional licence may be suspended or disqualified at 4 or more demerit points before the end of the first year of the provisional licence, and at 8 or more before the end of the second year. A full licence holder is served an Excessive Demerit Points Notice at 12 or more points within three years.
Here is the arithmetic, using a round number rather than any particular offence. An offence worth 2 points on an ordinary weekend is worth 4 this weekend. For a novice driver in the first year, that single offence reaches the limit on its own. A full licence holder would need three of the same offence to reach 12. The doubling is the same for everyone, but the threshold it runs into is not.
The standing P plate rules apply on top of all this. Transport WA requires a blood alcohol content of 0.00% on P plates, no driving between midnight and 5am for the first 6 months of a provisional licence (with exemptions for travel to or from work or study), and only one passenger at all times on red P plates, a rule in force since 1 December 2024.
Victoria has no double demerits, but testing is up
Victoria does not use double demerits for the AFL grand final long weekend. Victoria Police announced on 23 September that Operation Scoreboard runs from 12:01am Friday 25 September to 11:59pm Monday 28 September, with a heavy focus on roadside alcohol and drug testing.
The figures in that release explain why. Since 2022, police detected 571 drivers over the alcohol limit and 412 with drugs in their system across grand final long weekends, including 156 drink drivers and 100 drug drivers in 2025 alone. The release also counts 74 collisions over grand final weekends where the driver was impaired by alcohol, drugs or both. Road Policing Assistant Commissioner Mick Hermans told drivers to "expect to be tested" anywhere, anytime.
Police added that the long weekend falls in the school holidays, so officers will also be on the major roads out to regional areas, and they asked anyone heading away to stick to the speed limits, take plenty of breaks and avoid distractions.
NSW and the ACT: double demerits next weekend
If you drive in New South Wales or the Australian Capital Territory, nothing changes this weekend. Yahoo News Australia reports that NSW and ACT motorists face double demerits from 2 October to 5 October, the Labour Day long weekend. South Australia marks Labour Day and Queensland the King's Birthday on the same Monday, 5 October, though the report names double demerits for NSW and the ACT only.
Demerit limits for learners differ between jurisdictions, so the number that matters depends on where your licence was issued. Points picked up interstate are a separate question again. Transport WA says demerit points from another Australian jurisdiction are not recorded against a WA licence, although the infringement itself still has to be paid.
What this means for learners
If you hold a WA learner's permit, you count as a novice driver under Transport WA's rules, so a single doubled offence this weekend can take you to the limit of 4 and put your permit at risk of suspension. Keep the phone out of reach, check every seatbelt before the car moves, and treat each posted speed limit as the most you may do rather than a target.
The offences on the double list are the same ones the WA theory test keeps returning to: phones, seatbelts, speed and alcohol. Working through the WA question sections on those topics before a long weekend drive is a quick way to check you know the exact rule rather than a rough version of it.
If you are supervising a learner in Victoria this weekend, expect a breath or drug test at any stop and plan the drive around it. Victoria Police says drink drivers on grand final weekend were most often caught between 4pm and 2am.
In NSW and the ACT, this is a normal weekend for demerits. If you are logging hours, it is a good one to get them in before double demerits start on 2 October.
Practise the rules in this story
Sources
Every figure, date and quotation above comes from one of these pages, each opened and read on the day shown.
- Yahoo News Australia, Aussies warned of double demerits as more drivers caught by sophisticated road camerasPublished , read
- Road Safety Commission, Government of Western Australia, Double demeritsPublished , read
- Victoria Police, Police to tackle drink and drug drivers this grand final weekendPublished , read
- Transport WA, Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure, Driving on your P PlatesRead
- Transport WA, Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure, Demerit pointsRead
How this story is kept honest
News here is written from the agency or police release where there is one, and from a named outlet where there is not. No figure, name or quotation appears without a source listed above. Rules change, so check the agency page before you rely on a date or a limit.