Standing at Melbourne Airport on 18 November, Foreign Minister Penny Wong unveiled the next phase of Smartraveller’s youth-focused alcohol-awareness drive in partnership with industry body DrinkWise. The ‘Drinking? Drink Mindfully’ campaign targets thousands of Australian school-leavers heading to Bali, Fiji and Thailand for end-of-year celebrations.
Research commissioned by the government shows only 18 per cent of 2023–24 Schoolies travellers were worried about methanol poisoning—a risk implicated in several overseas deaths—while most were more concerned about petty scams or drink-spiking. The new materials feature real-life stories from parents who lost children to tainted alcohol and practical tips on recognising symptoms, avoiding unbranded spirits and accessing consular help.
!['Drink Mindfully': Smartraveller Launches New Alcohol-Safety Campaign for Schoolies Abroad]()
The campaign will run across airports, airline inflight videos, Instagram and TikTok, using QR codes that link directly to Smartraveller advice pages. Parents are encouraged to have ‘the alcohol talk’ before departure; 94 per cent say it is a priority, yet only 69 per cent actually do so.
For corporate travel managers, the initiative reinforces the government’s broader push for duty-of-care education, particularly for interns and graduates on short-term overseas assignments. Companies may wish to embed the campaign’s guidance into pre-departure briefings and emergency-contact protocols.
The partnership expands Smartraveller’s public-health messaging beyond COVID-19 and into behavioural risks, aligning with a global trend of consular services addressing social harms such as spiking and balcony falls.
Research commissioned by the government shows only 18 per cent of 2023–24 Schoolies travellers were worried about methanol poisoning—a risk implicated in several overseas deaths—while most were more concerned about petty scams or drink-spiking. The new materials feature real-life stories from parents who lost children to tainted alcohol and practical tips on recognising symptoms, avoiding unbranded spirits and accessing consular help.
The campaign will run across airports, airline inflight videos, Instagram and TikTok, using QR codes that link directly to Smartraveller advice pages. Parents are encouraged to have ‘the alcohol talk’ before departure; 94 per cent say it is a priority, yet only 69 per cent actually do so.
For corporate travel managers, the initiative reinforces the government’s broader push for duty-of-care education, particularly for interns and graduates on short-term overseas assignments. Companies may wish to embed the campaign’s guidance into pre-departure briefings and emergency-contact protocols.
The partnership expands Smartraveller’s public-health messaging beyond COVID-19 and into behavioural risks, aligning with a global trend of consular services addressing social harms such as spiking and balcony falls.
