The Easter long weekend is here, and so is the harshest road safety enforcement of the year. Double demerits officially went live across multiple states at 12:01 am this morning. Millions of families are currently packing the car to hit the road. This mass exodus comes just hours after the Prime Minister addressed the nation Wednesday night. He urged Australians to go about their normal holiday routines despite the crushing national fuel crisis. That directive guarantees our regional highways will be absolutely jammed all weekend. Police are bracing for the worst.
If you hold a licence in New South Wales, Western Australia, or the Australian Capital Territory, you are on high alert. The penalty period runs strictly until 11:59 pm on Monday, April 6. The rules are totally unforgiving. Catching a mobile phone offence in NSW or the ACT will cost you 10 demerit points right now. That is an instant licence suspension for Learner and P-plate drivers. Western Australia is pushing even harder. Authorities there apply the double penalty to drink and drug driving, red light running, and radar detector use, according to a detailed guide published ahead of the break.
Things look very different depending on where you cross state lines. Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory do not use a holiday double demerit system. Victoria Police is still throwing every available resource into a massive five-day blitz. Queensland does its own thing. They keep double points active year-round for repeat offenders committing the same crime within a 12-month window.
Double demerits will begin at midnight tonight and stay in force until 11:59pm Monday for the Easter long weekend.
For more information on what police will be targeting during the holiday period: https://t.co/WUYRyp3kkg pic.twitter.com/GGShFCG2kj
— 10 News Sydney (@10NewsSyd) April 1, 2026
The real shift this weekend is the tracking technology watching you. Western Australia just activated a fleet of new safety cameras in January. The results are frankly terrifying. Those lenses have already caught over 60,000 drivers in just a few months. A massive portion of those violations are simple seatbelt offences. You cannot hide from the hardware anymore. Balancing sky-high holiday expenses with a potential traffic fine is a stressful part of modern living. Drive safe, leave your phone alone, and watch your speed.