Alcohol use is responsible for five per cent of all Australian workplace deaths and up to 11 per cent of non-fatal injuries. In addition, the misuse of alcohol costs Australian businesses billions of dollars every year, through lost productivity and employee absenteeism.
If you own or manage a workplace, you can’t afford to turn a blind eye to the effects of alcohol in your workplace. Implementing workplace alcohol testing, as part of a robust drugs and alcohol policy, is a must to protect your business and improve the safety of your employees.
Implementing an effective workplace alcohol testing program
Integrity Sampling can help you implement and manage a workplace alcohol testing program. If you don’t run a 9 to 5 business or have workers on the road or off-site, we can also support you. Our experienced technicians are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year and can conduct testing anywhere that’s required.
Our accredited technicians use only the most modern, accurate and effective equipment available. We can provide virtually instant workplace alcohol testing results, to give you peace of mind that your employees are safe to be at work.
If you’re interested in finding out more about workplace alcohol testing, contact Integrity Sampling for a confidential discussion.
Integrity Sampling can help
50,000+
Number of drug, alcohol and COVID tests conducted by Integrity Sampling each year
40+
Integrity Sampling locations throughout Australia
How is workplace alcohol testing conducted?
Conducting workplace alcohol testing is much the same as roadside alcohol testing.
It involves the use of an alcohol breathalyser. A mouthpiece is inserted into the breathalyser and the person being tested blows into the mouthpiece. The result – the blood alcohol concentration of the person – is displayed on the breathalyser unit.
The whole process is very quick. A new mouthpiece is inserted into the breathalyser and the next person is tested.
What equipment is used to conduct workplace alcohol testing?
Alcohol testing requires a breathalyser to determine a person’s blood alcohol concentration. But not all breathalysers are the same.
Cheaper breathalysers – semiconductor alcohol testing devices that use electric current to estimate blood alcohol level – can be purchased. However, these devices shouldn’t be used for workplace alcohol testing as they are generally inaccurate.
Police forces and reputable workplace alcohol testing providers use fuel cell breathalysers. These are far more accurate than semiconductor breathalysers.
With our exclusive partnership with Dräger, Integrity Sampling uses their breathalysers for all workplace alcohol testing. Specifically, we use the Alcotest 6000, a professional breathalyser that makes workplace alcohol testing quick, easy, convenient and accurate.
Note: No breathalyser is 100% accurate, which is why further testing and analysis is necessary to determine if a person is over the blood alcohol limit.
What does blood alcohol level mean?
Blood alcohol concentration or BAC is a measure of how much alcohol is in the bloodstream. 0.05 is 0.05g of alcohol in every 100ml of blood.
0.05 BAC is the legal limit in most states and territories in Australia, but that’s not the limit for everyone. On the roadside, for example, learners, probationary licence holders, bus drivers, taxi drivers and others generally have a 0.00 legal limit.
Each workplace will have its own rules around BAC, however, like on roadsides in general the 0.05 BAC still applies. However, some workplaces and some work roles require their people to turn up to work at 0.00 because of the inherit safety risks of their jobs. Pilots, truck drivers and explosive handlers are good examples of roles where a zero BAC is generally required.
What consequences do people face for failing workplace alcohol testing?
If you fail roadside alcohol testing you will face the consequences set out by the state or territory where you are driving. However, for workplaces the consequences for failing alcohol testing will depend on the drug and alcohol policy of the individual business.
For high risk roles and workplaces there may be a zero tolerance policy and a failure could result in the person being dismissed. However, in most workplaces dismissal for a first offence is unlikely. A person who fails alcohol testing is like to receive a caution, receive extra education, or get support.
What happens to people who refuse alcohol testing?
Whether its roadside alcohol testing or testing carried out in the workplace, a person can’t be forced to blow into a breathalyser. It’s everyone’s right to refuse alcohol testing.
However, there are consequences. On the roadside, the consequences for refusal will be set out by each state and territory. In workplaces, it will be detailed in the drug and alcohol policy.
Generally, the consequences for refusal are more severe than if a person takes the test and fails. That’s why the general advice is not to refuse alcohol testing.
How long does alcohol stay in the system?
Determining how long alcohol can stay in the system can be complex as there are many factors that need for be considered. For example:
- The sex of the person.
- The person’s weight.
- Other individual factors.
- Whether the person has eaten recently.
It can also be difficult to determine exactly how much alcohol is consumed.
A standard drink contains around 10 grams of alcohol. If you’re drinking from a can or bottle, the label will show you how many standard drinks it contains. However, hotels, restaurants and other licensed venues won’t always serve alcohol in standard size glasses. A glass of wine can be anywhere from 1 to 2 standard drinks and sometimes even more.
DrinkWise has a calculator that can be used as a guide to determine standard drink amounts.
As a general guide:
- One standard drink per hour will raise the BAC by approximately 0.01 to 0.03.
- The body will generally metabolise 0.01 BAC, or one standard drink, per hour.
There are online blood alcohol concentration calculators you can use to help determine BAC over a given period. However, these calculators should only be used as a rough guide and never be relied upon to determine if it is safe to drive or go to work.
Can alcohol metabolism be sped up?
There is only one thing that can reduce a person’s blood alcohol concentration after consuming alcohol and that’s time.
There are many urban myths of ways to speed up the processing of alcohol in the body. Sleeping, cold showers, drinking water or coffee, fresh air and exercise for example. However, none of these things will work. Time is the only answer.
Do bodies build a tolerance to alcohol?
It is true that people can build a tolerance to alcohol. A person who drinks a lot may be able to drink larger quantities than a person who doesn’t, without feeling or appearing intoxicated.
However, how a person feels or appears isn’t a good guide to alcohol concentration. A person may feel or appear perfectly normal after 2 or 3 drinks, but that doesn’t mean their blood alcohol concentration will be below the legal limit. And it doesn’t mean they’re not affected by alcohol. Side effects – such as slower reflexes and reactions, poor judgement, reduced coordination and impaired vision – may still be present.
Choose workplace alcohol testing to improve safety in your workplace
Why should you implement a rigorous alcohol testing program in your workplace? While safety is the main benefit, a drug and alcohol testing program can also benefit productivity, absenteeism and other areas of your business.
At Integrity Sampling, we understand the importance of safeguarding your workplace and maintaining compliance with industry standards.
Drug and alcohol testing methodology
Pre-employment drug and alcohol testing
Testing is conducted before employment or prior to a promotion.
Cause drug and alcohol testing
Cause testing is used when an employee’s fitness for work is questioned.
Incident drug and alcohol testing
Testing is undertaken following an incident, accident or near miss.
Random drug and alcohol testing
Random drug and alcohol testing is implemented on any given day or time.
Frequently asked questions about workplace drug testing
Yes, alcohol testing can be conducted without notice — as long as it’s clearly outlined in your workplace’s drug and alcohol policy. Unannounced or random testing is a widely used and effective strategy for ensuring a safe work environment, helping to deter alcohol use during or before shifts, regardless of the time of day or night. To be compliant, it’s essential that employees are made aware of the possibility of random testing through a well-communicated policy.
Cheaper breathalysers can deliver unreliable results in extreme conditions — but not the high-quality Dräger breathalysers used by Integrity Sampling. These devices feature a proven electrochemical Dräger sensor, known for its precision and reliability. Even in challenging environments — from -5°C to +50°C — the analysis remains accurate and consistent.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer — the legal limit for alcohol in the workplace depends on your specific workplace and industry. While many employers adopt the 0.05% limit familiar from road rules, some safety-sensitive environments enforce a strict zero-tolerance policy. To stay safe and compliant, it’s essential to understand and follow your workplace’s specific alcohol and drug policy.
It takes about one hour for your body to process one standard drink. However, this can vary depending on factors like your sex, body size, how much you’ve eaten, and your overall health. The type and amount of alcohol you consume also matter — cocktails and generous pours can contain far more than one standard drink. Because of these variables, it’s safest to limit your alcohol intake and allow plenty of time before driving or working, especially if alcohol testing is a possibility. See this post for more details.
While alcohol testing results are known straight away, it’s important not to jump to conclusions. The equipment used by Integrity Sampling is extremely accurate, however, confirmation testing must be completed. In the case of alcohol tests, this involves a secondary test using a breathalyser, 20 minutes after the non-negative result.
How often a workplace should conduct drug and alcohol testing depends on the industry, risk level, and company policy. High-risk sectors like construction, transport, and mining may require regular random testing to maintain safety and compliance. Other businesses might not conduct random testing and test for pre-employment, post-incident, and under suspicion. Regular reviews of your testing frequency—guided by risk assessments and expert advice—help ensure your program remains effective, fair, and aligned with legal and safety obligations.
While you can ask employers to undertake testing, you can’t force them. This is why it’s important to include in your drug and alcohol policy what happens when someone refuses a test. Generally, a refusal is considered a breach of policy and the consequences can be the same – and in some cases harsher – as if the person took the test and failed. See this post for further details.
Implementing drug and alcohol testing for the first time can be daunting and there are a lot of questions to be answered. For example, will you use saliva or urine samples, what will be the consequences for positive results and who will conduct the testing? For more guidance on how to implement drug and alcohol testing in your workplace, please see our resource page on the subject.
The process for workplace drug and alcohol testing is very quick and only takes a minute or two for each test. For workplace drug testing using saliva samples it’s slightly slower, but still quick and easy. Results are generally obtained in around five minutes.
Integrity Sampling uses Dräger drug and alcohol testing equipment for all its workplace testing. This equipment is extremely precise and reliable. In the case of our drug testing equipment, it’s been independently evaluated to be greater than 99% accurate. For alcohol testing, the breathalysers we use have been proven worldwide over millions of tests. It’s also important to note that any non-negative result must be confirmed, in the case of drug tests by independent laboratory analysis. See this post for more details.