Queensland high school graduates have descended on the Gold Coast, for the annual schoolies celebration. A small army of police, paramedics and volunteers are there to keep them safe but organisers say revellers seem to be getting "better behaved", each year.
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00:00 In Surfers Paradise, the party started well before lunch.
00:08 This group of mates from Toowoomba are some of the estimated 20,000 teenagers taking over
00:13 the Gold Coast for Schoolies 2023.
00:15 Drink, drink, drink.
00:16 Go to the beach party, go to the clubs.
00:20 I want to remember it, so I won't go too hard.
00:23 First stop, collecting wristbands, their ticket to the nightly Schoolies-only beach party.
00:29 Then time to check into the hotel and say goodbye to mum and dad.
00:33 Nervous, yeah, excited for them.
00:35 Hope they have a great time.
00:37 Anxious parents, fear not.
00:39 One thousand volunteers are on hand to help.
00:41 And at a makeshift emergency department on the beachfront, a team of paramedics, doctors,
00:46 nurses and mental health specialists are ready to treat around 100 people each night.
00:51 We're seeing less and less high-level drunk behaviours at school-leavers' events.
00:57 Unfortunately we are seeing a slight increase in illicit substance taking.
01:01 Policing a week-long party isn't cheap.
01:02 It costs the government $2 million to keep the celebration safe.
01:06 And that doesn't include the extra 120 officers called in from around the state.
01:11 They've had 12 or 13 years of school.
01:14 They need a week to unwind and we want to make that a great experience for them.
01:18 We've all got that one friend, so look out for him or her.
01:21 Lawyer.
01:22 This fella right here.
01:25 Their first taste of freedom before entering the workforce or starting higher education.
01:29 We'll figure it out next year.
01:30 It's a later problem.
01:31 Yeah.
01:31 I don't need a problem.
01:33 [BLANK_AUDIO]