Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has apologised after revealing her husband, Yorick Piper, was caught drink-driving in Bendigo, saying the incident left her “disappointed and embarrassed”.
Premier Allan said her husband Piper, was driving to a supermarket on Thursday morning when he rear-ended another vehicle at an intersection. The drivers were not injured and exchanged details at the scene before Mr Piper was later pulled over for a random roadside breath test.
She said the breath test returned a reading of 0.05, and Mr Piper was issued with an on-the-spot fine and a three-month licence suspension due to take effect from 16 January 2026.
Speaking publicly on Friday, Premier Allan said the family had been at a local pub the night before to celebrate their son’s birthday. She said Mr Piper was taking medication and believed it may have interacted with alcohol consumed the previous evening, and that he should not have driven the following morning.
“Drink driving is an incredibly serious issue,” Ms Allan said, adding that she was “shocked” when told what had happened.
Ms Allan said she and her husband had made a $1,000 donation to Amber Community, a Victorian not-for-profit that provides counselling, support and education programs for people affected by road trauma. The Transport Accident Commission has previously noted Amber Community’s role in supporting Victorians impacted by road trauma through counselling and road safety education.
Victoria’s road rules require most fully licenced drivers to remain under a 0.05 blood alcohol concentration, with zero-BAC rules applying to learner and probationary drivers and several other categories.
The incident has sparked renewed attention on the risks of driving after drinking, including the way alcohol can linger into the next day and the added dangers when combined with some medications.
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