Twenty-three drunk people were taken into police custody during New Year's Eve celebrations in Canberra, police saying crowd behaviour was poor in the city.
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Twenty-six exclusion directions were issued to people for violent conduct.
Police said they responded to "numerous fights and incidents of alcohol-related violence resulting in injuries".
But a crowd of about 30,000 people around Lake Burley Griffin, gathered to watch the 9pm fireworks, was generally well-behaved.
Two young people were caught with alcohol and later released to their parents, while authorities were at capacity managing the welfare of intoxicated people in Civic.
Four drink drivers were identified from 310 roadside breath tests. One person returned a reading of 0.141, well above the legal limit of 0.05 grams of alcohol in 210 litres of breath.
ACT Policing Detective Acting Inspector Shane Mundie said the behaviour in Canberra's city centre marked a poor start to 2023.
"Police are disappointed with the high number of extremely intoxicated members of the community we observed last night, particularly those who were unable to look after themselves," Detective Acting Inspector Mundie said.
"ACT Policing officers, as well as members of the ACT Ambulance Service and the Sobering Up Shelter, were at capacity managing the welfare of intoxicated people.
"General crowd behaviour in the city was poor, with police responding to numerous fights and incidents of alcohol-related violence resulting in injuries."
Detective Acting Inspector Mundie said what police saw on Saturday night and early on Sunday morning was concerning after several quieter New Year's celebrations as a result of pandemic restrictions.
"There will be some people waking up this morning feeling very sore and sorry for themselves, and some will be facing a court date to answer criminal charges," he said in a statement.
This year's celebrations was the first since 2019 without COVID-19 restrictions, with crowd restrictions and travel bans dropped.
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About 30,000 people gathered around Lake Burley Griffin to watch the 9pm firework display but crowds dropped significantly before the midnight show, police said.
"While a number of young people were spoken with regarding underage drinking - police are making inquiries regarding possible further actions - no arrests were made, and the lakeside crowd was generally well behaved," police said in a statement.
Meanwhile, more than a million people are estimated to have watched the Sydney firework displays from the Harbour Bridge.
In Melbourne, an estimated 450,000 revellers went into the CBD to watch a fireworks display set off from a record 30 rooftops in the biggest celebration since the outbreak of the pandemic.
- with AAP
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
