One man is fighting for his life, several others were stabbed and police were assaulted as some New Year's Eve celebrations got out of control around Australia.
Overall, however, revellers mostly steered clear of trouble and police have praised their behaviour.
While 1.6 million people lined Sydney Harbour for the spectacular fireworks display, a man suffered life threatening injuries to his face and head when he tried to light his own.
An explosion occurred when the 29-year-old man attempted to light the fireworks at Sans Souci and he was taken to hospital in a critical condition.
And two teenage girls were injured after illegal fireworks were detonated at Lorne in Victoria.
Incidents and arrests in Sydney's CBD were down from previous years, with 31 people arrested at hot spots for celebrations.
"Sydney's New Year's Eve celebrations are widely regarded as some of the best in the world, so we were pleased to see Sydneysiders living up to that reputation and acting responsibly," Assistant Commissioner Mick Fuller said.
Two men, aged 32 and 37, were arrested at St Clair in Sydney's west over the alleged assault of a police officer.
In Perth, four people were charged with assaulting a police officer, while a further 12 people were charged with assault across the city throughout the night.
In Queensland, celebrations were pretty peaceful and uneventful, police commissioner Ian Stewart said.
There were 636 people arrested overnight, including 172 for liquor offences, but the figure wasn't out of the ordinary.
"That's pretty much in keeping with what we've seen in previous years," Mr Stewart said on Thursday.
But two men, aged 35 and 36, were taken to hospital on the Gold Coast with non-life-threatening stab wounds after getting into a fight around Lakes Circuit at Burleigh Waters.
In Victoria, more than 100 of the 184 arrests were made for drunken behaviour, while a 17-year-old and 19-year-old were stabbed in a street brawl in Ballarat.
About half a million people gathered to watch fireworks in Melbourne but among the festivities, 11 people were arrested for public drunkenness.
"Given the high number of people out and about overnight, the results indicate only a small percentage of people did the wrong thing," Deputy Commissioner Lucinda Nolan said.
In South Australia, three prisoners took the opportunity to break out from Port Augusta's jail.
Police recaptured two of them, but Howard Clyde Weetra, 24, is still on the run, last seen wearing green trousers and a maroon top.
At public events, large crowds remained responsible, according to SA police.
Overall, 122 people were arrested across the state with one 36-year-old man accused of assaulting four people in Adelaide just before midnight.
ACT police also praised crowd behaviour in Canberra where five people were arrested.
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