Overview
The Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services National Minimum Data Set (AODTS-NMDS), is the national data collection for services that provide a range of treatment services for clients with drug and alcohol dependencies. A proportion of Indigenous clients are represented within the scope of the AODTS-NMDS, however services targeted to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients, such as Australian Government-funded Indigenous substance use services and Aboriginal primary health care services, are not under the jurisdiction of a state or territory health authority and consequently are not covered by the AODTS-NMDS.
Information on Indigenous clients receiving treatment for alcohol and other drugs can be sourced from the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services NMDS (AODTS-NMDS), as well as the Drug and Alcohol Service Report (DASR) and the Service Activity Report (SAR).
On this page
Alcohol and Other Drug treatment Service National Minimum Data Set (AODTS-NMDS)
In 2004-05, there were 142,144 closed treatment episodes reported in the AODTS-NMDS. Approximately 10% of these were for clients who identified as being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin. This proportion is greater than the representation of Indigenous people in the total Australian population aged 10 years and over (2.1%).
Generally, there was little difference between the proportion of treatment episodes for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander males and females in each age group.
There were almost twice as many treatment episodes for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander males aged 10-19 years as non-Indigenous males in the same age group who sought treatment for alcohol and drug dependency. This pattern was similar for females, but not so marked. Treatment episodes involving clients older than 40 years were less common for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients than for other clients.
There were 1,300 closed treatment episodes reported in the AODTS-NMDS that were also reported in the Drug and Alcohol Service Report (DASR) and Service Activity Report (SAR). Approximately 92% of these episodes were for clients who identified as being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin.
Drug and Alcohol Service Report (DASR)
In 2004-05, 41 services reported to the Drug and Alcohol Service Report (DASR), 6 of these also reported under the AODTS-NMDS. The DASR is coordinated by the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (OATSIH) in the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA), and collects information from all Australian Government-funded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander substance use specific services.
In this period an estimated 27,600 clients were seen by Australian Government-funded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander substance use specific services. Approximately 78% of these clients (21,528) identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin. Male clients of Australian Government-funded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander substance use specific services were more likely to seek residential/rehabilitation and sobering up services compared to females. There was no real difference between the sexes for clients of other treatment services, which include counselling, therapy and preventative services.
Service Activity Report (SAR)
In 2004-05, there were 143 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care services receiving Australian Government Funding that reported to the Service Activity Reporting (SAR), jointly coordinated by National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) and OATSIH. Of these services, 9 also reported to the AODTS-NMDS.
The SAR does not collect data on client numbers or the number of episodes of care related to alcohol or other drug treatments provided by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care services.
Of all the agencies that reported to the SAR in 2003-04, 89% provided alcohol treatment services, 84% provided tobacco treatment services, 82% provided cannabis treatment services, 47% provided treatment services for petrol inhalation and 44% of agencies provided methadone treatment services.
Further information
For more general information on alcohol and drug treatment services, go to Alcohol and other drugs.