Overview

Alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment services assist people to address their drug use. Treatment objectives can include reduction or cessation of drug use as well as improvements to social and personal functioning. Assistance may also be provided to support the family and friends of people using drugs.

More reports and statistics on AOD treatment services can be found under Alcohol, Illicit use of drugs and Smoking.

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Latest findings

Just over 1 in 10 pharmacotherapy clients (12% or 5,715) identified as being Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander

The median age of opioid pharmacotherapy clients was 44 years

On average, 17.8 opioid pharmacotherapy clients were treated by each prescriber

Where amphetamines were reported as the principal drug of concern, 78% of episodes were for methamphetamines only

Counselling was the most common AOD treatment type, accounting for almost 2 in 5 (38%) closed treatment episodes

Highlights

47,563 clients received opioid pharmacotherapy treatment for opioid drug dependence from authorised prescribers across Australia in 2021 (excluding Queensland)
2,673authorised prescribers provided opioid pharmacotherapy treatment across Australia in 2021 (excluding Queensland)
38% of treatment episodes were counselling, the most common AOD treatment type
242,094treatment episodes were provided by AOD treatment agencies in 2020–21
Over 2 in 3opioid pharmacotherapy clients were male in 2021. The median age of opioid pharmacotherapy clients was 44 years
138,726 clients received alcohol and other drug treatment in 2020–21
The most common drugsthat led clients to seek AOD treatment were alcohol, amphetamines, cannabis, and heroin
1,278 publicly fundedalcohol and other drug treatment agencies provided services to clients in 2020–21