Alcohol and other drug treatment services in Australia annual report

People may receive treatment for their own or someone else’s alcohol or drug use (see Key terminology and glossary). Characteristics of all clients are described below, including client’s principal drugs of concern by age group and clients receiving treatment in multiple collection years.  

The Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services (AODTS) collection captures information on treatment services accessed by clients. It does not measure the underlying need for treatment or level of problematic alcohol or drug use in the community. Changes in client numbers may be due to clients’ access to treatment, treatment availability and/or funding available for alcohol and other drug treatment services.

Characteristics of clients

The number of people treated by publicly funded alcohol and other drug treatment agencies increased from 114,436 in 2013–14 to 139,271 in 2020–21. The number of clients increased by 22% over this period and the rate of people accessing services has also increased when taking into consideration population growth; from 564 clients per 100,000 population in 2013–14 to 618 clients per 100,000 population (Figure CLIENTS1, Table SCR.21).

In 2020–21, 131,173 people received treatment for their own alcohol or drug use and a further 13,972 sought treatment in relation to someone else’s alcohol or drug use. A small proportion (4.2% or 5,874 treatment episodes) of clients sought treatment for their own alcohol or drug use as well as for someone else’s alcohol or drug use (Table SCR.27).

Figure CLIENTS1: AODTS clients and treatment episodes, by state and territory, 2013–14 to 2020–21

Client profile

In 2020–21:

• most people (93%) received treatment for their own alcohol or drug use and were likely to be male (64% of clients)
• in contrast, of the 7.4% of people who received treatment for someone else’s alcohol or drug use; almost half were female (46%), with 37% reporting as male (17% reported not stated for sex) (Tables SC.1–2)
• the rate of clients receiving AOD services was highest for those that lived in Very remote areas (1,755 people per 100,000 population) and lowest for those in Major cities (526 per 100,000; Table SCR.29)
• almost 4 in 5 (79%) people received treatment at a single agency, 14% at 2 agencies, and 6.7% of clients received treatment at 3 or more agencies (Table SCR.23).

Age and sex

Clients who received treatment for their own alcohol or drug use tended to be younger than those who received treatment for someone else’s alcohol or drug use.

In 2020–21, client characteristics revealed:

• the majority of all clients were male (62%) and over half (52%) were aged 20–39
• almost two thirds (64%) of people receiving treatment for their own alcohol or drug use were aged under 40, compared with half (52%) of those who sought treatment for someone else’s alcohol or drug use
• people aged 60 and over accounted for 5% of clients who received treatment for their own alcohol or drug use, compared with 10% of clients who sought treatment for someone else’s alcohol or drug use (Figure CLIENTS2, Table SC.3).

Figure CLIENTS2: Proportion of clients by client type, sex and age group (years), 2020–21

Treatment episodes from 2011–12 to 2020–21 revealed:

• the median (midpoint) age for all treatment episodes rose from 33 to 35 years
• for episodes related to another’s alcohol or drug use; clients were generally older than those receiving treatment for their own drug use, with the median age fluctuating from 42 years in 2011–12 down to 39 years in 2014–15, rising to 44 years in 2016–17 and 2017–18, then dropping to 38 years in 2020–21 (Table Ov.2). 

Client service use over multiple years

Nationally, an estimated 470,085 people have sought AOD treatment, receiving one or more treatment episodes since 2016–17 (Figure CLIENTS3; Table SCR.28).

Of these clients, over the 5 years to 2020–21:

• The majority received treatment in a single year (71%):
  • 16% (75,722) of people received treatment for the first time in 2020–21
  • a further 55% (258,904) of people received treatment in only 1 of the 4 collection periods (excluding 2020–21).
• Nearly half (46%) of the 139,300 clients who received treatment in 2020–21 had previously received treatment at some point since 2016–17.

Figure CLIENTS3: Client service use over multiple years, 2016–17 to 2020–21 (per cent)

Clients and drugs of concern

AOD treatment services provide treatment for the client’s drug that is of most concern for them, this is referred to as their principal drug of concern.

Different age groups sought treatment for different principal drugs of concern. For people who received treatment for their own alcohol or drug use in 2020–21:

• Alcohol was the most common principal drug of concern in the older age groups: almost 3 in 5 people aged 50–59 (59%) and over 7 in 10 people aged 60 and over (74%) received treatment for alcohol as a principal drug of concern.
• Cannabis was the most common principal drug of concern in young clients: 3 in 5 people aged 10–19 (60%).
• Amphetamines were the most common principal drug of concern in the middle age groups for those aged 20–29 and 30–39 (27% and 34% respectively) (Figure CLIENTS4, Table SC.10).

Figure CLIENTS4: Clients who received treatment for their own drug use, by age group (years) and principal drug of concern, 2013–14 to 2020–21

The age and sex profiles of the clients for the different principal drugs of concern varied. For people who received treatment for their own alcohol or drug use in 2020–21:

• where heroin was the principal drug of concern, treatment was most common for people aged over 30 (83% of clients). Where people were aged over 30, 35% were aged 30–39 and 34% were aged 40–49 (Table SC.10)
• over half (52%) of all people receiving treatment for codeine as the principal drug of concern were female clients
• males were 6 times more likely to receive treatment for cocaine as a principal drug of concern than females (84% of episodes for males; 15% for females)
• almost three-quarters (74%) of clients receiving treatment for volatile solvents as a principal drug of concern were Indigenous Australians (Table SC.11).

Usual accommodation type for client

The collection of information about a person’s usual type of accommodation where they lived prior to the start of their AOD treatment, enables AOD services to identify people who may be vulnerable, such as those from custodial settings or people at risk of homelessness. This information may help identify people living in a public place or homeless, supporting the ‘no exit to homelessness’ policy where agencies can only discharge a client to safe, stable housing (Department of Social Services 2020).

Usual accommodation type for the client prior to treatment is reported for selected jurisdictions: New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. As data quality improves additional jurisdictional data will be reported. The following analysis includes 59% of all treatment episodes (143,054) (Figure CLIENTS5, Table OV.13).

In 2020–21, treatment episodes reporting the usual accommodation type for AOD clients from New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory revealed in all selected jurisdictions:

• The most common accommodation prior to the start of treatment was an Independent residential accommodation (e.g., private residence, boarding house, private hotel or informal housing).
  • Independent residential accommodation ranged from 59% in the Northern Territory to 87% in Western Australia.
• The Northern Territory reported the highest proportion of episodes with usual accommodation types as custodial (Prison/remand centre/youth training centre) and supported independent living.
• South Australia reported the highest proportion of episodes with usual accommodation types as none/homeless/public place (Figure CLIENTS5; Table OV.13).

Figure CLIENTS5: Treatment episodes by client’s accommodation type prior to treatment service, selected states and territories, 2017–18 to 2020–21