Indigenous Australians

In 2020–21, Indigenous Australians accounted for 17% (24,328) of people aged 10 and over receiving treatment or support for their own or someone else’s alcohol or other drug use (Table SCR.26).

Nationally, the rate of Indigenous Australian people receiving treatment remains high:

  • in 2020–21, Indigenous Australians were more than 6 times as likely to receive treatment for alcohol or drug use as non-Indigenous Australians after adjusting for differences in age-structure (3,462 per 100,000 compared with 534 per 100,000) (age standardised rate ratio for clients aged 10 and over)
  • the rate of Indigenous Australians receiving treatment for alcohol or drug use fluctuated over time; from 2,829 per 100,000 people in 2013–14 to 3,581 in 2020–21 (crude rate for clients aged 10 and over) (Figure CLIENTS3, Table SCR.26).

Figure INDIGENOUS1: Estimated number and rate of clients, by Indigenous status, 2013–14 to 2020–21

The line graph shows that the age-standardised rate of clients was consistently higher for Indigenous Australians than non-Indigenous Australians across the period 2013–14 to 2020-21. In 2020–21, the age-standardised rate of clients was 3,462 per 100,000 population for Indigenous Australians compared with 534 per 100,000 for non-Indigenous Australians. A filter allows the user to view data for age-standardised rate, crude rate or number of clients.

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Client profile

In 2020–21:

  • one in 6 (18% or 22,702) people who received treatment for their own alcohol or drug use were Indigenous Australians aged 10 and over
  • around 1 in 10 (8.5% or 883) people who sought treatment for someone else’s alcohol or drug use were Indigenous Australians
  • just over 3 in 5 (61%) Indigenous clients were male and just under 2 in 5 (39%) were female
  • over 7 in 10 (74%) Indigenous clients were aged 10 to 40 years
  • Indigenous status was not reported for 5.5% of clients (Figure CLIENTS4, tables SC.5-SC.8, table SC.11).

Figure INDIGENOUS2: Proportion of Indigenous Australians by sex and age group (10 years and over), 2020–21

The butterfly bar chart shows that the most common age group for both male and female Indigenous Australian clients in 2020–21 was 20–29 (30% of both males and females), followed by 30–39 (28% of males and 29% of females).

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Principal drug of concern

The main principal drugs of concern that led Indigenous Australians to seek treatment were alcohol (34%), amphetamines (25%), cannabis (24%), heroin (4.5%) and volatile solvents (1.2%) (Figure CLIENTS5, Table SC.11).

Nationally, the rate of Indigenous Australians receiving treatment for alcohol decreased from 1,299 people per 100,000 in 2013–14 to 1,260 in 2020–21 (crude rate). Over the same period, the rate of Indigenous Australians receiving treatment for amphetamines increased 1.5-fold, from 399 people per 100,000 to 981 people per 100,000.

In 2020–21, after adjusting for differences in age-structure, Indigenous Australians were:

  • Eight times as likely to receive treatment for heroin (age standardised rate ratio) as non-Indigenous Australians (200 per 100,000 compared with 25 per 100,000).
  • Seven times as likely to receive treatment for alcohol or amphetamines as non-Indigenous Australians.
  • Six times as likely to receive treatment for cannabis as non-Indigenous Australians (Figure CLIENTS5, Table SCR. 26).

Figure INDIGENOUS3: Proportion and rate of Indigenous Australian AODTS clients, by principal drug of concern, 2013–14 to 2020–21

The visualisation includes 2 charts. The top chart is a stacked horizontal bar chart that shows the most common principal drug of concern among Indigenous Australian clients in 2020–21 was alcohol (35%), followed by amphetamines (25%). The bottom chart is a line chart that shows that alcohol has remained the most common principal drug of concern among Indigenous Australian clients across the period 2013–14. Two filters for the bottom chart allow the user to view data for Indigenous or non-Indigenous clients and as a crude or age-standardised rate.

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Main treatment

For Indigenous Australians receiving treatment for their own alcohol or drug use, counselling was the most common main treatment type (43%), followed by assessment only (21%). Similarly, for Indigenous Australians seeking treatment for another person’s alcohol or drug use, counselling was the most common treatment type (45%), followed by support and case management (31%, Table SC.20).

The treatment setting and referral into treatment for Indigenous Australians receiving treatment for their own or another person’s alcohol or drug use varied by the treatment type:

  • Indigenous Australians who received withdrawal management (50%) or pharmacotherapy (63%) as a treatment type were most commonly referred by a family member or a self-referral.
  • Almost one-third (31%) of all referrals for Indigenous Australiansinto treatment were referred from a health service.
  • Over 4 in 5 (82%) Indigenous Australians received counselling or pharmacotherapy (96%) in a non-residential setting.
  • For treatment in a residential setting, over three-quarters (76%) of Indigenous Australians received residential rehabilitation or withdrawal management (72%) (Figure CLIENTS6 and CLIENTS7, tables SC.21 and SC.22).

Figure INDIGENOUS4: Proportion of Indigenous Australian AODTS clients, by main treatment type and referral source for all clients, 2020–21

The stacked horizontal bar chart shows that the 2 most common sources of referral for Indigenous Australian AODTS clients were self/family and health service. This was consistent across all main treatment types. The proportion of clients who were referred via self/family ranged from 24.7% of clients receiving assessment only as the main treatment type to 63.1% for clients receiving pharmacotherapy. The proportion of clients who were referred via a health service ranged from 18.7% for clients receiving pharmacotherapy to 39.3% for clients receiving information and education.

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Figure INDIGENOUS5: Proportion of Indigenous Australian AODTS clients, by main treatment type and delivery setting for all clients, 2020–21

The stacked horizontal bar chart shows that non-residential treatment settings were the most common delivery setting among Indigenous Australian clients receiving counselling, assessment only, support and case management, pharmacotherapy, information and education, or ‘Other’ as the main treatment type in 2020–21 (ranging from 55.1% to 95.7% of clients). Residential treatment settings were the most common delivery setting for clients receiving withdrawal management or rehabilitation (71.9% and 75.7% of clients, respectively).

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Australian Government-funded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander AOD reporting

The Australian Government funds primary healthcare services and substance use services specifically for Indigenous Australians. These services previously reported reported via the Australian Government-funded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander substance use services, via the Online Services Report (OSR) data collection. The substance use services program was transferred to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and then to the National Indigenous Australian Agency and ceased in 2019.