COVID-19 impact on alcohol and other drug treatment services
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a range of measures were introduced in Australia in mid-March 2020 to limit the spread of COVID-19. These measures were extended in late March 2020 with all non-essential services ordered to temporarily close by the Australian Government. Restrictions eased in most jurisdictions over the mid-year period, with the exception of Victoria, which continued with lockdown measures into November 2020.
Key findings
AOD treatment services reported changes in service usage and impacts on treatment provision in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nationally, a comparison of quarterly trends in AOD treatment episodes over 2018–19 and 2019–20 showed:
- For the type of treatment provided:
- a drop in closed episodes for both rehabilitation and information and education main treatment types in Quarter 4 (April to June) 2019–20.
- For where the treatment was provided:
- a drop in treatment episodes provided in residential treatment facilities in Quarter 4 2019–20, reflecting reduced client capacity in this setting and thus availability of treatment places
- a substantial increase in treatment episodes provided in a home setting in Quarter 4 2019–20, reflecting agencies adapting to telephone/video consultations.
This section explores access to alcohol and other drug treatment services by examining the type of alcohol and other drug treatments provided and the delivery settings in which these occurred. Comparison of quarterly financial year episode data allows for the period of lock down (April-June) to be compared across the 2019–20 year and with previous years’ data.
Quarterly reporting of Alcohol and other drug treatment services data
The collection period for the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services National Minimum Data Set (AODTS NMDS) is by financial year. In order to examine the impact of the pandemic, which began mid-way through the collection period, closed treatment episode data from 2019–20 are analysed quarterly and compared with the equivalent data from the previous collection year. Financial year data include treatment episodes that ended within the period and excludes those that were ongoing or new (not closed) within the reporting year. This will lead to an underestimation of the number of treatment episodes presented in this analysis. Quarters are presented as financial year quarters in this analysis; Q1=Jul-Sep, Q2=Oct-Dec, Q3=Jan-Mar, Q4=Apr-Jun. See Key terminology and glossary.
Access to alcohol and other drug treatment
The COVID-19 restrictions introduced new challenges for both clients accessing alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment and AOD service providers. The aim for services across Australia was to support flexible AOD treatment delivery and maintain the health and safety of clients and service providers. The restrictions caused a number of AOD services to either suspend treatment or operate in new or different ways in 2020. From March 2020 onwards, states and territories reported specialised treatments provided by AOD services were affected by the introduction of social distancing measures, reducing availability of treatment places. In response, a number of treatment services adapted practices by expanding access to online services and telehealth appointments.
Note that the trends below have been identified nationally and individual jurisdiction trends may differ.
Variation in main treatment type
Nationally, between 2018–19 and 2019–20 there were some notable changes in main treatment service types, particularly treatment services involving groups of people or requiring tailored physical settings. Analysis of the number of closed treatment episodes shows that some changes in main treatment type trends are likely to be associated with the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions (Figure COVID1).