Alcohol and other drug treatment services in Australia annual report 2024–25

 In 2024–25, 16 publicly funded alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment agencies in the Australian Capital Territory provided 6,686 treatment episodes to 3,921 clients (tables Agcy.1, SCR.21).

The Australian Capital Territory reported:

• Client numbers increased from 2,949 in 2013–14 to 4,109 in 2017–18, then fell to 3,921 in 2024–25.
• More clients were receiving AOD services in 2024–25 than 2013–14, after adjusting for population growth (918 clients per 100,000 people compared with 877, respectively) (Table SCR.21).
• There was a 44% increase in treatment episodes between 2013–14 and 2024–25, from 4,652 to 6,684 (Table SCR.21).

In 2024–25, most (82%) clients in the Australian Capital Territory attended 1 agency, and received an average of 1.7 treatment episodes (tables SCR.21, SCR.23).

Client demographics

In 2024–25 in the Australian Capital Territory:

• Nearly all (92%) clients received treatment for their own alcohol or drug use, of which 2 in 3 (66%) people were male (Figure ACT 1).
• People who received treatment for someone else’s alcohol or drug use were more likely to be female (65%).
• Half (48%) of all clients were aged 30–49 years.
• 1 in 7 (16%) of all clients were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people, which is lower than the national proportion (19%).
• The majority (85%) of all clients were born in Australia and nearly all (98%) reported English as their preferred language (tables SCR ACT.1–4, SCR ACT.9–10, SC.5).

New and returning clients

In 2024–25:

• 2 in 5 (42%, 1,577) of all clients were a new client, who had not previously received treatment since 2013–14.
• 3 in 5 (58%, 2,196) of all clients were returning clients, who have previously received AOD treatment from a service at some point since 2013–14 (Table SCR 28).

Drugs of concern

In 2024–25 in the Australian Capital Territory:

• Among clients receiving treatment episodes for their own alcohol or drug use (6,334):
  • Alcohol was the most common principal drug of concern (45%, 2,816 episodes) (Figure ACT 2, Table ST ACT.7).
  • Methamphetamine was the second most common, accounting for 1 in 5 (22%, 1,380) treatment episodes.
• Where additional drugs of concern were reported, nicotine was the most common additional drug (21% of episodes), followed by cannabis (16%) (Figure ACT 2, Table ST ACT.7). Clients can nominate up to 5 additional drugs of concern; these drugs are not necessarily the subject of any treatment within the episode (see technical notes).

In 2024–25, for clients who received treatment for their own use of methamphetamines (1,184 episodes), the most common method of use was smoking (39%), followed by injecting (34%) (Figure ACT 3, Table ST ACT.10). 

Between 2015–16 to 2024–25:

• Alcohol was the most common principal drug of concern accounting for 42% (2,450) of all treatment episodes in 2015–16, increasing to 45% (2,816) in 2024–25.
• Methamphetamine numbers fluctuated over this period, increasing from 2020–21 when improvements in reporting reliability were evident, from 1,009 treatment episodes to 1,380 in 2024–25.
  • Methamphetamine increased from 17% to 22% of all treatment episodes over this period to 2024–25.
• The proportion of episodes for heroin as a principal drug of concern over the period in the ACT, was higher than the national rate, peaking in 2021–22 (14%) compared with 4.5% nationally, falling to 5% in 2024–25 compared with 4% nationally (Table Drg.5).
• Cannabis as the principal drug of concern steadily declined from 2015–16 (15% of all treatment episodes to 11% in 2024–25) (Table ST ACT.7).

Treatment

In 2024–25, for treatment episodes in the Australian Capital Territory (6,686):

• Information and education was the most common main treatment type (33% of episodes) (Figure ACT 4, Table ST ACT.13).
• Counselling was the second most common treatment (24%), followed by withdrawal management (11%).
• Where an additional treatment was provided as a supplementary to the main treatment, information and education (4.1%) was the most common additional treatment. See technical notes for further information on calculating proportions for additional treatment type.

Between 2015–16 to 2024–25:

• Information and education as a main treatment rose from 1,424 (24%) episodes in 2015–16 to 2,227 (33%) in 2024–25
• The number of episodes with counselling as a main treatment rose from 1,272 (22%) in 2015–16, to 1,877 (28%) in 2018–19, fluctuating until 2024–25 (1,619, 24%).
• The ACT had more information and education as main treatment compared to nationally (ranging from 24% to 33% in the ACT compared with 2.0% to 9.0% nationally) (tables ST ACT.13, Trt.3). Note that in the ACT counselling and information and education episodes are defined and counted differently, with counselling requiring minimum qualifications and structured delivery. Differences in classification practices may affect comparability across jurisdictions. See technical notes for further information. 

Agencies

In 2024–25 in the Australian Capital Territory, the majority of treatment agencies are non-government organisations (94%) (Figure ACT 5, Table Agcy.3). Between 2015–16 to 2024–25, the number of publicly funded treatment agencies rose from 15 to 16 agencies (Table Agcy.1).