Trends in clients in states and territories

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State and territory client rates Characteristics of clients

This section presents key state and territory findings on specialist alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment services, the people they treat, and the treatment they provided in 2024–25.

The technical notes page provides details on the data, with further information available in the Alcohol and other drug treatment services NMDS 2024–25 Quality Statement. In addition, a series of state and territory supplementary tables accompanying the annual report are also available.

State and territory client rates

Across states and territories:

  • The rate of clients who received specialist AOD treatment ranged from 1,381 per 100,000 people in the Northern Territory to 369 in New South Wales in 2024–25 (Table SCR.21).
  • The rate of clients treated by publicly funded AOD treatment agencies in each state and territory varied over time, most notably with recent decreases in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory (Figure 1).

Figure AODTS 1: AODTS clients and treatment episodes, by state and territory, 2013–14 to 2024–25

Line chart shows number of episodes, number of clients, and client rates per 100,000 population by state/territory from 2013–14 to 2024–25. 

Line chart shows number of episodes, number of clients, and client rates per 100,000 population by state/territory from 2013–14 to 2024–25. 

Over the period from 2013–14 to 2024–25, in 4 of 8 states and territories, the rate of clients remained consistently higher than the rate of clients nationally:

  • In Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania, the rates of clients fluctuated but with no substantial or prolonged changes over this period.
  • In Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory there have been steady declines in the rates of clients since 2018–19 and in New South Wales and the Northern Territory since 2020–21.

For more information see the Data quality statement.

State and territory AOD treatment episodes

In Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory, since 2019–20, on average clients received more than one treatment episode within a year. This has been steadily rising, indicating that although fewer people are accessing services, those who do are receiving multiple episodes of care.

Characteristics of clients

The following data visualisations show:

  • Number of clients by state/territory and client type, 2013–14 to 2024–25
  • Number of clients by state/territory and sex, 2013–14 to 2024–25
  • Number of clients by state/territory and age group, 2013–14 to 2024–25
  • Number of clients by state/territory and Indigenous status, 2013–14 to 2024–25

Figure AODTS 2: Clients, by client type, sex, age group and Indigenous status, state and territory, 2013–14 to 2024–25

Stacked vertical bar charts and line chart shows the number of clients in each state/territory by client type across the period of 2013–14 to 2024–25. Data is filtered by clients, per cent and can be disaggregated by sex, age, and indigenous status. 

Stacked vertical bar charts and line chart shows the number of clients in each state/territory by client type across the period of 2013–14 to 2024–25. Data is filtered by clients, per cent and can be disaggregated by sex, age, and indigenous status. 

The following data visualisations show:

  • Number of clients by state/territory and principal drug of concern, 2013–14 to 2024–25
  • Number of clients by state/territory and main treatment type, 2013–14 to 2024–25
  • Number of clients by state/territory and source of referral, 2013–14 to 2024–25
  • Number of clients by state/territory and reason for cessation, 2013–14 to 2024–25

Figure AODTS 3: Clients, by principal drug of concern, treatment characteristics and state and territory, 2013–14 to 2024–25

Stacked vertical bar charts and line chart shows the number of clients in each state/territory by principal drug of concern across the period of 2013–14 to 2024–25. Data is filtered by clients, percent and can be disaggregated by main treatment type, source of referral, and cessation.

Stacked vertical bar charts and line chart shows the number of clients in each state/territory by principal drug of concern across the period of 2013–14 to 2024–25. Data is filtered by clients, percent and can be disaggregated by main treatment type, source of referral, and cessation.
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