Alcohol and other drug treatment services in Australia annual report 2023–24

Treatment referrals are part of interventions that aim to reduce immediate or short-term harms from alcohol and other drug (AOD) use, engage and support people affected, and connect people to treatment services where required. As part of care, case management co-ordination involves ongoing treatment planning, goal setting, review and facilitation for the client to achieve their goals, including a supported referral and system navigation support to other services. It includes ensuring links are made with health or social welfare services, and that care is coordinated across care settings and systems (Department of Health and Aged Care 2019).

In 2023–24, for all clients (240,958 episodes):

• The most common source of referral into treatment was self/family (37%, 88,870 episodes) followed by health services (32%, 76,734 episodes):
  • This referral pattern into treatment was consistent for counselling, withdrawal management, support and case management, rehabilitation and pharmacotherapy.
  • Health services were the most common referral source for information and education (60%), other treatment (45%), and assessment only (33%) (Table Trt.11).
• Diversion referrals fell from 19% in 2014–15 to 7.5% in 2023–24 (Table Trt.11).
• Where a referral came from an ‘other’ referral source, treatment episodes increased from 7.7% (13,090) in 2014–15 to 17% (40,474) in 2019–2020, then decreased to 12% (29,744) in 2023–24. Other source of referral includes persons referred under a legislative act, such as, state and territory mental health acts or through community services, government departments, remand or prison, education (through teachers and schools).

The most common referrals into treatment for a client’s own alcohol or drug use (219,277 episodes) and someone else’s alcohol or drug use (21,681 episodes) were similar in 2023–24:

• Self/family (38%) was most common for a client’s own alcohol or drug use, followed by health service (32%).
• Health services and self/family (both 30%) were most common for clients who received treatment for someone else’s alcohol or drug use, followed by other sources of referral (29%) (tables Trt.10, Trt.11).

Diversion (17,959 episodes) referrals into treatment were most common for a client’s own alcohol or drug use (8.2%). Treatment episodes referred via diversion were most common for ecstasy (29%), cocaine (22%), and cannabis (17%) (Table Drg.13).

Over the 10-year period to 2023–24, treatment episodes where the referral source was:

• Self/family referrals remained stable between 2014–15 (39%, 67,094) and 2023–24 to (37%, 88,870).
• Health services increased from 25% (43,368) to 32% (76,734) over this time (tables Trt.10, Trt.11).

The source of referral into treatment varied according to clients’ principal drug of concern. For example, in the 10 years to 2023–24, among episodes (219,277) for a client’s own alcohol or drug use (Figure TREATMENT 1, Table Drg.13):

• Where alcohol was the principal drug of concern, referrals from health service increased from 32% (19,543) in 2014–15 to 38% (34,669) in 2023–24.
• Where amphetamines were the principal drug of concern, referrals from a health service increased from 22% (7,141) to 26% (15,207), while self/family referrals decreased from 43% (13,905) to 37% (21,510).
• Where cannabis was the principal drug of concern, the proportion of diversion (police or court diversion program) referrals into treatment decreased from 38% (or 14,919) in 2014–15 to 17% (5,968) in 2023–24.