In 2024–25:
- For all treatment episodes (244,411), the most common referral into treatment was self or family (37%, 91,419 episodes) followed by referral by health services (33%, 80,384 episodes):
- This referral pattern into treatment was consistent for all treatment types except for information and education (57%), assessment only (33%) and other treatment types (49%) where health services was the most common referrals.
- Referrals into treatment for a client’s own alcohol or drug use (214,662 episodes) and someone else’s alcohol or drug use (29,749 episodes) were similar:
- Self or family (37%) was most common for a client’s own alcohol or drug use, followed by health service (32%).
- Self or family (42%) was the most common referral for clients who received treatment for someone else’s alcohol or drug use, followed by health service (36%).
- Diversion (8.0%, 17,184 episodes) referrals into treatment were most common for a client’s own alcohol or drug use.
- Treatment episodes referred via diversion were most common for ecstasy (25%) and cocaine (15%) (tables Trt.10, Trt.11, Drg.13).
Between 2015–16 and 2024–25:
- Diversion referrals fell from 17% (34,620) in 2015–16 to 7.2% (17,696) in 2024–25.
- Where a referral came from an ‘other’ referral source, treatment episodes rose from 7.8% (16,096) in 2015–16, peaking at 17% (40,474) in 2019–20, before falling to 13% (31,552) in 2024–25.
- Other source of referral includes persons referred through community services, government departments, remand or prison, education (through teachers and schools).
- Self or family referrals remained stable (37% or 76,725 in 2015–16 and 37% or 91,419 in 2024–25).
- Health service referrals rose from 28% (56,962) to 33% (80,384) (tables Trt.10, Trt.11).
- Referrals into treatment varied according to clients’ principal drug of concern. Among episodes (214,662) for a client’s own alcohol or drug use (Figure 1, Table Drg.13):
- Where alcohol was the principal drug of concern, referrals from self or family (41%, 26,224 in 2015–16 and 41%, 35,701 in 2024–25) or a health service (36%, 22,987 in 2015–16 and 38%, 33,357 in 2024–25) remained stable.
- Where methamphetamines were the principal drug of concern:
- Referrals rose for health services (22%, 4,689 in 2015–16 to 28%, 14,235 in 2024–25) and corrections (9.8%, 2,074 in 2015–16 to 16%, 8,299 in 2024–25).
- Self or family referrals proportionally fell, from 44% (9,242) in 2015–16 to 36% (18,271) in 2024–25.
- Where cannabis was the principal drug of concern:
- Diversion referrals fell, from 36% (16,152) in 2015–16 to 12% (3,586) in 2024–25.
- The proportion of referrals rose for self or family (from 28%, 12,419 in 2015–16 to 31%, 9,527 in 2024–25) and health services (from 23%, 10,476 in 2025–16 to 31%, 9,442 in 2024–25).
