Summary

Publicly funded alcohol and other drug treatment services are available to people seeking treatment for their own drug use and people seeking assistance for someone else's drug use. Three-quarters (76%) of these services are in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. This report provides additional information at the state and territory level-for key national findings, see AIHW 2012.

Most episodes were provided to clients receiving treatment for own drug use

Nearly all of the treatment episodes closed in 2010-11 were for clients receiving treatment for their own drug use. Among states and territories, this ranged from 90% in the Northern Territory to 98% in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. The client was male in most of these episodes: this ranged from 65% of episodes in Victoria to 75% in Tasmania. In contrast, it was more common for the client to be female in the small number of episodes where the client was receiving assistance for someone else's drug use, and this ranged from 56% of these episodes in the Northern Territory to 87% in Tasmania.

Alcohol was the most common principal drug of concern in most states and territories

For episodes where the client was receiving treatment for their own drug use, alcohol was the most common principal drug of concern in all states and territories, except Tasmania where alcohol and cannabis were equally common. The proportion of episodes in 2010-11 where alcohol was the principal drug of concern ranged from 38% in Queensland to 64% in the Northern Territory.

In most episodes where alcohol was the principal drug of concern, the client was male: this ranged from 67% of episodes in Victoria to 72% in the Northern Territory. The median age of clients in these episodes ranged from 33 in Queensland and Western Australia to 40 in New South Wales. Self-referral was a common method of referral, ranging from 23% of episodes in South Australia to 69% in Tasmania.

Counselling was the most common type of main treatment in most states and territories

Counselling was the most common type of main treatment in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. It was the second most common main treatment in the remaining state and territories. Information and education only was the most common type of treatment in Queensland and assessment only was the most common type in the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. Counselling can be provided to both clients receiving treatment for their own drug use and clients receiving assistance for someone else's drug use. The use of counselling as the main type of treatment ranged from 17% of episodes in the Australian Capital Territory to 66% in Tasmania. The median length of episodes where counselling was the main treatment ranged from 6 weeks in Queensland to 12 weeks in South Australia.