Completion of alcohol and drug treatment in Australia, 2011–12 to 2020–21: differences by drugs of concern and treatment characteristics

Across all treatment intensity cohorts, the likelihood of a treatment episode ending as planned varied by treatment type and principal drug of concern (Figure 4).

Figure 4: End reasons of episodes treating alcohol or amphetamines between 2013–14 and 2020–21, by treatment intensity cohort and main treatment type

Alcohol

Among clients seeking treatment for alcohol as a principal drug of concern:

• Rehabilitation episodes had a similar likelihood of unplanned completion across all treatment cohorts (around 37%) and was the treatment with the highest likelihood of unplanned completions.
• Counselling episodes provided to clients receiving intensive treatment had the highest likelihood of ending with a planned completion (62%), while episodes provided to clients receiving recurring treatment had the lowest (53%).

Amphetamines

Among clients seeking treatment for amphetamines as a principal drug of concern:

• Around 1 in 2 (45%) rehabilitation episodes provided across all three cohorts ended as an unplanned completion and was the treatment with the highest likelihood of unplanned completions.
• Around 3 in 5 (57%) counselling episodes provided to clients receiving intensive treatment ended in a planned completion, higher than clients receiving non-recurring and recurring treatments (52% and 49%, respectively).

For further details, refer to Supplementary table BLTN.5.