Alcohol, tobacco & other drugs in Australia

The Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (AATSIHS) includes a range of health data including behavioural health risk factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption and illicit drug use for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. It combines the ABS National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) with a National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NATSINPAS) and a National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Measures Survey (NATSIHMS).

The 2012–13 AATSIHS was conducted throughout Australia in Remote and Non-remote areas from April 2012 to February 2013. The 2012–13 AATSIHS collected information on a range of demographics from over 9,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of all ages. The scope of the survey was all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were usual residents of private dwellings in Australia. Private dwellings are houses, flats, home units and any other structures used as private places of residence at the time of the survey. People usually resident in non-private dwellings, such as hotels, motels, hostels, hospitals, nursing homes, and short-stay caravan parks were not in scope. Usual residents are those who usually live in a particular dwelling and regard it as their own or main home.

The 2012–13 AATSIHS was designed to produce reliable estimates at the national level and for each state and territory. For selected states and territories, that is New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, the sample for children aged 0–14 years and people aged 15 years and over was allocated to produce estimates that have a relative standard error (RSE) of no greater than 25% for characteristics that at least 5% of these populations would possess.

The 2012–13 AATSIHS contains information from the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (AATSIHS) core sample of around 12,900 people (a combined data file of both the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NATSINPAS) for people aged 2 years and over).

For more information about the AATSIHS, see Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: First Results, Australia, 2012–13.

Statistics presented in Causes of Death, Australia are sourced from death registrations administered by the various state and territory Registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages. It is a legal requirement of each state and territory that all deaths are registered. In addition, the ABS supplements this data with information from the National Coronal Information System (NCIS) for those deaths certified by a coroner.

Deaths are considered “drug-induced” if directly attributable to drug use (for example, drug overdose or due to chronic use such as drug-induced cardiac conditions), and “drug related” where drugs played a contributory factor (for example, traffic accidents).

In Australia, acute drug overdose deaths are referred to a coroner and subject to forensic pathology and toxicology. Autopsy and toxicology reports provide detailed drug information including the identification of specific drugs in the system, approximate levels of drugs in the system and the relatedness of drugs to the death. The ABS accesses this information via the NCIS and applies codes from the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, to the medical text for tabulation into statistical output.

For more information about the report, see Cause of Deaths, Australia.

Data on crime victimisation are collected via the Crime Victimisation Survey (CVS), a topic on the Multipurpose Household Survey (MPHS). The MPHS is a self-report household survey conducted each financial year by the ABS as a supplement to the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The 2023–24 survey was conducted from July 2023 to June 2024 and includes information collected from 26,176 respondents, including 543 proxy interviews for people aged 15–17 and 1,958 proxy interviews for people aged 18 and over.

The survey collects details on the prevalence of selected personal and household crimes that occurred in the 12 months prior to interview, including demographic information about the person who experienced the crimes and characteristics of the most recent incident of each crime type experienced. Data are available for Australia and by state and territory.

The MPHS includes coverage of people aged 15 and over who are usual residents of private dwellings, excluding:

• members of the Australian permanent defence forces
• certain diplomatic personnel of overseas governments
• overseas residents in Australia
• members of non-Australian defence forces (and their dependants)
• persons living in non-private dwellings such as hotels, university residences, boarding schools, hospitals, nursing homes, homes for people with disabilities, and prisons
• residents of the Indigenous Community Strata (ICS).

For more information about the survey, see Crime Victimisation methodology.

Criminal Courts, Australia contains data on defendants whose case was finalised in the Higher (Supreme and District/County Courts), Magistrates’ and Children’s Courts across Australian states and territories during the relevant financial year. The report includes information about the offences, outcomes and sentences for each defendant.

Information presented in the report are compiled from administrative data supplied to the ABS from each state and territory. All data provided to the ABS are coded to national classifications and standards. Principal offences are coded according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Offence Classification 2011 as the most serious offence associated with a finalised defendant; for defendants finalised with a single offence type, this offence is recorded as their principal offence. 

From 2019–20 onwards, transfers to other court levels are excluded from defendant counts in most tables to avoid double-counting of defendants who were transferred and subsequently adjudicated in a different court level. 

For more information about the report, see Criminal Courts, Australia methodology.

Personal Safety, Australia contains results from the Personal Safety Survey (PSS), conducted by the ABS throughout Australia. The survey collects information about violence experienced since the age of 15 among men and women aged 18 and over, and experiences of:

• violence, emotional abuse, and economic abuse by a cohabiting partner
• sexual harassment in the last 12 months
• stalking
• abuse and witnessing parental violence during childhood
• feelings of general safety.

The most recent PSS was conducted from March 2021 to May 2022, with previous surveys conducted in 2016, 2012 and 2005. The 2021–22 survey topics are largely consistent with earlier survey waves, but the design and data collection was adapted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Key changes included:

• reduced sample size
• the introduction of Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI), providing the option for respondents to complete the survey over the phone.

For more information about the PSS, see Personal safety survey: User guide.

Prisoners in Australia contains information on people remanded or sentenced to adult custodial corrective services agencies in each state and territory in Australia on June 30 of the reference year. Information presented in the report is derived from administrative systems maintained by corrective services agencies in each state and territory, collected annually via the National Prisoner Census (NPC). 

The NPC includes all people in the legal custody of the corrective services who, as at midnight on 30 June of the reference year, were:

• absent on an authorised temporary leave permit (except for Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory)
• absent from the correctional facility on a work release permit or program 
• located in secure wards in a hospital or mental health institution outside the correctional facility administered under Corrective Services departments
• periodic detainees until 2016
• serving post-sentence detention orders.

Data from the NPC are coded according to national standards for corrective services statistics. All offences are coded to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Offence Classification 2011.

For more information about the report, see Prisoners in Australia methodology.

Recorded Crime – Offenders contains data on alleged offenders who were proceeded against by police across all Australian states and territories during the 12-month reference period. The report includes information about the most serious offence (‘principal offence’) associated with an alleged offender.

The collection includes all offenders above the minimum age of criminal responsibility who have been proceeded against by police, including all criminal offences where police agencies have the authority to take legal action against an individual, excluding:

• persons less than the minimum age of criminal responsibility
• organisations
• offences that come under the authority of agencies other than state and territory police, such as Environmental Protection Authorities
• proceedings initiated by the Australian Federal Police.

Information presented in the report is obtained from administrative records held by state and territory police agencies that is provided to the ABS. Data are coded according to national standards for corrective services statistics. All offences are coded to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Offence Classification 2011 and the National Offence Index, 2018.

For more information about the report, see Recorded Crime - Offenders methodology.

The 2022–23 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) is a component of the broader Intergenerational Health and Mental Health Study (IHMHS). The 2022–23 survey was conducted between August 2022 and March 2024, covering approximately 4,900 households across Non-remote and Remote areas of Australia, including discrete Indigenous communities. The overall coverage of the NATSIHS was approximately 25% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons in Australia, or 7,768 fully responding persons.

The NATSIHS includes data on a broad range of health-related topics, language, cultural identification, education, labour force status, income and discrimination. This includes questions on tobacco smoking and vaping, alcohol consumption and substance use.

The scope of the survey was all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in private dwellings. The following people were not included in the survey:

• non-Indigenous people
• visitors to private dwellings staying for less than 6 months
• people in households where all usual residents were less than 18 years of age
• people who usually lived in non-private dwellings, such as hotels, motels, hostels, hospitals, nursing homes and short-stay caravan parks
• students at boarding school
• non-Australian diplomats, diplomatic staff and members of their household
• members of non-Australian defence forces stationed in Australia and their dependents
• overseas visitors.

For more information about the NATSIHS, see National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey.

The 2014–15 NATSISS was conducted throughout Australia, including Remote areas, from September 2014 to June 2015.

The scope of the survey is all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were usual residents of private dwellings in Australia. Private dwellings are houses, flats, home units and any other structures used as private places of residence at the time of the survey. People usually resident in non-private dwellings, such as hotels, motels, hostels, hospitals, nursing homes, and short-stay caravan parks were not in scope. Usual residents are those who usually live in a particular dwelling and regard it as their own or main home.

After screening and sample loss (due to households with no residents in scope for the survey or where dwellings proved to be vacant, under construction or derelict) 8,235 dwellings were approached for an interview. Of these eligible dwellings, 80% responded fully (or adequately) which yielded a total sample from the survey of 6,611 dwellings. An adequately responding household was defined as a household where at least one of the people selected for the survey completed their interview.

For more information about the 2014–15 NATSISS, see 2014–15 NATSISS.

The 2022 National Health Survey (NHS) is the most recent in a series of Australia-wide health surveys conducted by the ABS, collected between January 2022 and April 2023. It was designed to collect a range of information about the health of Australians, including:

• prevalence of long-term health conditions
• health risk factors such as smoking, overweight and obesity, alcohol consumption and exercise
• use of health services such as consultations with health practitioners and actions people have recently taken for their health
• demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

The 2022 NHS collected data on children and adults living in private dwellings but excluded people living in non-private dwellings, Very remote areas and discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

The 2022 NHS is considered to be comparable to the 2017-18 NHS and previous cycles. The 2020–21 NHS data should be considered a break in time series from previous NHS collections and used for point-in-time national analysis only. The survey was collected during the COVID-19 pandemic which significantly changed the data collection.

Alcohol consumption risk levels have been assessed using the 2020 guidelines from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). The 2022 NHS survey measured monthly consumption as consuming 5 or more drinks at least 12 or more times in the last 12 months.

For more information about the 2022 NHS, see National Health Survey.

The Illicit Drug Data Report (IDDR) brings together illicit drug data from a variety of sources including law enforcement, forensic services, health and academia. Data used to inform the IDDR is provided by all Australian state and territory police agencies, the Australian Federal Police, the Department of Home Affairs, Australian Border Force, the Australian Institute of Criminology and forensic laboratories. Data collected and presented in the report includes arrest, detection seizure, purity, profiling and price data. The statistics and analysis in the report are primarily used in to inform understanding of the Australian illicit drug market and the development of drug supply and harm reduction strategies.

For more information about the 2020–21 IDDR, see Illicit Drug Data Report 2020–21.

The National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program (NWDMP) measures the presence of alcohol and other drugs in wastewater in regional and capital city sites across Australia. The study focuses on 12 licit and illicit drugs, including nicotine from tobacco (including cigarettes, e-cigarettes, gum and patches), ethanol from alcohol intake, pharmaceutical opioids, and illicit substances such as methylamphetamine, MDMA and cocaine. The August 2025 collection covered 57% of the Australian population, which equates to about 14.5 million people (ACIC 2025). 

The method underlying wastewater-based monitoring of drug use in a given population is based on the principle that any given compound that is consumed will be excreted (either in the chemical form it is consumed and/or in a chemically modified form that is referred to as a metabolite). The excreted compound or metabolite will eventually arrive in the sewer system.

Collectively, waste products in the sewer system arrive at a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) where wastewater samples are collected over a defined sampling period. Measuring the amount of target compound in the wastewater stream allows for a back-calculation factor to be applied to determine the amount of drug that was used over the collection period. The method is non-invasive and is done on a population-scale level, so individuals are not targeted, and privacy is respected. Wastewater consists of highly complex mixtures that derive from toilets, bathrooms, kitchen, and laundry appliances, as well as all other domestic, industrial or commercial plumbed structures. To obtain an estimate of drug use, representative samples are collected over a given period (typically 24 hours) using autosamplers that collect time or flow proportional samples. 

A number of factors may influence interpretations of the results, including uncertainties in population estimates in an area over a 24-hour period due to work movements and the variation in excretion rates (that is, some people may metabolise a drug faster than others). There are also a number of considerations relating to specific drugs:

• Tobacco is measured using two nicotine metabolites. Wastewater analysis cannot distinguish between nicotine intake from tobacco or e-cigarettes and nicotine replacement products (such as gums and patches). 
• Pharmaceutical drugs such as oxycodone, fentanyl and ketamine are included in the collection, but it is not possible to distinguish between medical and non-medical use of these drugs in wastewater data.
• Cannabis was included for the first time in the August 2018 collection. Cannabis results are expressed as daily doses of the ingested active ingredient (tetrahydrocannabinol; THC) consumed per 1,000 people. THC is excreted in extremely small amounts and detection is affected by surface adsorption. Sewer design and collection method may influence the levels detected and samples must be preserved to avoid degradation, without using acidification. This is one reason why cannabis consumption is not reported on a regular basis in other countries where wastewater analysis is routinely conducted (as acidification is a common preservation technique). For the NWDMP, separate samples are collected each day and preserved specifically for analysis.
• Ketamine was included in monitoring from December 2020. The amount of ketamine excreted following consumption is not known. Therefore, results for ketamine are reported as the amount (mg) of drug excreted per day per 1,000 people.

Given these limitations, it is important that other data sources such as general population and sentinel surveys are also used to estimate the consumption of licit and illicit drugs. As a collective, these data inform our understanding of drug markets and how we can best respond to reduce supply, demand and harm.

For more information about the NWDMP, see National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program reports.

The Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program is an ongoing illicit drug use monitoring program that captures information on people in police detention across 5 locations throughout Australia annually. In 2021, 2,223 people in police detention participated in the DUMA program. There are 2 core components involved in the DUMA program: 

• A self-report survey, which captures a range of criminal justice, demographic, drug use, drug market participation and offending information. 
• Voluntary provision of a urine sample, tested via urinalysis at an independent laboratory to detect the presence of licit and illicit drugs. Urinalysis serves as an important objective method for corroborating self-reported drug use. Not all detainees who respond to the self-report survey agree to provide a urine sample when requested, although the compliance rate is high (75% of detainees in 2021).

For more information about the 2021 DUMA program, see Drug use monitoring in Australia: Drug use among police detainees, 2021.

The Homicide in Australia report uses data from the National Homicide Monitoring Program (NHMP) to provide information on homicide incidents, victims and offenders in Australia, including incidents where alcohol and other drugs were involved. 

The NHMP contains unit record data on homicide incidents, victims and offenders as recorded by state and territory police across Australia since 1989–90. NHMP data are drawn from offence records from state and territory police services and state and territory coronial records from the National Coronial Information System (NCIS). Offence data are cross-referenced with coronial records from the NCIS, including finalised cases and cases where the coronial investigation has not yet been finalised (open cases).

Homicide in Australia defines ‘homicide’ as the unlawful killing of a person, including:

• all cases resulting in a person or persons being charged with murder or manslaughter
• all murder–suicides classed as murder by police
• all driving causing death offences where the offender was charged with murder, manslaughter or equivalent offences
• all other deaths classed as homicides by police, including infanticides, whether or not an offender was apprehended.

It excludes attempts to unlawfully kill and conspiracy to kill.

In recent years, there have been larger amounts of missing data on a number of variables including victim and offender use of alcohol, illicit drugs and prescription drugs at non-therapeutic levels. This is due to the revised publication timeframe for the report, which has affected the availability of coronial and court documents used to cross-reference police data on homicide offences.

For more information about the 2023–24 report, see Homicide in Australia 2023‒24.

The Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services National Minimum Data Set (AODTS NMDS) contains data on closed episodes of treatment provided to clients of alcohol and other drug treatment agencies, including data on drugs of concern and the types of treatment received. 

All in-scope service agencies are publicly funded through state, territory or Australian government programs. The collection is a service-based administrative data set, and does not reflect demand for AOD services. Changes in client numbers over time may reflect access to treatment, treatment availability, differences in counting methodologies and available funding for treatment services. Data for each reporting period are first released as a brief early insights report. This is followed by the detailed findings report. As such, not all data on alcohol and other drug treatment services will be updated at the same time.

Key quality issues to consider for the collection include:

• Funding programs cannot be differentiated. That is, services are categorised according to sector and service outlet location, with government-funded and operated services reported as public services and those operated by non-government organisations reported as private agencies.
• National data are affected by variations in service structures and collection practices between states and territories; these should be considered when making comparisons between jurisdictions.
• The AODTS NMDS reports both main and additional treatment types. However, Victoria’s and Western Australia’s state AOD collections do not differentiate between main and other treatment types.

For more information about the AODTS NMDS, see Data quality statement for the AODTS NMDS 2024–25.

The Alcohol available for consumption in Australia report (previously called ‘apparent consumption of alcohol’) quantifies the amount of alcohol available to people living in Australia by combining data from various sources (for example, alcohol sales and taxation data). The collection examines long-term trends in the total amount of beer, wine, cider and spirits entering the Australian community each year, but does not allow for examination of trends below the national level or by priority population groups. 

The total amount of alcohol available each year does not directly translate to individual consumption patterns, but changes in availability are likely to reflect broad changes in consumption patterns. Alcohol availability trends are a useful indicator of whether the Australian community is drinking more or less alcohol on average than previously, and how different beverage types contribute to the total amount of alcohol available. 

Results should be interpreted in relation to the time-series rather than used for absolute values of the amount of alcohol that was consumed each year, due to limitations in the data sources and assumptions made:

• The collection assumes that all alcohol that was produced or imported in a given financial year was consumed in the same financial year. 
• No data is available to account for beverages that may have been wasted, used in cooking, cellared, or otherwise not consumed. 
• The collection does not account for beverages that were purchased overseas and brought into the country duty-free.

This publication is a continuation of the long-running Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, Australia series previously managed by the ABS. 

For information on previous methods, see Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, Australia methodology. For more information on changes to calculation methods and data sources used for each beverage type, see Alcohol available for consumption in Australia.

This report aims to count the number of hospitalisations and deaths due to alcohol-related and alcohol-induced injuries from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020. It includes patients who had both an injury condition and an alcohol-related condition recorded in their hospital record, or an injury-related and an alcohol-related cause of death recorded.

The report uses data from the National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD). However, this data does not contain text fields, therefore diagnosis and external-cause-of-injury information is restricted to International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems Tenth Revision Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM) codes. The data quality therefore depends on the extent to which hospital staff record the involvement of alcohol and the completeness with which those notes are coded by hospital coders.

The deaths data used in this report comes from the National Mortality Database (NMD), which contains information on all deaths certified by a doctor or coroner. The NMD, like the hospitalisations data, contains coded fields, meaning the cause of death and external cause of injury information is restricted to the ICD-10 classification system coding (ABS 2020).

The report does not include information on cases that did not result in hospitalisation or death. For each hospitalisation or death there are many more cases that are treated by emergency departments, general practitioners, allied health professionals or outpatient clinics.

For more information on the report, see Alcohol-related injury: hospitalisations and deaths, 2019–20.

Burden of disease analysis measures the impact of diseases and injuries on the population of Australia. It looks at the fatal and non-fatal burden, both premature deaths and living with health impacts from disease or injury. These measures combined are referred to as ‘total burden’. Burden of disease measures the difference between a population’s actual health and its ideal health (that is, if everyone lived as long as possible and no one lived with illness or injury). The 2024 Study was the 6th Australian study, with previous studies being undertaken in 1996, 2003, 2011, 2015 and 2018. 

Disease burden is measured using the summary metric of disability-adjusted life years (DALY). One DALY is one year of healthy life lost to disease and injury. DALY caused by living in poor health (non-fatal burden) are known as ‘years lived with disability’ (or YLD). DALY caused by premature death (fatal burden) are known as ‘years of life lost’ (YLL) and are measured against an ideal life expectancy.

For more information about the 2024 ABDS, see Australian Burden of Disease Study 2024.

Burden of disease estimates for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population provide evidence on the diseases and injuries currently contributing most to Indigenous mortality and ill health, and on the largest gaps in disease burden between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. This information will be important in assisting governments and service providers to develop interventions that can reduce the incidence of risk factors and other main contributors to the burden of disease and injury in the Indigenous population.

The Australian Burden of Disease Study 2018: key findings for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people report contains key findings for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from the forthcoming Australian Burden of Disease Study (ABDS) 2018. Full results, including detailed reports and interactive data visualisations, were released in 2022. 

The ABDS 2018 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander study includes 219 diseases, as well as estimates of the burden attributable to 39 individual risk factors, such as alcohol use and smoking. The study includes results for 2003 and 2011 for comparison, as well as estimates for selected states and territories, by remoteness area and socioeconomic groups.

For more information about the 2018 study, see Australian Burden of Disease Study: impact and causes of illness and death in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 2018.

Data presented in Australia’s mothers and babies are largely drawn from the National Perinatal Data Collection (NPDC), the National Maternal Mortality Data Collection (NMMDC), the National Perinatal Mortality Data Collection (NPMDC) and the Maternity Models of Care Data Set (MoC DS).

A standardised extract of electronic data from each state and territory collection is provided to the AIHW annually. Records received from states and territories are anonymous: that is, they do not include any names or addresses, but do include a unique set of identification numbers so that the source record can be identified. Data are checked for completeness, validity and logical errors before inclusion in the national collection.

Some topics in this report may exclude data for selected states and territories for reasons including:

• changes in definitions or data collection methods in a state and territory that mean the data item is not considered to be of sufficient quality to release
• data are not currently collected by a state and territory, or are not collected in a format that is comparable with the specifications for the NPDC, NPMDC or the NMMDC
• data are not currently supplied by a state and territory for the NPDC, NPMDC or NMMDC. Data items that are not part of the Perinatal NMDS are not mandatory for provision to the NPDC, and there are currently no Perinatal NMDS items in the NPMDC.

For more information about the collections, Australia's mothers and babies, Collation of national perinatal data.

The National Ambulance Surveillance System (NASS) is a surveillance system derived from ambulance service records. The NASS is a partnership between Monash University, Turning Point, and state and territory ambulance services across Australia.

The NASS data are coded specifically for alcohol and other drugs, mental health, and suicide and self-harm, and capture more detail than the ICD-10-AM coding system used in the National Hospital Morbidity Database and National Mortality Database. The NASS also includes data on incident location and on people who may be missing or underrepresented in national surveys, such as people who are homeless. 

Data are published for each jurisdiction when that data has been made available. Currently data has not been available for South Australia and Western Australia due to system constraints. The data utilised for this project are extracted from electronic data collection systems used by paramedics to record the details of all emergency cases they attend. Trained clinical coders manually examine each record to identify the substance involved and to determine alcohol and drug misuse based on paramedic observation, patient self-report, information provided by third parties, and other evidence on the scene.

• Historically, data were reported on snapshot months, specifically the third month of each fiscal quarter, commencing with March. Since 2021, data have been reported monthly. 
• From time to time, there may be reporting issues within a jurisdiction, as footnoted within the data. 
  • Fewer ambulance attendances were captured in New South Wales in June 2021, January 2023 and February 2023, which may be related to industrial action by paramedics. These data should be interpreted with caution. 
  • Significantly fewer ambulance attendances were captured in Victoria between March and September 2024, due to industrial action by paramedics. These data should be interpreted with caution.
• Gender is reported as a binary variable with values ‘male’ and ‘female’. In the initial documentation of ambulance attendances, paramedics use a dropdown box to select male or female. While notes can be added to indicate if a patient is trans, transitioning or non-binary, this is likely to be underreported.

For more information about the NASS, see:

• The National Ambulance Surveillance System: A novel method for monitoring acute alcohol, illicit and pharmaceutical drug related-harms using coded Australian ambulance clinical records
• Data sources - Suicide & self-harm monitoring.

The National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) collects information on alcohol and tobacco consumption, and illicit drug use among the general population in Australia. It also surveys people’s attitudes and perceptions relating to tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use. The 2022–2023 NDSHS survey was the 14th conducted under the National Drug Strategy. The survey was first undertaken in 1985 and has been undertaken every 3 years since 1995. Key quality issues to consider for the collection include:

• Reported findings are based on self-reported data and are not empirically verified by blood tests or other screening measures.
• It is known from past studies of alcohol and tobacco consumption that respondents tend to underestimate actual consumption levels.
• Estimates of illicit drug use and related behaviours are also likely to be underestimates of actual use.
• The exclusion of people from non-private dwellings, institutional settings, homeless people, and the difficulty in reaching marginalised people are likely to have affected estimates.
• The response rate for the 2022–2023 survey was 44%. Given the nature of the topics in this survey, some non-response bias is expected, but this bias has not been measured.
• Both sampling and non-sampling errors should be considered when interpreting results.
• The 2022–2023 survey used a multi-mode completion methodology – respondents could choose to complete the survey via a paper form, an online form or via a telephone interview. This was the third time an online form has been used in the survey series. Changes in mode may have some impact on responses, and users should exercise some degree of caution when comparing data over time.
• Data from the questions on ‘activities undertaken while under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs’ are not considered comparable to previous data collections, due to questionnaire changes.

For more information about the 2022–2023 NDSHS, see National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2022–2023; Data Quality Statement.

The 2023–24 National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD) includes data from all public hospitals and all private hospitals. The data set for the reference period 2023–24 includes records for admitted patient hospitalisations between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024.

Coding of drug-related hospitalisations

For the purposes of this report, drug-related hospitalisations are defined as hospitalisations with a principal diagnosis relating to a substance use disorder or direct harm relating to use of selected substances. This includes legal, accessible drugs such as alcohol and tobacco, drugs that are available by prescription or over-the-counter (for example, analgesics and antidepressants), and drugs that are generally not obtained through legal means (for example, heroin and cocaine). A proportion of the hospitalisations reported here may result from harm arising from the therapeutic use of drugs, and this inclusion may mean the burden on the hospital system appears larger than expected. Supplementary analysis of hospitalisations with a drug-related diagnosis in the first 20 diagnosis fields is also included. In this analysis, all hospitalisations with a principal or additional diagnosis (across the first 20 diagnosis fields) are included.

The hospitalisation data in this report were extracted from the NHMD using a selection of codes from the International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems, 10th revision, Australian modification 12th edition (ICD-10-AM) (Table 1).

Notes

1. Data for 2018–19 were reported to the NHMD using the ICD-10-AM (10th edition). Revision of ICD-10-AM (10th edition) mapping to drugs of concern was applied in 2017–18. The mapping has been applied to the time series.
2. Code E52 includes non-alcohol niacin deficiencies.

In 2022–23, the AIHW undertook a review of the codes used for some drug types, resulting in changes for the following groupings:

• Codes for “GHB” are reported separately for the first time (these codes were previously reported under “Other sedatives and hypnotics”).
• Codes for “MDMA” were reported separately for the first time (these codes were previously reported under “Methamphetamine”).
• Codes for alcohol were revised to include E24.4, G62.1, G72.1 and R78.0.

These changes have been applied to the time series, however data may not match previously published tables.

Calculation of population rates

Crude rates reported in time series analysis of NHMD data were calculated using the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated resident population (ERP) as at 31 December of the reference year. For example, rates for the 2020–21 collection period were calculated using the ERP as at 31 December 2020.

In the year ending 30 June 2021, the estimated residential population in Victoria decreased. This decline was driven by a relatively large net negative overseas migration, likely due to the closure of Australia's international border in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This may result in increased rates even if the number of clients did not increase. Other states and territories were also impacted by border closures; caution should be taken when comparing population data for 2021 with previous years. 

This does not impact rates by remoteness area, which were calculated using the ERP as at 30 June 2020.

For more information about the NHMD, see NHMD Data Quality statement.

The AIHW National Mortality Database (NMD) contains information supplied by the registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages and the National Coronial Information System – and coded by the ABS – for deaths from 1964 to 2024. Registration of deaths is the responsibility of each state and territory Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. These data are then collated and coded by the ABS and are maintained at the AIHW in the NMD. 

• The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death includes all diseases, morbid conditions or injuries that either resulted in or contributed to death and the circumstances of the accident or violence that produced any such injuries. The underlying cause of death is the disease or injury that initiated the train of morbid events (deaths are referred to as being directly attributable to the disease or injury). Associated causes of death are other causes listed on a death certificate, other than the underlying cause.
• Causes of death are coded by the ABS to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD). Deaths in this report are counted according to year of registration of death, which is not necessarily the year in which the death occurred. Further, mortality data by geographical regions were derived using the place of a person’s usual residence at the time of death. The ICD is revised periodically to incorporate changes in the medical field. In 2020, the definition for alcohol-induced deaths was revised to include ICD-10 code K85.2 alcohol-induced acute pancreatitis. See Post release changes in Causes of Death, Australia.

Deaths registered in 2021 and earlier are based on the final version of cause of death data; deaths registered in 2022 are based on revised data; deaths registered in 2023 and 2024 are based on preliminary data. Revised and preliminary data are subject to further revision by the ABS.

Estimates of deaths directly attributable to alcohol and illicit drug will vary from other sources. For example, the Australian Burden of Disease Study estimates the proportion of deaths attributable to alcohol use and illicit drug use using a comparative risk assessment methodology. In 2024, it was found that 2.4% of male deaths and 1.2% of female deaths were estimated to be attributable to illicit drug use. Further, 4.6% of male deaths and 2.9% of female deaths were estimated to be attributable to alcohol use in 2024. For more information, see Australian Burden of Disease Study 2024.

In this report, “deaths involving alcohol and other drugs” includes data on drug-induced, drug-related, alcohol-induced and alcohol-related deaths (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Deaths involving alcohol and other drugs

Notes

1. Alcohol-induced and -related deaths include ICD-10 codes outlined in Table 6.

Drug-induced and drug-related deaths 

Drug-induced deaths include deaths that were identified as being directly due to drug use (that is, where a drug-related condition is recorded as the underlying cause of death). These can include both those due to acute toxicity (for example, drug overdose) and consequences of chronic use (for example, drug-induced cardiac conditions), as determined by toxicology and pathology reports. The underlying causes of deaths align with the definition of drug-induced deaths used by the ABS reporting on drug-induced deaths as defined in Causes of Death, Australia. Deaths solely attributable to alcohol and tobacco are excluded. 

Drug-related deaths include deaths where the person died either from or with drug use related conditions. This includes death directly due to drug use (as defined above) and deaths where a drug contributed to, but did not directly cause, the death (for example, a motor vehicle accident where heroin was detected in the person’s blood or chronic drug use in someone who died from coronary heart disease).

For a full list of ICD-10 codes used to identify drug-induced deaths, see the “ICD-10 codes” tabulation in the NMD data tables. Information on the specific drug type involved in drug-induced and drug-related deaths is obtained using ICD-10 T codes (acute poisoning) (Table 2). 

Note: The underlying causes of deaths align with the definition of drug-induced deaths used by the ABS reporting on drug-induced deaths as defined in Causes of Death, Australia. This classification excludes deaths solely attributable to alcohol and tobacco.

Drug-induced deaths are classified according to their intent as accidental, intentional (including assault and suicide) or undetermined intent (Table 3). They include deaths from illicit drugs (for example, heroin, amphetamines and cocaine) and licit drugs (for example, benzodiazepines and anti-depressants). Drug-induced causes exclude accidents, homicides, and other causes indirectly related to drug use. Also excluded are newborn deaths associated with mother’s drug use.

Note: Deaths from external causes are assessed to determine intent. This may also determine how a death is investigated and influence the type of information that can be included on the death record (ABS 2020).

As part of the National Suicide and Self-harm Monitoring Project, the AIHW funded the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to identify and code (using ICD-10) psychosocial risk factors for deaths referred to a coroner, including drug-induced deaths. Following on from a pilot study (ABS 2019), the ABS reviewed and coded psychosocial risk factors through a review of police, toxicology and pathology reports and coronial findings held by the National Coronial Information System. Psychosocial risk factors, now included in the NMD, are defined as social processes and social structures which can have an interaction with individual thought, behaviour and/or health outcomes (ABS 2019; Table 4). 

Alcohol-induced and alcohol-related deaths

Alcohol-induced deaths include deaths that were identified as being directly due to alcohol use (that is, where an alcohol-related condition is recorded as the underlying cause of death). These can include both those due to acute toxicity (for example, alcohol poisoning) and consequences of chronic use (for example, alcoholic liver cirrhosis), as determined by toxicology and pathology reports.

The underlying causes of deaths align with the definition of alcohol-induced deaths used by the ABS as defined in Causes of Death, Australia.

• Alcohol-induced causes exclude accidents, homicides, and other causes indirectly related to alcohol use. This category also excludes newborn deaths associated with maternal alcohol use. 
• Alcohol-induced deaths may be due to a chronic condition which is directly related to alcohol use (for example, alcoholic liver cirrhosis) or from an acute condition directly related to harmful consumption (for example, alcohol poisoning which led to respiratory depression).

Alcohol-related deaths include deaths where the person died either from or with alcohol use related conditions. This includes death directly due to alcohol use (as defined above) and deaths where alcohol use contributed to, but did not directly cause, the death (for example, a motor vehicle accident where a person recorded a high blood alcohol concentration or chronic alcohol use in someone who died from cancer).

The ICD-10 codes used to identify alcohol-induced and alcohol-related deaths are the same (Table 5).

Note: ICD-10 code R78 is an invalid underlying cause of death and is included as an associate cause of death for alcohol-related deaths.

Associated causes of death

This report also presents information on the most common associated causes recorded in drug-induced and alcohol-induced deaths, including chronic conditions, injuries and other associated causes (Table 6).

For more information about the NMD, see National Mortality Database.

The main purpose of the NOPSAD collection is to aggregate standardised jurisdictional data on the number of clients accessing pharmacotherapy for the treatment of opioid dependence, the number of prescribers participating in the delivery of pharmacotherapy treatment, and quantitative information about the prescribing sector. Unit record data are provided by all jurisdictions except Victoria and Queensland.

Key quality issues to consider for the collection include:

• Each state and territory use different methods to collect data about the pharmacotherapy used to treat those with opioid dependence. These methods are driven by the jurisdiction's particular legislation, information technology systems and resources.
• Data were not available for Western Australia in 2023, and for Queensland in 2021. Data for these years may not be comparable to other years.
• Prior to 2023, New South Wales was unable to differentiate between clients prescribed buprenorphine, buprenorphine-naloxone or buprenorphine long acting injections (LAI) in its reporting. These formulations were reported for the first time in 2023.
• Indigenous status of client is reported as a total by Victoria, that is, a breakdown of Indigenous status by individual pharmacotherapy drug type is not available. 
• In Western Australia, the number of clients receiving pharmacotherapy treatment is usually reported through the month of June (rather than on a snapshot day), likely resulting in an over-reporting of clients in Western Australia.
• In Tasmania, the number of clients receiving treatment in June is counted. If a client changes dosing point sites during the month, they are only counted once and the activity is attributed to the dosing point that administered the greater number of doses.
• In the Australian Capital Territory, there is some undercounting of the total number of clients receiving treatment in 2024 due to collection systems not capturing buprenorphine long-acting injections administered in primary care settings.

For more information about the NOPSAD collection, see National Opioid Pharmacotherapy Statistics Annual Data collection, 2025; Quality Statement.

This report uses data from the NACS linked dataset, which was created by the AIHW’s Data Linkage Unit by linking health and welfare data sets held by the AIHW. Approval for this project was provided by the AIHW ethics committee under project number EO2023/2/1413.

The final linked data asset is referred to as the NACS dataset and contains the following source datasets:

• National Death Index (NDI) January 2011 to May 2024
• Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services (AODTS) July 2012 to June 2023
• Commonwealth primary health datasets
  • Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) January 2007 to February 2023
  • Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) January 2007 to February 2023
• Specialist Homelessness Services Collection (SHSC) July 2011 to June 2023.

For this analysis, data from the NACS linked dataset have been restricted to the study period 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2023. Data have been presented for annual financial year periods, and in some instances as a unique count of people across the entire study period.

For more information about this report, see Alcohol and other drug use - feature analysis: People who received specialist Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services in their last year of life.

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) data collection contains information on prescription medicines that qualify for a benefit under the National Health Act 1953, and for which a claim has been processed. PBS administrative data are managed and maintained by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and contain information on subsidised PBS prescriptions and under co-payment data. Data include all claims processed by Services Australia up to 29 September 2025 for prescriptions dispensed up to 30 June 2025.

PBS data are sufficiently large and captures a significant proportion of the population, however, may underestimate total dispensing. Key limitations to consider for the collection include:

• Data do not capture medicines bought over-the-counter, such as from pharmacies and supermarkets. 
• Data do not capture private prescriptions (that is, prescriptions for medicines that are not subsidised by the PBS). 
• Medicines dispensed to public hospital inpatients are not captured, nor are PBS- subsidised medicines dispensed to day-admitted patients and patients upon discharge from public hospitals in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
• Some medicines supplied under section 100 of the National Health Act 1953, including those supplied directly for Remote Area Aboriginal Health Services and for the Opioid Dependence Treatment Program, are not included in the PBS data collection. 
• PBS medicines and PBS items are listed on or deleted from the PBS regularly. These changes may cause the apparent dispensing of drugs to change over time, and trends should be interpreted in this context. 
• Some PBS dispensing records do not include patient information and are not included in tables which examine patients or combinations of prescribed drugs.

The medicines reported from PBS data are classified based on the ATC (Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical) classification system, defined by the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology. For more information on the structure of the ATC classification system and specific ATC codes, see WHOCC - ATC/DDD Index. 

Data contained in this report include prescriptions for the following patient entitlements:

• General
• Concessional
• Repatriation. 

Medicines supplied under prescriber bag orders were removed from the dataset prior to analysis. Analysis includes under-co-payment data which include information on prescriptions priced below the co-payment as defined in the National Health Act 1953.

Drugs selected for this report were extracted from the PBS data using the ATC codes outlined below (Table 6).

Notes

1. Pregabalin and gabapentin are classified as N02BG when listed to manage pain.

2. ATC codes for some cancer treatment medicines (L01BA01, L02AE02, L02AE03 and L02BA01) have multiple indications in the PBS. Data for these codes were extracted using PBS item codes for medicines that were specifically indicated for cancer treatment. This methodology is consistent with that used by Lalic et al. 2019.

3. The data also included drugs that were incorrectly classified as drugs used in opioid dependence (N07BC).

Calculations of Defined Daily Doses for Statistical purposes (S-DDDs)

S-DDDs were calculated as follows for each opioid prescription:

• Units are the individual forms of the opioids, such as tablets or patches.
• DDD amounts match WHO DDD definitions, except for codeine. The WHO DDD amount for codeine (100mg) is for the indication of cough suppression. These results use the International Narcotics Control Board definition of 240mg as the DDD for codeine used for pain relief (INCB 2021). 

Opioid dispensing related to palliative care and cancer treatment

Data for opioids were further disaggregated by dispensing that was in relation to palliative care or cancer treatment.

• Opioid dispensing was classified as being related to palliative care where a patient received a PBS supply of any drug under the Palliative Care Section in the previous 365 days. For more information on palliative care items in the PBS, see Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) | Palliative Care Items.
• Opioid dispensing was classified as being related to cancer treatment where a patient received a supply of a medicine used to treat cancer within the previous 365 days. Drugs related to cancer treatment were extracted using the ATC codes in the table above.

Patients using opioids and benzodiazepines at the same time

The PBS does not contain information related to how dispensed prescriptions are intended to be used, in terms of quantity or frequency. As such, it is not possible to derive how long any given prescription is likely to last. 

As a result, after consulting with researchers with experience in prescription drug research, this report uses a fixed window of 30 days from the point of prescription as the time in which a prescription of another drug type is considered to be “at the same time” as the first drug. 

This may count some people who were dispensed one drug for a short time (for example, two weeks) and then dispensed a prescription for the other drug type. Conversely, it may not count some patients who are dispensed long-term courses of one drug (over many months) and were then dispensed a prescription of the other drug type. As a result, numbers should be considered indicative only. 

For more information about the PBS data collection, see Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme data collection.

The Specialist Homelessness Services annual report uses data from the Specialist Homelessness Services Collection (SHSC) to describe services and support provided to people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. Each month, data from around 1,800 SHS agencies across Australia are provided directly to the AIHW. State and territory governments determine the services delivered through the SHS-funded agencies, so models of support differ between jurisdictions. 

All SHSC agencies report standardised data about the clients they support each month to the AIHW, as specified by the SHS National Minimum Dataset. Information is collected about clients’ characteristics and circumstances when they first present to an agency. Additional data on the assistance provided and changes in clients’ circumstances are collected at the end of the month in which services are received, and again when contact with the client has ceased.

The SHSC provides a comprehensive picture of the specialist homelessness services clients receive and the outcomes achieved. The SHSC data describes the service response to people experiencing housing insecurity. While the data do not capture the full extent of homelessness in the community, SHSC data on emergency and supported accommodation contribute to Australia’s broader homelessness profile.

The data collected by agencies are based on periods of support provided to clients. Data related to support periods vary in terms of their duration, the number of times a client and an SHS agency or worker have contact within that period, and the reasons that support ends. Some support periods are relatively short and are likely to have begun and ended in the reference period. Others are much longer and may have been ongoing from the previous year and/or were still ongoing at the end of the reference period.

For more information about the 2024–25 SHSC, see Specialist homelessness services annual report 2024–25, SHS system overview.

The health of people in Australia’s prisons contains data from the 2022 National Prisoner Health Data Collection (NPHDC), based on information obtained from people aged 18 and over from participating prisons across all states and territories (except Victoria).

The NPHDC collects self-reported data on alcohol consumption, smoking and the use of drugs for non-medical purposes in people entering and leaving prison. The term ‘illicit drugs’ in this report includes the following:

• illegal drugs (such as cocaine, heroin, and amphetamine type stimulants)
• pharmaceutical drugs (such as opioid-based pain relief medications, benzodiazepines and steroids) when used for non-medical purposes
• other substances, legal or illegal, used inappropriately, such as inhalants from petrol, paint or glue.

For more information about the 2022 NPHDC, see The health of people in Australia's prisons 2022.

Private Lives is a national survey series on the health and wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people. Private Lives 3 (PL3) is the third iteration of The Private Lives survey series with previous releases in 2005 and 2011. The survey was conducted by the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) at La Trobe University.

In 2020, 6,835 participants were recruited to the survey through paid Facebook advertising and via LGBTIQ community organisations and their networks. The survey was completed online, with paper copies of the survey available on request. The survey was provided in English and was restricted to participants who resided in Australia at the time of the survey who were aged 18 years and above. Questions in the PL3 survey were not compulsory and the total sample size for questions therefore varies slightly.

For more information about the survey, see Private Lives 3.

Writing Themselves In is a national survey series on the health and wellbeing among LGBTQA+ young people in Australia. This is the fourth iteration in the Writing Themselves In survey series with previous releases in 1998, 2004 and 2010. The survey was conducted by the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University.

In 2019, 6,418 participants were recruited to the survey, through promotion of still images and a short video distributed via paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram, online networks of community organisations working with and for LGBTIQA+ young people and promotional posters provided to community organisations. The survey was designed for online completion and was provided in English and restricted to participants who resided in Australia at the time of the survey, who were 14 to 21 years of age, and identified as LGBTIQA+ (or used a synonymous term).

For more information about the survey, see Writing Themselves In 4.

The Australian Secondary School Students’ Alcohol and Drug Survey (ASSAD) survey is a triennial survey that was first conducted in 1984. The survey assesses secondary students’ use of tobacco, e-cigarettes, alcohol, over-the-counter drugs (for non-medicinal purposes) and other substances in Australia. 

The 2022/2023 ASSAD was completed by secondary students across 83 schools from March 2022 to July 2023, using an online self-report questionnaire. The survey uses a standard sampling procedure and core questionnaire throughout all states and territories in Australia, drawing on a national sample of schools across Australia. 

The 2022/23 survey was postponed from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s consequent restrictions on school survey involvement. In 2022/2023, the survey was completed via an online questionnaire for the first time. Schools in most jurisdictions were also given the option of having classroom teachers administer the survey in place of research staff. 

For more information about the 2022/2023 ASSAD, see Australian Secondary School Students Alcohol and Drug Survey.

Tobacco in Australia: Facts & Issues provides a comprehensive overview of research on tobacco use and policy from Australia and globally. The report primarily uses information from other published sources. 

The following report sections are included in this report:

• Chapter 2: Trends in tobacco consumption – 2.5 Industry sales figures as estimates for consumption
• Chapter 4: The health effects of secondhand smoke – 4.0 Background
• Chapter 7: Smoking cessation – 7.2 Quitting activity
• Chapter 12: Tobacco products – 12.7 Menthol
• Chapter 13: The pricing and taxation of tobacco products in Australia – 13.A3 Industry estimates of the extent of illicit trade in tobacco.

For more information about the report, see Tobacco in Australia: Facts & Issues.

The Australian Needle Syringe Program Survey (ANSPS) is a national survey of people who inject drugs who attend participating needle syringe programs (NSPs) across Australia. The ANSPS aims to provide serial point prevalence estimates of HIV antibody, HCV antibody and RNA (active infection), and sexual and injecting risk behaviours among people who inject drugs. The ANSPS consists of annual interviews with clients attending participant NSPs across Australia and blood tests to confirm HIV and HCV status.

The ANSPS has been conducted every year since 1995, consisting of annual interviews with clients attending participant NSPs across Australia and blood tests to confirm HIV and HCV status. Annual response rates have ranged from 34% to 60%, with 1,760 participants recruited via 54 participating NSPs in 2024. 

Due to a range of public health measures implemented to reduce community transmission during ANSPS data collection periods since COVID-19, the number of respondents for 2020 and 2021 was lower than in previous years. Additionally, changes to the assays used for HCV antibody testing may have resulted in an increase in HCV antibody prevalence in 2023 and 2024 relative to 2022. This should be considered when comparing data with previous years. 

For more information about the 2024 ANSPS, see Australian NSP Survey 30 year National Data Report 1995–2024.

The Needle Syringe Program National Minimum Data Collection (NSP NMDC) provides information on NSP service provision, enabling the ongoing monitoring of Australia’s National Strategies for reducing blood-borne viral infections as part of the National Surveillance and Monitoring Plan. The NSP NMDC includes data from three areas of NSP operations:

• agency-level administrative data
• client-level data (including demographic characteristics of NSP attendees and drugs injected by NSP attendees)
• national needle and syringe distribution.

For more information about the NSP NMDC, see Needle Syringe Program National Minimum Data Collection (NSP NMDC). 

The Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS) is a national monitoring system for ecstasy and related drugs that is intended to identify emerging trends of local and national interest in the markets for these drugs. The EDRS is based on the IDRS methodology and includes data obtained from interviews with people who regularly use ecstasy and/or other illicit stimulant drugs. The EDRS monitors the price, purity, availability, and patterns of use and harms of ecstasy and other drugs such as methamphetamine, cocaine, gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), d-lysergic acid (LSD), 3,4-methylendioxyamphetamine (MDA) and ketamine. 

The EDRS sample is a sentinel group that provides information on patterns of drug use and market trends and is not representative of all people who use illicit drugs nor the general population. The 2025 EDRS survey recruited 690 participants between April and July 2025. The sample size reflects predetermined quotas.

Interviews from 2020 onwards were delivered face-to-face or via telephone or videoconference, to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Interviews prior to 2020 were conducted face-to-face only. This change in methodology should be considered when comparing data from 2020 onwards with previous years.

For more information about the EDRS, see The Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS).

The Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) is a national illicit drug monitoring system intended to identify emerging trends of local and national concern in illicit drug markets. The IDRS consists of annual interviews with people who regularly inject drugs, conducted in all capital cities across Australia. The monitoring system is intended to provide trends and identify emerging issues in illicit drug markets. 

The IDRS sample is a sentinel group that provides information on patterns of drug use and market trends and is not representative of all people who use illicit drugs nor the general population. 865 participants were recruited to the 2025 IDRS survey between May and July 2025. The sample size reflects predetermined quotas.

Interviews from 2020 onwards were delivered face-to-face or via telephone or videoconference, to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Interviews prior to 2020 were conducted face-to-face only. This change in methodology should be considered when comparing data from the 2020–2025 samples with previous years.

For more information about the IDRS, see The Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS).

This report presents data on drug-related hospitalisations in Australia, focusing on hospitalisations related to opioids, amphetamine-type stimulants, cannabinoids, cocaine and other drugs. Data are extracted from the AIHW’s National Hospital Morbidity Database. 

Data are coded according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM). The main data describe drug-related hospitalisations where the principal diagnosis was directly attributable to the use of illicit drugs, prescription medicines, or over-the-counter medicines. Alcohol and tobacco are excluded from the analysis. For information about the differences between NDARC’s reporting compared with the AIHW, see Data on alcohol and other drug-related hospitalisations.

For more information about the report, see Trends in drug-related hospitalisations in Australia, 2003–2023.

This report presents data on overdose and drug-induced deaths in Australia, using data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Causes of Death Unit Record File (COD URF) through the Australian Coordinating Registry. The most recent report covers the period 2004–2023, including final data for 2004–2021, revised data for 2022, and preliminary revised data for 2023. Data for 2022 and 2023 are subject to further revision.

NDARC’s reporting includes drug-induced deaths directly attributable to illicit drugs, certain prescription medicines, and medicines available over-the-counter. The report includes only overdose and drug-induced deaths where drugs were deemed the underlying cause of death. This excludes deaths due to accidents caused by being under the influence of a drug, such as motor vehicle accidents. Deaths where conditions related to alcohol or tobacco use fall outside the scope of NDARC’s monitoring, however rates of alcohol involvement in drug-induced deaths are reported. For information about the differences between NDARC’s reporting compared with the ABS and the AIHW, see Data on deaths involving alcohol and other drugs.

For more information about the report, see Trends in overdose and other drug-induced deaths in Australia, 2004–2023.

The OECD releases updated data on the prevalence of smoking, e-cigarette use and alcohol consumption across OECD and partner countries. Data are supplied from a range of data sources, and the most recent year of available data is used for each country. The years of data and methodologies may differ across countries and over time. Australian data come from numerous sources including the National Drug Strategy Household Survey and the Alcohol available for consumption in Australia report.

For more information on the OECD Health Statistics report, see OECD Data Explorer.

Road Trauma Australia provides annual data on road fatalities in Australia, including information on road trauma incidents involving alcohol. In this report, road crashes are any apparently unpremeditated event reported to police or another relevant authority, where the movement of a road vehicle on a public road has resulted in death, injury or property damage. Alcohol involvement refers to road crashes where at least one vehicle operator was recorded as having tested with an illegal concentration of alcohol (that is, higher than the legal limit for driving).

For more information about the report, see Road Trauma Australia—Annual Summaries. 

The World Drug Report presents global, regional and sub-regional data on drug markets, trends and policy developments. Data are submitted to the UNODC by Member States via an annual report questionnaire, unless specific otherwise in the report.  

For more information about the 2024 report, see World Drug Report 2024.