Data – Primary Health Network

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Alcohol and other drug treatment services dashboards Alcohol and other drug treatment Client demographics Principal drug of concern Data tables

In December 2015, the Australian Government announced the release of the Australian Government Response to the National Ice Taskforce Final Report (the Response). The Response underpinned the National Ice Action Strategy (NIAS), which was endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) on 11 December 2016.

The Australian Government invested approximately $561 million over four years from 1 July 2016 in drug and alcohol treatment services, as part of a $713 million investment in reducing the impact of drug and alcohol misuse on individuals, families and communities under the Drug and Alcohol Program.

Approximately $412.1 million of this investment was provided to Primary Health Networks (PHNs) to commission locally based treatment in line with community need. This included the $241.5 million committed under the NIAS. This funding was delivered through the Australian Government’s Drug and Alcohol Program and aims to improve the access to, and effectiveness of drug and alcohol treatment services in the community.

In April 2020, the Australian Government announced an additional $6 million would be invested in online and phone support services for people experiencing substance issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The main source of data about specialist drug and alcohol treatment services in Australia is the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services National Minimum Data Set (the AODTS NMDS), compiled on an annual basis from administrative data by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

PHN-commissioned specialist alcohol and other drug treatment providers collect data, in accordance with the AODTS NMDS, on in-scope specialist treatment services and provide it to the AIHW. Alcohol and other drug treatment agencies funded by PHN organisations under the Drug and Alcohol Program submitted data to the AODTS NMDS for the first time in 2016–17.

The following set of data visualisations present information at PHN geographic areas. The data presented are from all publicly funded AOD treatment services (which includes PHN-commissioned services) that have reported to the AODTS NMDS (see technical notes for more details).

PHNs are organisations that connect health services across a specific geographic area (PHN areas). There are 31 PHN areas that cover the whole of Australia with the boundaries defined by the Australian Government Department of Health. Some states/territories consist of a single PHN area, while others are made up of multiple PHN areas.

Alcohol and other drug treatment services dashboards

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Alcohol and other drug treatment agencies map, 2018–19 to 2022–23

Primary Health Network

EXPLORE DASHBOARD

Alcohol and other drug treatment map, 2018–19 to 2022–23

Primary Health Network

EXPLORE DASHBOARD

Principal drug of concern map, 2018–19 to 2022–23

Primary Health Network

EXPLORE DASHBOARD

Alcohol and other drug treatment

The following data visualisation shows:

  • Treatment episodes, by PHN area of client and main treatment type, 2018–19 to 2022–23.
  • Treatment episodes, by PHN area of client and source of referral, 2022–23.                         
  • Treatment episodes, by PHN area of client and treatment delivery setting, 2022–23.  

 Figure AODTS PHN 1: Alcohol and other drug treatment, 2018–19 to 2022–23

The interactive data dashboard shows that there were 235,460 treatment episodes provided to clients in Australia in 2022–23. A horizontal bar chart and line graph show the proportion of treatment episodes by main treatment type in 2022–23 (bar chart) and between 2018–19 and 2022–23 (line graph). Counselling remained the most common main treatment type between 2018–19 and 2022–23, accounting for 33.8% of episodes in 2022–23.

A horizontal bar chart and a donut chart show the proportion of treatment episodes by treatment delivery setting in 2022–23. Most episodes were delivered in non-residential treatment settings (66.2%) and the most common sources of referral were self/family (36.3% of episodes) and health services (31.5%). A filter allows the user to view data for Australia or by Primary Health Network area.

Client demographics

The following data visualisation shows:

  • Clients by PHN area of client, client type and sex, 2022–23.
  • Clients by PHN area of client, client type and age group, 2022–23.
  • Clients by PHN area of client, client type and Indigenous status, 2022–23.

Figure AODTS PHN 2: Client demographics, 2022–23

The interactive data dashboard shows that there were 137,839 estimated clients in Australia in 2022–23. A horizontal bar chart shows that most clients in 2022–23 sought treatment for their own drug use (94.2%, compared with 5.8% of clients seeking treatment for someone else’s drug use). 

A vertical bar chart shows the proportion of clients by age group in 2022–23. Most clients were aged 30–39 (27.4%) or 20–29 (23.3%).

Two donut charts show the proportion of clients by sex and Indigenous status in 2022–23, respectively. Most clients were male (59.7%, compared with 34.7% for females) and 17.9% were First Nations people.

Principal drug of concern

The following data visualisation shows:

  • Treatment episodes for clients who received treatment for their own drug use by PHN area of client and principal drug of concern, 2018–19 to 2022–23.
  • Treatment episodes for clients who received treatment for their own drug use by PHN area of client and main treatment type, 2022–23.
  • Treatment episodes for clients who received treatment for their own drug use by PHN area of client and source of referral, 2022–23.

Figure AODTS PHN 3: Principal drug of concern, 2018–19 to 2022–23

The interactive data dashboard shows that there were 217,302 treatment episodes provided to clients for their own drug use in Australia in 2022–23.

A horizontal bar chart and a line graph show the 4 most common principal drugs of concern among these episodes in 2022–23 (bar chart) and between 2018–19 and 2022–23 (line graph). Alcohol was the most common principal drug of concern across the period, accounting for 42.5% of episodes in 2022–23. This was followed by amphetamines (23.9% of episodes in 2022–23) and cannabis (17.5%).

A horizontal bar chart shows the proportion of treatment episodes provided to clients for their own drug use in 2022–23 by main treatment type. Counselling was the most common main treatment type (33.9% of episodes), followed by assessment only (22.8%). 

A donut chart shows that proportion of treatment episodes by source of referral in 2022–23. The most common source of referral was self/family (36.4% of episodes), followed by health services (31.4%).

A filter allows the user to view data for Australia or by Primary Health Network.

Data tables

PHN AODTS NMDS data tables

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