State and territory summaries

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Key findings State and territory client rates Characteristics of clients Explore state and territory summaries

This section presents key state and territory findings on specialist alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment services, the people they treat, and the treatment they provided in 2022–23.

The technical notes page provides details on the data, with further information available in the Alcohol and other drug treatment services NMDS 2022–23 Quality Statement. In addition, a series of state and territory supplementary tables accompanying the annual report are also available.

Key findings

In 2022–23:

  • 1,280 publicly funded agencies provided services for clients who received AOD treatment in Australia, ranging from 17 in the Australian Capital Territory to 478 in New South Wales.
  • In all states and territories, the greatest numbers of clients were treated for alcohol as their principal drug of concern, ranging from 13,674 clients in Queensland to 1,224 in Tasmania.
  • Alcohol was the most common principal drug of concern for treatment all states and territories; Northern Territory (69%), Tasmania (51%), Western Australia (48%), Australian Capital Territory (46%), New South Wales (44%), South Australia (41%), Queensland (41%) and Victoria (39%) (nationally 43% of treatment episodes).
  • Amphetamines were the second most common principal drug of concern in most states except for Northern Territory. Treatment episodes for amphetamines ranged from 20% in Tasmania to 30% in South Australia (nationally the second most common drug of concern; 24%).
  • Counselling was the most common main treatment type nationally (34%), and the most common in all states except the Northern Territory where the most common treatment type was assessment only.

Over the period 2013–14 to 2022–23:

  • The number of publicly funded agencies rose from 796 to 1,280 in 2022–23, a change largely driven by increases in New South Wales (from 292 to 478) and Victoria (from 130 to 350).
  • Consistently, the greatest numbers of clients have been treated for alcohol as their most common principal drug of concern in New South Wales, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory, and the Northern Territory. In the remaining states, amphetamines or cannabis briefly interrupted this trend.
  • Similar to national results, Alcohol, amphetamines, cannabis and heroin were the most common principal drugs of concern treated in 4 of the 8 states and territories.
  • Counselling was the most common main treatment type across most states and territories during this period.

State and territory client rates

Nationally, the rate of clients who received specialist AOD treatment was 568 per 100,000 people in 2022–23, the lowest rate since 2015–16 (Table SCR.21). The rate of clients treated by publicly funded AOD treatment agencies in each state and territory varied over time (Figure CLIENTS 1).

Figure CLIENTS 1: AODTS clients and treatment episodes, by state and territory, 2013–14 to 2022–23

The line chart shows that there were 568 clients per 100,000 population in Australia in 2022–23, decreasing from 576 clients per 100,000 population in 2021-22. Across the period 2013–14 to 2022–23, the rate of clients was highest in the Northern Territory (1,424 per 100,000 in 2022–23) and lowest in New South Wales (384 per 100,000 in 2022–23). A filter allows the user to view by rate of clients, number of clients or number of treatment episodes.

Over the period from 2013–14 to 2022–23, in 4 of 8 states and territories, the rate of clients remained consistently higher than the rate of clients nationally:

  • In New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, the rates of clients fluctuated but with no substantial or prolonged changes over this period.
  • In South Australia, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory there have been steady declines in the rates of clients. 
  • In the Northern Territory, the rate of clients increased from 1,397 clients per 100,000 in 2013–14 to 1,796 per 100,000 in 2019–20, falling to 1,424 per 100,000 in 2022–23.
  • In Western Australia, the rate of clients increased between 2013–14 and 2018–19 from 697 per 100,000 to 845 per 100,000, then falling to 604 clients per 100,000 in 2022–23.

For more information see the Data quality statement.

Characteristics of clients

The following data visualisations shows:

  • Number of clients by state/territory and client type, 2013–14 to 2022–23
  • Number of clients by state/territory and sex, 2013–14 to 2022–23
  • Number of clients by state/territory and age group, 2013–14 to 2022–23
  • Number of clients by state/territory and Indigenous status, 2013–14 to 2022–23

Figure AODTS CLIENTS 2: Clients, by client type, sex, age group and Indigenous status, state and territory, 2013–14 to 2022–23

The stacked vertical bar chart shows the number of clients in New South Wales by client type across the period of 2013–14 to 2022–23. Across the 10 years, most clients in New South Wales received treatment for their own drug use. In 2022–23, 27,383 clients in New South Wales received treatment for their own drug use. The filter allows users to select a state or territory and to view the data by number of clients or per cent. 

Navigation buttons allow the user to navigate between the following tabs: Client type, Sex, Age, and Indigenous status.

The following data visualisations shows:

  • Number of clients by state/territory and principal drug of concern, 2013–14 to 2022–23
  • Number of clients by state/territory and main treatment type, 2013–14 to 2022–23
  • Number of clients by state/territory and source of referral, 2013–14 to 2022–23
  • Number of clients by state/territory and reason for cessation, 2013–14 to 2022–23

Figure AODTS CLIENTS 3: Clients, by principal drug of concern, treatment characteristics and state and territory, 2013–14 to 2022–23

The stacked vertical bar chart shows the number of clients in New South Wales by principal drug of concern across the period of 2013–14 to 2022–23. Across the 10 years, alcohol was the most common principal drug of concern in New South Wales. In 2022–23, 11,165 clients in New South Wales had alcohol as a principal drug of concern. The filter allows users to select a state or territory and to view the data by number of clients or per cent. 

Navigation buttons allow the user to navigate between the following tabs: Principal drug of concern, Main treatment, Referral source, and Reason for cessation.

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