Assessment only
Although all service providers would normally include an assessment component in all treatment types, assessment only episodes are those for which only an assessment has been provided to the client. Assessment interventions aim to reduce immediate or short-term harms, engage, and support people, and refer people into treatment. For more information on assessment only see glossary.
In 2022–23:
- Over 1 in 5 (22% or 50,876) of all treatment episodes were reported as an assessment only:
- Over 1 in 5 (23%) of episodes for people receiving help for their own alcohol or drug use received assessment only as a main treatment.
- Among those who received help for someone else’s alcohol or drug use, 6.9% of episodes had an assessment only.
- Assessment only treatment episodes were most commonly provided to people whose principal drug of concern was either alcohol (42%) or amphetamines (24%) (tables Trt.3, Trt.32).
Client profile
In 2022–23, among clients whose main treatment was assessment only:
- Almost 2 in 3 (64%) people who received an assessment for their own alcohol or drug use were male.
- 3 in 5 (60%) people who received assistance for someone else’s alcohol or drug use, were male.
- Almost 1 in 5 (18%) people who received an assessment for their own alcohol or drug use and less than 1 in 10 (8.7%) people who received support for someone else’s alcohol or drug use were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people, (tables SC.18, SC.20).