Withdrawal management
Withdrawal management (detoxification) includes medicated and non-medicated treatment in a residential or non-residential setting, to help manage, reduce or stop the use of a drug of concern. This type of treatment is not available for people who received treatment for someone else’s alcohol or drug use. See glossary for further information on withdrawal management.
In 2022–23:
- Over 1 in 10 (11% or 23,250) treatment episodes for a client’s own alcohol or drug use involved withdrawal management as the main treatment.
- Of these, most episodes were for alcohol (57%) or amphetamines (18%) (tables Trt.3, Trt.24).
Client profile
In 2022–23, for clients whose main treatment was withdrawal management:
- Almost 3 in 5 (56%) of all people receiving treatment for their own alcohol or drug use were male.
- Over half (53%) of clients were aged 30–49.
- Around 1 in 8 (13%) people were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people, (tables SC.18–20).
Treatment profile
Among withdrawal management treatment episodes as a main treatment type:
- Almost 3 in 4 treatment episodes (74%) lasted 2–29 days, followed by over 1 in 7 (12%) episodes lasting 1 day.
- Over the 10-year period to 2022–23, median treatment duration has remained stable at 8 days since 2013–14 (tables Ov.11, Trt.29).