Summary
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) was commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) to evaluate the effectiveness of the Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative (IDDI) in rural and remote areas of Australia. This report presents the project findings. It was agreed at the outset of the project that effectiveness would be evaluated in relation to the following objectives, namely that drug diversion will result in:
- people being given early incentives to address their drug use problem, in many cases before incurring a criminal record;
- an increase in the number of illicit drug users diverted into drug education, assessment and treatment;
- a reduction in the number of people being incarcerated for use or possession of small quantities of illicit drugs.
The first two objectives were the initial stated aims of the IDDI, while the third objective was modified by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing to reflect the emergence of court-based models of drug diversion under the IDDI.
Preliminary material (78KB PDF): Acknowledgments; Abbreviations
Introduction
- Project objectives
- Background and context
- Report outline
Project method
- Evaluation type
- Project methodology
- Defining effectiveness
- Defining rural and remote
- Study limitations
Drug diversion in rural and remote areas-identifying key issues
- Drug diversion-overview and key issues
- Characteristics of rural and remote populations in Australia
- Challenges for police, courts and service providers in rural and remote areas
The IDDI landscape in Australia
- IDDI-funded diversion programs in Australia
- IDDI-funded diversion programs in rural and remote Australia
IDDI inputs in rural and remote Australia
- Input indicators
- IDDI inputs in rural and remote areas
IDDI outputs in rural and remote Australia
- Police diversion programs
- Court diversion programs
IDDI outcomes in rural and remote Australia
- Client outcomes
- Program outcomes
Views from the field
- Introduction
- Factors influencing the effectiveness of IDDI programs in rural and remote Australia overall
- Factors influencing the effectiveness of police diversion programs
- Factors influencing the effectiveness of court diversion programs
- Factors influencing the effectiveness of assessment, education and treatment services provided under the IDDI
Key findings and issues for consideration
- Evidence of effectiveness in terms of IDDI objectives
- Key findings about the effectiveness of the IDDI in rural and remote Australia
- Issues for consideration
Appendixes
Appendix 1: Field work materials sent to all interview participants
Appendix 2: IDDI program summaries
Appendix 3: Data tables
Appendix 4: IDDI input tables
End matter (301KB PDF): References; List of tables; List of figures; List of boxes