Are younger or older Australians more likely to receive treatment for alcohol use?

Australians aged 40-49 and 30-39 are the age groups most likely to receive treatment for alcohol use, accounting for 26% and 25% of all alcohol-related treatment episodes, respectively. Young (10-19 years) Australians are least likely to receive treatment for alcohol use.

In 2020-21, Australians aged 10-19 years accounted for 5% of all alcohol-related treatment episodes, 20-29 year olds accounted for 17%; 30-39 year olds accounted for 25%; 40-49 year olds accounted for 26%; 50-59 year olds accounted for 17%; and 60+ year olds accounted for 10%.
In 2020-21, Australians aged 30-49 accounted for 51% of all alcohol related treatment episodes while Australians aged 10-29 accounted for just 22% of all alcohol related treatment episodes.

Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services in Australia 2020-21.

Treatment Episode: A period of contact between a client and a treatment provider. Only ‘closed’ treatment episodes are included in the data used here. An episode is closed if there is a change in the principal drug of concern, main treatment, or service delivery setting; if the treatment ends; or if the patient is imprisoned or dies.