Are younger or older Australians more likely to receive treatment for pharmaceutical drug use?
Australians aged 20-39 years are more likely to receive treatment for pharmaceutical drug† use than other age groups.
In 2020-21, 11% of Australians who received treatment for pharmaceutical drug use were aged 10-19 years, 26% were aged 20-29 years, 25% were aged 30-39 years, 21% were aged 40-49 years, 11% were aged 50-59 years, and 6% were aged 60+ years.
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services in Australia 2020-21 (NCETA secondary analysis, 2023).
† This FAQ uses data from the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services National Minimum Dataset, which defines the pharmaceutical drugs referred to in this question as: benzodiazepines, codeine, morphine, buprenorphine, oxycodone, and methadone.
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.