Substance use disorders affect approximately 1 in 6 Australians each year. Alcohol and other drug (AOD) issues cost Australia approximately $65 billion annually — through healthcare, lost productivity, crime, and justice system costs. Methamphetamine (ice) has devastated regional communities. Opioids — both prescription and illicit — remain a major challenge. Harm reduction approaches (needle exchange, naloxone, safe injecting) save lives. Grant funding supports residential rehabilitation, community-based drug treatment, harm reduction, peer support, and the systems that help Australians overcome addiction.
Scale
Who is affected
The methamphetamine crisis
Ice (crystal methamphetamine) has had profound impacts on regional Australia:
- Associated with violence, family breakdown, child abuse
- Difficult to treat (no approved pharmacotherapy)
- Long-lasting cognitive effects
- Increasing purity and use rates
Department of Health
PHNs (Primary Health Networks)
Commission AOD treatment services in their regions.
Alcohol and Drug Foundation
Government-supported national prevention and treatment organisation.
Department of Social Services
Some community-based AOD support.
Alcohol and Drug Foundation
Prevention and early intervention.
The Salvation Army
Rehabilitation services.
Odyssey House
Therapeutic community rehabilitation.
Uniting Care
Community AOD services.
Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE)
Alcohol reduction research and advocacy.
The Ted Noffs Foundation
Youth drug treatment.
Residential rehabilitation
Community-based treatment
Pharmacotherapy
Harm reduction
Youth AOD
Indigenous AOD
Peer support
Dual diagnosis
Aftercare and recovery
Research
Harm reduction accepts that some people will use drugs and focuses on reducing the harm from use:
- Needle exchange prevents HIV and hepatitis C transmission
- Naloxone (Narcan) reverses opioid overdose — saves lives
- Drug checking services reduce overdose from unknown substances
- Safe injecting rooms provide medical supervision during use
These approaches are evidence-based and cost-effective. The Sydney Medically Supervised Injecting Centre has supervised over 1 million injections and reversed approximately 13,000 overdoses without a single death.
Evidence-based treatment
The AOD field has strong evidence for some approaches (pharmacotherapy for opioid use disorder, therapeutic communities, brief intervention). Applications based on evidence-based models are more credible.
Harm reduction
Harm reduction saves lives and is cost-effective — but remains politically contested. Applications that articulate the public health evidence for harm reduction alongside treatment are more sophisticated.
Dual diagnosis
Most people with severe AOD problems also have mental health conditions. Applications that integrate mental health and AOD treatment (rather than siloing them) are more aligned with evidence.
Indigenous AOD
Applications for community-controlled, culturally safe AOD programmes for Indigenous Australians — including healing approaches that go beyond Western treatment models — are distinct from mainstream AOD.
Tahua's grants management platform supports AOD funders and drug treatment organisations — with client outcome tracking, treatment completion data, harm reduction reach measurement, and the reporting tools that help AOD funders demonstrate their investment in recovery and harm reduction for Australians affected by substance use.