Alcohol and Drug Body Tell Govt “Don’t Drop The Ball On Drug Reform”

Peak drug and alcohol organisations across the state are continuing their plea to the New South Wales government to make fast, effective action towards drug reform.

Representing 87 organisations directly providing drug and alcohol related services in more than 100 locations across the state, Network of Alcohol and Other Drugs Agency (NADA) says the government needs to establish a well-funded, 10-year, whole-of-government alcohol and other drug (AOD) strategy, or risk the current rates of drug-related death and harm continuing in the community.

A new report released today responds to the 56 priorities put forward by the Co-Chairs of the 2024 NSW Drug Summit, ahead of the Government’s own response expected to come later this year.

Running across four days last year, the Summit heard from over 400 participants, and more than 3,600 written submissions, across from Sydney, Griffith, and Lismore.

NSW currently has no existing drug policy, with the last one expiring in 2010.

CEO, Dr Robert Stirling, said the Minns Government had a revolutionary opportunity to implement once-in-a-generation reform.

“We have a clear message for the NSW Government: Don’t drop the ball on drug reform,” he said. 

“The 2024 Drug Summit was the second chance we needed after the former Government failed to implement key recommendations from the 2020 Special Commission of Inquiry into the Drug ‘Ice’.

“Our report today consolidates our sector’s response to the 56 priorities made by the Co-Chairs, so the NSW Government can expedite its response.

“We are hopeful for positive outcomes from the NSW Drug Summit, but the fate of reform lays in the hands of the NSW Government.”

The demands echo similar ones made following the final day of the Summit, with Dr Stirling emphasising that it wasn’t too early for the Government to act.

“We already know what needs to be done,” he said at the time. “We just need the Government to get on with the job.”

A whole-of-government approach is what many groups have been advocating for for years, and would bring together health, social services, and legal perspectives in order to plug the gaps in the system.

Chronic underfunding leaves services drowning

In addition to a fully funded, 10-year strategy, the report is calling for an additional $65 million per year over five years across the non-government sector, with many organisations struggling to maintain services to respond to community need.

Data shared last year revealed that NADA had more than 1,800 people on the waitlist for treatment services each day, with the number climbing higher than 2,660 for those waiting for multiple service types.

NADA is also calling for boosted withdrawal services, particularly in rural and regional areas to improve treatment access, and the the re-establishment of a dedicated AOD workforce organisation for the sector to address workforce challenges, including complex clinical demands and poor access to training, especially in regional NSW.

Leone Crayden, NADA Chair and CEO of AOD clinic The Buttery in the Northern Rivers, said the increasing demands on frontline providers is crippling.

“If it weren’t for the generous donations from our sponsors, we wouldn’t be able to provide a large portion of our services,” she said.

“We haven’t had an increase in funding beyond CPI for more than 10 years, but the cost of everything else has gone up significantly.”

The decades of chronic underfunding have left vital, frontline services unable to look after the members of their community who need their care the most.

“Our participants are presenting with more complex needs than we’ve ever seen before, including polysubstance abuse and complex mental health needs,” Crayden said.

“We accept all of these participants, we don’t turn anyone away. So that means we need a highly skilled workforce of counsellors, social workers, GPs and clinicians. And that costs money which we don’t have.”

NADA is calling for the whole-of-government strategy to be delivered within 12 months, using the extensive feedback the sector has provided to the government to date.

“We look forward to engaging with Government on this report, and ensuring that the needs of our sector are front and centre as it prepares its response,” Dr Stirling said.