The State of Recovery in Australia: 2025 Data Report on Addiction, Treatment Acc
The State of Recovery in Australia: What the Data Really Shows
The short answer: substance use in Australia remains widespread, treatment reaches fewer than 1 in 10 people who need it, and among those who do get treatment, 40–60% relapse. The biggest gap in Australia’s recovery system isn’t treatment itself — it’s what happens after treatment ends.
How common is risky substance use in Australia?
According to the AIHW’s National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2022–23, 26% of Australians aged 14 and over drank alcohol at risky levels in the previous year, and an estimated 4.4% of people over 15 live with an alcohol use disorder (AIHW, cited in Quintrell et al., 2024). Excessive alcohol consumption is now the fifth largest contributor to Australia’s burden of disease (AIHW, 2024).
The gender gap is closing among young adults. In 2019, 47% of men aged 18–24 drank at risky levels versus 35% of women; by 2022–23 it was 45% versus 40% (AIHW NDSHS, via the Alcohol and Drug Foundation). Among girls aged 14–17, recent drinking rose from 28% to 35% over the same period.
Illicit drug use is shifting too. Cannabis remains Australia’s most-used illegal drug at 2.5 million recent users, while cocaine use climbed from 900,000 to 1 million people and hallucinogen use rose from 300,000 to 500,000 between 2019 and 2022–23 (AIHW, NDSHS). Among 18–24-year-olds, 35% of both men and women reported recent illicit drug use — with women’s use rising sharply from around 27% in 2019. Australia also has one of the world’s highest rates of crystal methamphetamine use, a substance associated with chronic, relapsing dependency (Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 2024). Meanwhile, e-cigarette use among 15–29-year-olds surged from 4.6% in 2019 to 25.7% in 2024 (peer-reviewed cross-sectional study, 2024).
The treatment gap: fewer than 1 in 10 get help
The starkest number in Australian recovery data: only 9.5% of people with a substance use disorder accessed professional alcohol and other drug treatment in the past year (National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing 2020–22, Drug and Alcohol Review). For alcohol specifically, Australia sits below the 20.4% treatment access average across high-income countries (Leung et al., 2024).
The public system is working hard but reaching a fraction of need. In 2024–25, publicly funded agencies delivered around 244,400 treatment episodes to roughly 127,800 people — 62% male, half aged 30–49 (AIHW). Alcohol was the principal drug of concern in 41% of episodes, up from 32% in 2015–16.
The relapse reality — and the aftercare gap
Treatment works, but recovery is rarely linear. Australian research on publicly funded AOD services shows relapse rates of 40–60% among people who attend treatment (2024). That figure isn’t a failure of treatment — it reflects what happens when structured support ends and everyday life begins.
This is the gap the data points to most clearly: Australia’s system is built around treatment episodes, not the months and years afterwards. Between the 9.5% who access treatment and the 40–60% who relapse after it, there is enormous unmet demand for ongoing, structured, non-clinical support — accountability, routine-building, goal-setting and connection during the vulnerable post-treatment period.
Where recovery coaching fits
Redwood Recovery provides private, non-clinical recovery coaching in Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast. We are not a treatment service and we don’t make clinical claims or promise outcomes — coaching complements, and never replaces, professional medical or clinical care. What we offer is what the data says is missing: consistent, personalised support for people navigating life after treatment, or those seeking structure alongside it. If the numbers above tell one story, it’s this — Australians in recovery need more than an episode of care. They need someone in their corner for the long road after it.
Quotable stats (each tied to a source)
– 26% of Australians aged 14+ drank alcohol at risky levels in the previous year (2022–23) — _AIHW, National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2022–23_
– An estimated 4.4% of Australians over 15 are affected by alcohol use disorders — _AIHW, cited in Quintrell et al., Alcohol and Alcoholism, 2024_
– Risky drinking among 18–24-year-olds: 45% of males vs 40% of females in 2022–23, narrowing from 47% vs 35% in 2019 — _AIHW NDSHS 2022–23, via Alcohol and Drug Foundation_
– Recent alcohol consumption among females aged 14–17 rose from 28% (2019) to 35% (2022–23) — _AIHW, NDSHS 2022–23_
– 2.5 million Australians reported recent cannabis use; cocaine use rose from 900,000 (4%) to 1 million people (5%) between 2019 and 2022–23 — _AIHW, NDSHS 2022–23_
– Recent hallucinogen use rose from 300,000 (1%) to 500,000 people (2%) between 2019 and 2022–23 — _AIHW, NDSHS 2022–23_
– 35% of both men and women aged 18–24 reported recent illicit drug use in 2022–23; women’s use rose from ~27% in 2019 — _AIHW NDSHS 2022–23, via Alcohol and Drug Foundation_
– Current e-cigarette use among Australians aged 15–29 jumped from 4.6% (2019) to 25.7% (2024) — _Peer-reviewed cross-sectional study (PMC), 2024_
– Only 9.5% of Australians with a substance use disorder accessed professional AOD treatment in the past year — _National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing 2020–22, published in Drug and Alcohol Review/PMC_
– Australia’s alcohol treatment access sits below the 20.4% average for high-income countries — _Leung et al., Drug and Alcohol Review, 2024 (analysis of 2019 NDSHS)_
– Publicly funded agencies delivered ~244,400 treatment episodes to ~127,800 people in 2024–25; 62% male, 51% aged 30–49 — _AIHW, Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services in Australia Annual Report 2024–25_
– Alcohol was the principal drug of concern in 41% (~87,600) of treatment episodes in 2024–25, up from 32% (~63,200) in 2015–16 — _AIHW, Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services in Australia Annual Report_
– Excessive alcohol consumption is the fifth overall contributor to Australia’s burden of disease and illness — _AIHW, 2024_
– Relapse rates among Australians attending substance use treatment remain between 40% and 60% — _Study on Australian publicly funded AOD treatment services (ScienceDirect), 2024_
– Australia has one of the world’s highest rates of crystal methamphetamine (ice) use, a stimulant associated with chronic, relapsing dependency — _Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 2024_
Schema (paste into the page )
json
Sources
– https://andatech.com.au/blogs/resources/australian-alcohol-and-drug-trends-2024
– https://adf.org.au/about/media/2922024-report-aod-trends/
– https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/alcohol/alcohol-drugs-young-people
– https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12910865/
– https://hnc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Health-Needs-Assessment_Priority-Areas_Alcohol-and-other-drugs.pdf
– https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/about+us/health+statistics/alcohol+and+drug+statistics/alcohol+use+statistics
– https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11379491/
– https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/dar.13792