The NSW government needs to increase funding for the alcohol and other drug (AOD) sector by $13 million, year-on-year for the next five years, to assist the 100,000 people in this state who need and want help, but can’t get it.
That’s the key recommendation from the Network of Alcohol and other Drugs Agencies (NADA) ahead of the 2026/27 State Budget.
‘The 2024 NSW Drug Summit clearly identified the problem and it’s causes – this Budget must deliver the solutions,” said NADA CEO Dr Robert Stirling. ‘The NSW government can fund the non-government AOD sector to provide 10,000 journeys to recovery, or it can keep people on a waitlist that in many cases is simply too long to survive.
The 2024 Drug Summit set a roadmap for reform and now it’s time to get on with the job. The Summit was the second government inquiry this decade, but the reality on the ground is a bottleneck of more than 100,000 people who need treatment that are unable to access it,’ said Dr Stirling.
‘This is due to chronic underfunding to the AOD sector who are willing and capable to pick up the shortfall, but simply don’t have the funding to deliver the services.
‘To complicate matters, we are no longer managing AOD dependence in isolation. Services are responding to complex and multilayered trauma, with people navigating alcohol and drug use alongside homelessness, mental health challenges and domestic violence.’
Increasingly complex patient profile
Across four AOD treatment facilities in NSW, between 87-100 per cent of all patients are presenting with mental health issues, and around 90 per cent of all patients are either currently experiencing or have previously experienced domestic and family violence.
This data provides a snapshot of what all AOD services are seeing across the state – an increasingly complex patient profile of intersecting needs.
NADA is asking for a $13 million increase year-on-year to baseline funding, resulting in $65 million in funding per year by 2029-30. On any given day, more than 1,800 people are waiting for NGO services. And these services deliver nearly 50 per cent of all treatment delivered in NSW.
‘Our sector is the most efficient partner the government has,’ said Dr Stirling. ‘For every dollar invested, our sector saved the taxpayer seven in terms of interactions with the health, justice, policing and community services systems.
‘Funding more AOD services would deliver a win for the people who need help, and a win for the budget too,’ he said.
Year-on-year funding will allow the alcohol and other drug sector to:
- Increase access to treatment for 10,000 more people every year.
- Expand treatment for pregnant women and parents – a complex but essential investment that strengthens families, supports children’s wellbeing and improves long term outcomes.
- Address 16 NSW Drug Summit priorities for the NSW Government.
- Fix the sector’s workforce retention issues caused by uncompetitive wages.
- Employ people in culturally safe roles to ensure First Nations, Multicultural and LGBTIQ+ clients are appropriately supported.
NADA says their members deliver excellent client results, with 80 per cent of those treated achieving positive outcomes.
‘Expanding treatment for pregnant women and parents will help the NSW government deliver on its First 2,000 Days Framework – a policy designed to give children the best possible start to life,’ Dr Stirling said.
‘By offering services that specifically support pregnant women and parents, we can provide children with stability early in life and support family connection which we know can have a life-long impact on their future success.’
