Media release

National Council maps it out for treatment!

Today, at the 2005 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and Other Drugs Conference, the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) released its latest research paper titled Mapping National Drug Treatment Capacity.

Commenting on the release of the report Professor Margaret Hamilton, Co-Acting Chair of the ANCD, said, “Since its inception the ANCD has been a strong supporter of treatment as part of Australia’s balanced approach to addressing drug-related harm. However, when the ANCD engages in discussions about treatment it regularly hears the following questions:

What is the current profile of alcohol and other drug treatment services across Australia?
Where are the alcohol and other drug treatment services across the country?
Is there a way to better understand the types of alcohol and other drug treatment services that are needed in Australia?”

Professor Hamilton added, “With the completion of this report there is a comprehensive listing of all the drug and alcohol treatment services across Australia and the ANCD is now able to answer these questions with greater authority.”

Professor Hamilton continued, “The community is often calling for more treatment services but at this stage we don’t have a good understanding of the amount of each type of treatment that should be provided in any geographic location. This report provides policy bodies and funding providers with a framework to more effectively assess these calls when they are making decisions about the types of treatment that should exist in various geographic locations.”

Mr Gino Vumbaca, Executive Officer of the ANCD, said, “The list of services, accompanying set of maps and electronic mapping software linked to this project are excellent resources for organisations that are involved in funding or referral activities. However, this project has also highlighted that the Australian drug and alcohol sector is in a continual state of change; and to ensure that the list and maps remain accurate it will be necessary to update the information on a regular basis.”

To obtain a copy of the complete report please visit the ANCD’s website www.ancd.org.au.

8 November 2005

The ANCD is the principal advisory body to Government on drug and alcohol issues.

For further information, please contact:

Professor Margaret Hamilton (ANCD Co-Acting Chair)
0408 302 815

Mr Gino Vumbaca (ANCD Executive Officer)
0408 244 552

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