Summary

The Commonwealth Department of Health contracted Fiftyfive5 and CIRCA to undertake a series of consultations to inform the Department’s establishment of a grant process to establish new and support existing alcohol and other drug treatment services in four existing Cashless Debit Card (CDC) trial sites.

CIRCA’s Research Approach

CIRCA’s role was to collect data about the experiences of local service providers and community leaders based in each region and identify recommendations reflecting those local viewpoints. CIRCA conducted 48 interviews across the four communities, with representatives from local Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs), local mainstream health service providers, local Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service providers and local Aboriginal community leaders knowledgeable about local AOD treatment needs, services, and context. All interviews were facilitated by CIRCA’s Aboriginal Research Consultants, local to each trial area, via site visits to each community.

Research Findings and Outcomes

CIRCA’s findings were incorporated with Fiftyfive5’s findings (representing viewpoints from national-level stakeholders), and a set of recommendations were presented to the Department. We found a complex interplay of social and health issues that are central to problematic AOD use, including homelessness, unemployment, intergenerational trauma, racism/discrimination, poverty, and comorbid mental health challenges. We found that all four regions identified strong benefits from increased investment in AOD treatment services, but there were also region-specific needs identified. All four regions also had existing capacities for AOD treatment as well as gaps related to need for greater access to in-patient rehabilitation, greater access to targeted AOD treatment services (especially for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, young people, and women), greater workforce capacities (especially more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff), and greater basic infrastructure and social support (including housing, employment). The consultations identified four main avenues for addressing those gaps, and we concluded that the given the unique characteristics and needs of each region, grant funding will need to be localized and targeted in each area. Our nine recommendations to the Department focused on the provision of specialist treatment, maximizing provision to targeted groups, workforce training and capacity building, enhancing localization and collaboration in service provision, and articulating technical components of the grant-making process.

The report has been published on the DOH website; you can access it here:Consultation to Inform Funding for Alcohol and Other drug treatment services to support CDC trial participants | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care