A roadmap for alcohol and other drugs policy reform in Australia

THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability has today presented and published its final report for its inquiry into the health impacts of alcohol and other drugs in Australia.

Committee Chair, Dr Mike Freelander MP, said, "The true cost of addiction to alcohol and other drugs in Australia is almost impossible to calculate but is measured in the tens of billions of dollars. We have a responsibility as public policymakers to look at how we are addressing this and whether our current frameworks are fit for purpose."

Dr Freelander said, "Our report makes 30 recommendations to the Australian Government which reflects the complexity of the issues that arose in the evidence to the inquiry. The committee believes strongly that these changes will have a significant impact in reducing alcohol-related harms to Australian individuals, families and communities."

The committee’s recommendations include:

• a new mandatory alcohol advertising and marketing framework;
• modelling of the alcohol taxation system to determine whether it remains fit for purpose;
• national standards for the online sale and delivery of alcohol;
• capability building for primary and antenatal care services for alcohol screening and interventions, including for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD);
• a national early warning system for illicit drugs;
• increasing the awareness of, and access to, the Take Home Naloxone Program;
• mandatory alcohol and drug education programs in secondary schools;
• mandated alcohol and other drug training in medical colleges and across sectors;
• scaling of digital models of care and increased funding for integrated models of care;
• improving the retention of the alcohol and other drug workforce, including peer workers;
• improved and targeted services for regional areas, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and other vulnerable Australians.

The report can be accessed and downloaded here.

Further information about the committee’s inquiry is available at the Committee’s website.

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