Submission on the health impacts of alcohol and other drug use

Read the PDF submission here

The St Vincent de Paul Society NSW (the Society NSW) welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport on the health impacts of alcohol and other drug use in Australia. The Society believes that people with alcohol and/or drug (AOD) use issues should receive dignifying health-focused responses. They must have access to a breadth of person-centred end-to-end services that meet their needs at different stages of recovery.

The Society NSW works in partnership with people experiencing AOD use issues to help them achieve and sustain security and stability. Realising better health outcomes involves recognising the impact of broader social, psychological and physical health issues that must be addressed through the availability of holistic wrap-around support. The Society NSW seeks to contribute to a reduction in the number of people experiencing AOD use issues, and to reduce the level of associated harm in the community.

As an AOD service provider, the Society NSW believes in the fundamental role of treatment in reducing the health impacts of problematic AOD use. The National Drug Strategy 2017-2026 and National Alcohol Strategy 2019-2028 both recognise the benefits of access to AOD treatment services.¹ Adequate resourcing and appropriate funding models of services and providers offering integrated care is critical to ensuring that people experiencing AOD use issues have access to supports that are tailored to meet their needs. The specialisation and expertise of the AOD workforce needs to be acknowledged in practice and sustainably supported in the future. This requires ongoing consultation with the sector, providers, people with lived and living experience and frontline staff.

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1 Commonwealth of Australia, National Drug Strategy 2017-2026 (2017) pg. 9; Commonwealth of Australia, National Alcohol Strategy 2019-2028 (2019) pg. 23