QNADA News

Submission to the Inquiry into Expanding Adult Crime, Adult Time and Taking Strong Stance on Drugs and Anti-social Behaviour Amendment Bill 2026

In March, QNADA made a submission to the Inquiry into Expanding Adult Crime, Adult Time and Taking Strong Stance on Drugs and Anti-social Behaviour Amendment Bill 2026. Our submission focused on:

• the need to continue to prioritise health responses and divert people who use drugs away from the criminal justice system

• issues with the Bill, including with respect to the loss of a caution option for police, and the use of fines as an apparent deterrent • the need for police training, and enhanced funding for AOD treatment and harm reduction services to support the operationalisation of the proposed amendments

• the importance of community led prevention initiatives and expanded support services to be implemented alongside Designated Business and Community Precincts

• the need for a robust, independent monitoring framework which is designed in partnership with relevant government and non-government agencies and supported by regular, transparent reporting as part of the introduction of the new Illicit Drug Enforcement and Diversion Framework and Designated Business and Community Precincts.

You can read the full submission here.

You can also hear our CEO, Rebecca Lang, talk with the Committee considering these amendments at Parliament House here (1.20).

AOD Skill Set Training EOIs

***PLEASE NOTE: EOIs are now closed and successful applicants have been notified***

Want to upskill and build workforce capability to support people who use Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD)?

QNADA has partnered with the Queensland Mental Health Commission (QMHC) and TAFE Queensland (RTO 0275) to offer 20 free training places for the nationally accredited Alcohol and Other Drugs Skill Set (CHCSS00093), delivered by TAFE Queensland.

If you support people who use AOD in your job role, we invite you submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) by 16 March 2026 to register your interest in one of the limited spots available.

For more information, read these FAQ.

More about the AOD Skill Set Training and its impact

The Alcohol and Other Drugs Skill Set (CHCSS00093) will provide the workforce with knowledge and practical tools to support people who use AOD and reduce stigma surrounding AOD use. It offers nationally recognised credentials and can be credited toward a Certificate IV Alcohol and Other Drugs (CHC43215) or Diploma of Alcohol and Other Drugs (CHC53215).

A variety of workforces and job roles contribute to improving outcomes for people who use AOD. This skill set is considered foundational training for those in frontline support roles.

This training is suited to workers in:

• community services
• youth services
• mental health, wellbeing and peer support roles
• homelessness and housing services
• justice, corrections and community safety
• health and social care
• other frontline roles supporting people with AOD concerns

Please note that no prior AOD qualifications are required to apply.

About the training

The training is delivered by TAFE Queensland in a virtual classroom format.

Course details:

• Start date: Friday 24 April 2026
• Finish date: Friday 26 June 2026
• Commitment: 5 hours each Friday for 10 weeks
• Class times: 9am to 12pm and 1pm to 3pm with a 1-hour lunch break

Click here for more information about the skill set content.

Submission to the Inquiry into Australia’s Youth Justice and Incarceration System

In December, QNADA made a submission to the Inquiry into Australia’s Youth Justice and Incarceration System 2025.

Building on our submission from 2024, QNADA focused on incarceration of children and the:

• intersection between the social, cultural, and structural determinants of health
• limitations on human rights and freedom from torture
• over-representation of First Nations

As supported by the evidence, it is our view that addressing the underlying drivers of crime by children through community-based interventions and diversion programs works, where over-policing and criminal responses do not.

You can read the full submission here. 

To know more about QNADA’s position on young people and the justice system, you can find our policy position here.

Submission to the Inquiry into the Health Impacts of AOD in Australia

In November, QNADA made a submission to the Inquiry into the Health Impacts of AOD in Australia.

Building on our submission from 2024, QNADA focused on the immediate and relevant issues that have emerged in the interim, including the recent ban on drug checking in Queensland, moves to unwind the decriminalisation of public intoxication, and intersections with family and domestic violence.

It is our view that sustainable and effective approaches to tackle problematic AOD use will require recalibration of efforts and investment to be more balanced between the three pillars of harm minimisation. This includes increased provision of evidence-based voluntary AOD prevention and cessation programs as part of routine care across all health and community services and in correctional settings, including within AOD treatment and harm reduction services. This is particularly relevant for rural and remote areas where the communities experience disproportionate rates of problematic AOD use and limited access to AOD services.

You can read the full submission here. 

Submission to the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Dismantling Illegal Trade) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025

In October, QNADA made a submission to the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Dismantling Illegal Trade) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025.

QNADA acknowledges the importance of taking further action to respond to the rapidly growing unregulated (i.e., illicit) tobacco market. In response, we support effective responses to tobacco and other smoking products use which are evidence informed and likely to increase individual and community safety, as outlined in our policy position paper on effective responses to drug use.

Contrary to the intention of the recently passed legislation, we are concerned that the singular emphasis on law enforcement over demand and harm reduction approaches will have devastating consequences for individuals and communities, while simultaneously failing to reduce use.

Our submission called for recalibration of efforts and investment to be more balanced between the three pillars of harm minimisation – supply, demand and harm reduction – and for prevention and cessation programs to be increased as part of routine care across all health and community services and in correctional settings, including within alcohol and other drug treatment and harm reduction services.

You can read the full submission here.

You can ready our policy position paper on ‘Effective Responses to Drug Use’ here.

2023-24 Alcohol and other Drug Treatment Services National Minimum Data Set

The Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services National Minimum Data Set (AODTS NMDS) contains information about alcohol and other drug treatment services; the clients who use these services; the types of issues for which treatment is sought and the types of treatment provided. In 2023-24, 107 establishments provided 22,104 closed treatment episodes to 13,682 clients aged 10+, a small decrease from 22,393 episodes in 2022-23.

Counselling was the most accessed treatment type (49%) followed by support and case management (18%), and rehabilitation (17%). More than half of episodes were provided to male clients (52%). Alcohol was the most common principal drug of concern for which clients sought treatment (39%), followed by methamphetamine (36%) and Cannabinoids (13%).

Data interpretation notes: The data is limited to those NGO AODTS who submit through QNADA, including statewide residential treatment services. Data from AODS or similar government services is not included. Please note, in some cases, agencies may not submit data to QNADA.

Please click here to read the full report.

Submission to the Productivity Commission’s Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement Review: Interim Report

In July, QNADA made a submission to the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement Review, Interim Report. We welcome the Productivity Commission’s acknowledgement of the co-occurring and intersecting nature of problematic alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and mental illness or suicidal distress.  

Our submission supported the inclusion of additional schedules to address the co-occurrence of problematic AOD use and mental ill health and suicide and to strengthen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and Emotional Wellbeing.  

We also emphasised the need for a sector-inclusive national level governance structure to facilitate better planning between tiers of government, representatives of key AOD sector stakeholders, and those with relevant personal experience, to address the limited coordination of the development, implementation, and funding of National Strategy priorities. 

You can read the full submission here. 

Submission to the Domestic and Family Violence Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025

QNADA recently made a submission to the Domestic and Family Violence Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025. We are supportive of proactive, evidence-based reforms which strengthen supports and provide immediate protections for victim survivors of domestic and family violence and we urged the committee to consider the potential impact of AOD use and harms in the context of coercive control and domestic and family violence.

Our submission highlights the intersection of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use with domestic, family, and sexual violence. Informed by member consultation and research, it stresses that while AOD use and DFV often co-occur, there is no direct causal relationship between AOD use and violence perpetration.

We further draw attention to the ways stigma and discrimination impact women and girls who use substances and are engaged with the criminal justice system. In particular, for victim/survivors it may result in a reluctance to report offences because of previous negative experiences with the criminal justice system and/or a fear of harmful consequences (particularly for those who use illicit drugs). Where victim/survivors who use substances do report, they are also more likely to encounter (real or perceived) issues with respect to the credibility of their statements which may impede the investigation or successful prosecution of offences.

You can read the full submission here

Submission to the Queensland Law Reform Commission’s review of particular criminal defences

The Queensland Law Reform Commission was recently asked by the Queensland Government to examine and make recommendations about particular defences in the criminal code, specifically self defence, provocation as a defence to assault, provocation as a partial defence to murder, the partial defence to murder of killing for preservation in an abusive domestic relationship, and domestic discipline.

QNADA welcome the Commission’s review of various aspects of criminal law and are supportive of proactive, evidence-based reforms to criminal law which strengthen supports for victims of violent crimes, particularly those which occur within the context of coercive control and domestic and family violence.

Our submission directs the Commission’s attention to the role alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and intoxication and focusses on:

• The role of AOD use, and harms, within family and domestic violence contexts
• Issues to consider when implementing proposal 2 and 3
• The significant institutional stigma and discrimination experienced by people who use drugs

You can read the full submission here

Submission to the Making Queensland Safer (Adult Crime, Adult Time) Amendment Bill 2025

In April, QNADA made a submission to the Making Queensland Safer (Adult Crime, Adult Time) Amendment Bill 2025. QNADA’s member services work at the intersection of multiple different systems and provide support to young people and their families who are in contact with, or are at risk of having contact with, the youth justice system. This makes us uniquely positioned to comment on the proposed amendments, which are contradictory to what we know works when responding to youth crime and out of step with other Australian jurisdictions.

QNADA is supportive of responses which are evidence informed and likely to increase individual and community safety, as outlined in our policy position paper on System Responses: Young People and the Justice System. We are concerned that the proposed amendments will increase the number of young people in custody, without improving community safety.

Our submission focuses on the challenges with:

• the ‘exceptional crisis situation’
• punitive approaches to youth offending
• removing the principle of detention as last resort
• disproportionate impacts on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people
• allowing cautions and restorative justice agreements to appear on the criminal history of a child
• equitable access to appropriate healthcare for young people engaged with the justice system
• enabling media to be presenting during criminal proceedings

You can read the full submission here

You can read our policy position paper on System Responses: Young People and the Justice System here

Submission to the Youth Justice (Monitoring Devices) Amendment Bill 2025

QNADA recently made a submission to the Youth Justice (Monitoring Devices) Amendment Bill 2025. The purpose of the Bill is to extend the electronic monitoring trial period by one year. While we are supportive of policies which aim to keep children out of custody, we are concerned that the proposed amendments will increase the criminalisation of children without improving community safety. As such, we did not support the bill.

Our submission argued that there is insufficient evidence to support extending the trial period considering that the literature on the use of electronic monitoring devices with children is, at best, mixed and that the trial has been extended multiple times yet has failed to provide evidence to support its effectiveness.

We also argued that the bill will not enhance community safety and instead will result in the further criminalisation and net-widening and, more broadly, policies which are punitive in nature generally do not provide a benefit to the community. We instead argued for policy and legislative responses focused on addressing the broader social factors which elevate the risk of a young person coming into contact with police or entering the youth justice system, including poverty, homelessness, family violence, and problematic substance use.

You can read the full submission here.

Submission to the Productivity Commission’s Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement Review

The Productivity Commission was recently asked by the Australian Government to conduct the final review of the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement and to assess the impact of programs and make recommendations that aim to enhance the effectiveness, accessibility, affordability and safety of the mental health and suicide prevention system. As our member services work at the coalface of these system, QNADA provided feedback for their process on current issues facing the AOD system with a focus on broad system level issues at the federal level in particular.

Our submission identified the following areas of improvement to Australia’s current approach:

• Chronic underfunding of the AOD sector
• The need to resolve issues within the current funding, contracting and commissioning environment
• Issues associated with the PHN network
• The need for national level governance arrangements for the AOD system

You can real the full submission here.