2024 saw the highest number of drug-induced deaths on record in Australia with more than 2,500 lives lost that year. Australia's Annual Overdose Report reveals older Australians accounted for almost half of these reported deaths. Experts say support and resources need to be urgently directed toward treatment and harm reduction.
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TRANSCRIPT
Drug-induced deaths have reached a record high, with older Australians accounting for more than half of the fatalities.
Australia's Annual Overdose Report, released by the Penington Institute, documented 2,596 drug-induced deaths in 2024, with 80.5 per cent being from unintentional overdose.
Director of Research at the Penington Institute Jake Dizard [[dizz-ARD]] says the latest figures are significant cause for alarm.
"It's the highest number of total drug-induced deaths that we've seen in, for any year in the time series. This is data for 2024 is what this report relates to. And it's also the highest number and the highest rate per 100,000 population of unintentional drug-induced death in the time series."
Since 2008, more Australians have died from drug-induced deaths than road fatalities.
The latest overdose report finds that the median age of people dying from drug overdose is increasing.
For the first time, those aged between 50 and 59 accounted for almost half of all unintentional overdose deaths.
Mr Dizard says this could be attributed to a large cohort of ageing people who started using drugs in the 1990s and early 2000s.
"As that cohort has got older, they have become more vulnerable to drug-induced death because of the length of time that they have been using drugs and the accumulating sort of comorbidities."
The report also finds of the 428 drug-induced suicides, 39 per cent were people aged 60 and over.
Australian Alcohol and Other Drugs Council Chief Executive Melanie Walker says the report confirms that overdose is not just impacting young people.
"Overdose is something that affects the whole community, it affects young people. It also affects older people. Overdose can be from illicit drug use, or it can be from prescription drug use. It's something that is often thought of as a young person issue, but really it's not."
The report also reveals that men accounted for 72.7 per cent of unintentional drug-induced deaths, people living in regional and rural areas had higher rates of death than those living in capital cities, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experienced higher rates of overdose.
In 2024, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experienced an overdose rate of 29.3 per 100,000 compared to 6.6 per 100,000 for non-Indigenous people.
Opioids were responsible for 42 per cent of all drug-induced deaths in 2024, with heroin-related deaths also more than tripled, rising from 101 deaths in 2001 to 488 deaths in 2024.
But Mr Dizard says the use of prescription opioids, such as oxycodone, has declined since 2021 — a trend he says can be seen across a number of categories of prescription drugs.
"Within the opioids category, heroin would be the most important contributor, but some of the other types... You know, there's been some variation in the other sub-types of opioids. So, some of the what we call, natural and semi-synthetic opioids, which includes a number of the main prescribed opioids like oxycodone, and codeine, that has actually declined a bit over the last 5 or so years."
Amphetamines, meanwhile, were involved in 772 deaths, a record high for the drug, cocaine was involved in 141 deaths, and benzodiazepines, alcohol and antidepressants also contributed to drug-induced deaths.
Cocaine was the only recorded drug that saw a decrease in the median age of people dying from overdose.
Experts say what's especially concerning is the majority of drug-induced deaths in Australia are preventable.
Ms Walker says more than two-thirds of people seeking help for drug and alcohol use have been turned away from services because of funding insufficiency.
"For at least the past decade, we know that almost half a million people are turned away from alcohol and other drug treatment each year in Australia because of a lack of funding and capacity in the sector. So during that same time period, we've seen the number of drug-related deaths increase exponentially. Those 2 things are not a coincidence. If you've got two-thirds of the people who need help with alcohol and other drug problems being turned away from treatment, is it any surprise that the rate of drug-related deaths continues to climb in this country?"
Mr Dizard says the report lists a range of recommendations to reduce the number of deaths, including increased access to overdose reversal drugs.
"There's a number of tools that we have for which there's abundant evidence that it can save lives. That's things like naloxone, which is the opioid overdose reversal drug, which is very safe and can be administered by anybody. It's important not just for people who habitually or routinely use opioids, but also people who might be using other drugs, including cocaine, that might be contaminated with some sort of opioid."
Mr Dizard notes the importance of community education on how to identify signs of overdose and respond — and greater investment in services like opioid pharmacotherapy, where medications like methadone are used to treat opioid dependence.
While stigma hinders people's ability to seek support for drug and alcohol addiction, Mr Dizard says while law enforcement is heavily funded, treatment and harm reduction are being left behind.
"The funding has been incredibly unbalanced throughout the last several decades of Australian drug policy. So, we know that just focusing the vast majority of our funds on law enforcement has not worked. The drug supply is still, you know, it's robust. And, and in some cases, drugs are more potent and cheaper than ever. So we need a much more balance across the pillars of the National Drug Strategy."
Australia's National Drug Strategy has three pillars: supply reduction, which includes law enforcement; demand reduction, which refers to treatment; and harm reduction, including preventative measures such as drug checks.
Australian Alcohol and Other Drugs Council Chief Executive Melanie Walker says there's also currently no forum for federal and state and territory governments, to come together and talk about the implementation of the national drug strategy, and coordinate planning.
She says focus across governments needs to urgently shift toward improving access to services.
"It's really obvious what the problem is in terms of why overdose deaths are rising, and until we come to terms with that and get proper resources — I can't see that changing."
SBS News has contacted the Department of Health for comment.
