Drug trends

The Drug Trends program is an internationally renowned system that NDARC has coordinated since 1996. The program is key to identifying emerging problems in substance use in Australia and providing impetus for policy responses and intervention. Drug Trends is funded by the Australian Government under the Drug and Alcohol Program.

About the program

Drug Trends triangulates data from various sources to identify emerging problems in substance use in Australia.

Information from annual interviews with people who regularly inject drugs (Illicit Drug Reporting System) and who regularly use ecstasy and other stimulants (Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System) are used alongside analyses of routinely collected indicator data to describe changes in drug use and harm across Australia over time.

National-level data (e.g., drug-related mortality and hospitalisations) are also regularly reported on to describe country-level trends in drug-related harms (National Illicit Drug Indicators Project).

The availability of substances on online drug marketplaces operating on the ‘dark net’ is monitored regularly to capture trends in the online availability of illicit and emerging substances (Drugs and New Technologies).

Drug Trends also produces interactive data visualisations that allow users to interact with program data.

For news and research findings from the Drug Trends team, please subscribe to the .

If you would like more information or any questions, please contact the Drug Trends team (drugtrends@unsw.edu.au). This includes any queries about accessing existing interview data for analyses or requesting additional questions in the IDRS or EDRS interviews.