Drug-induced deaths and hospitalisations in Australia have risen, with the trend driven by increased harms from amphetamine-type stimulants and cocaine, new data show.
Latest annual reporting by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) at UNSW Sydney shows more than 2,000 deaths in 2024 – about 5.5 deaths per day – from drug overdoses.
Nearly 57,000 drug-related hospitalisations – or 156 per day – were also recorded in 2023-24, marking a 10.5% increase compared to the previous year.
Associate Professor Amy Peacock, NDARC Deputy Director and Drug Trends Program Lead, said the emerging patterns are a major public health concern.
"Our findings suggest methamphetamine-related harms are increasing again, alongside rising harms associated with cocaine use," A/Prof Peacock said.
"Methamphetamine in particular remains a significant challenge for prevention, treatment and harm reduction, and should not be viewed as a problem of the past.
"The sooner we respond to these changing patterns of drug-related harm, the greater our opportunity to prevent avoidable deaths and hospitalisations."
The findings are published in the latest Drug Trends reports on drug-related hospitalisations and deaths in Australia, which are released annually.
Overdose and other drug-induced deaths
In 2024, there were 2,005 drug-induced deaths (excluding those from alcohol and tobacco), equivalent to 7.3 deaths per 100,000 Australians.
"Although the 2024 estimates are preliminary and will likely increase with future data revisions, they already exceed the revised estimates for 2023, where the rate was 6.8 deaths per 100,000 people," A/Prof Peacock said.
"It also suggests that the decline in overdose deaths – which we've observed since the historical peak of 8.2 deaths per 100,000 people in 2017 – has well and truly stalled."
Preliminary revised data indicate a 7.4% increase in the national age-standardised rate of drug-induced deaths in Australia between 2023 and 2024, reversing the downward trend observed since the 2017 peak"
A/Prof Peacock said that, while opioids remain the leading drug class identified in overdose deaths, the recent rise had been driven by a 29% increase in deaths from amphetamine-type stimulants and a 40% jump in cocaine-related mortality.
Other key findings from the drug-induced deaths report include:
- The national age-standardised rate of overdose deaths increased by 7.4% between 2023 and 2024.
- Males accounted for 66% of overdose deaths.
- Polydrug use was a defining feature of overdose mortality, with 73% of cases involving two or more drug classes.
- The most common psychosocial risk factor was a personal history of self-harm, which was noted in about one in eight deaths.
Drug-related hospitalisations
The researchers identified 56,797 drug-related hospitalisations (excluding alcohol and tobacco) in 2023-24, representing a 10.5% increase from the previous year.
"This was more than double the 4.1% increase in all hospitalisations in the same period, indicating that drug-related hospitalisations grew faster than overall hospital admissions," A/Prof Peacock said.
Amphetamine-type stimulants accounted for the largest proportion of drug-related hospitalisations (29%), with most involving methamphetamine.
The rate of hospitalisations from amphetamine-type stimulants increased by 24% compared to 2022-23; similarly, cocaine-related hospitalisations rose by 29%.
Other key findings from the drug-related hospitalisations report include:
- The highest percentage of drug-related hospitalisations occurred in those aged 20-29 and 30-39 years (26% each).
- A greater proportion of cases involved mental and behavioural disorders due to substance use (59%) than poisoning (41%).
- Intensive care unit admissions accounted for 6.1% of drug-related hospitalisations.
