The Federal Government has announced $24 million over four years to be invested into alcohol and drug research, with a particular focus on areas such as reducing harm from alcohol, Indigenous substance misuse and workforce development.

 

Minister for Mental Health Mark Butler said the funding will be provided to Australia’s internationally recognised drug and alcohol research and data collection under the National Drug Strategy.


“This investment will mean a new collaborative network can be built across three National Research Centres of Excellence to enable better coordination of research,” Mr Butler said. 


“It will also mean the continuation of key data projects, which give insights into trends in drug and alcohol use in Australia.

 

The three centres include the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), the National Drug Research Institute, and the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction. 


The funding means that NDARC will continue its annual collection of Australia’s drug trends through the Illicit Drug Reporting System and the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System.