Treating opioid addiction with medication

Why this is important

Using medicine (such as methadone) to help treat opioid addiction is called pharmacotherapy. Effective pharmacotherapy services can significantly reduce the health, social and economic harms of opioid addiction. 

Around 15,000 Victorians rely on pharmacotherapy daily. Opioid addiction disproportionately affects people experiencing disadvantage. 

In 2024 the government introduced the Community Health Pharmacotherapy Grants program to improve access to pharmacotherapy services. It has since provided more funding for pharmacotherapy through the Statewide Action Plan to reduce drug harms.

Despite this, there are ongoing concerns about unmet demand, workforce shortages and equitable access to services across the state. There is not much public reporting on the outcomes of the program, so it is not clear how effective it is at reaching the people who need it most.

It is important that government initiatives to reduce drug harms are achieving their objectives and ensuring that disadvantaged Victorians can access essential treatment when and where they need it.

What we plan to examine

We plan to examine if the Community Health Pharmacotherapy Grants program is meeting its program objective and expanding access to pharmacotherapy services, and how effectively these grants have been allocated and applied, including if grants have been applied in areas of greatest need.

Who we plan to examine

Department of Health

A selection of grant recipients (community health services)

Further information

We looked at pharmacotherapy and other alcohol and other drug treatments in our reports Managing Drug and Alcohol Prevention and Treatment Services (2011) and Victoria's Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Data (2022).

This complements our planned engagement 'Reducing the harm caused by alcohol and other drugs', which looks at the timeliness and accessibility of alcohol and other drug programs.