Quality Framework for Australian Government Funded Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services

The quality framework will be developed in collaboration with Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) treatment services, state and territory governments and AOD peak bodies, and will lead the drive towards quality improvements in AOD treatment service delivery and improved client outcomes, by delivering best practice, evidence‑based treatment models to clients and family members. This will guide Australian Government funding of AOD treatment services in delivering quality, sustainable drug and alcohol services that respond to the needs of individuals, families and communities.

The project is based on an ethos of collaboration and transparency. Consultation and engagement with the AOD peak bodies and treatment services is central to the success of this project and will ensure the framework developed is informed and complementary to the AOD treatment services sector.

Project aims

Develop a quality framework for AOD treatment services that;

• complements other models/frameworks that services must currently comply with;
• is adaptable, flexible and suitable for a range of service types and settings, including Indigenous-specific services;
• clearly describes the expected quality standards for each service type;
• has clear guidelines, policies and procedures to support the achievement and maintenance of these quality standards;
• considers related aspects such as accreditation and minimum qualifications.

Project design and activities

This will be completed in two phases

1)    Phase 1: Quality standard mapping and consultation:

Stage 1: Mapping quality processes and activities – consultation and data gathering.

Stage 2: Developing the draft model

2)    Phase 2: Development of standards and indicators:

Stage 1: Developing standards and indicators – consultation and feedback

Stage 2: Model testing and sector consultation – assessing delivery mechanisms

Project contacts:

Project Lead: Associate Professor David Best, davidb@turningpoint.org.au

Senior Research Follow: Dr Máirtín McDermott, mairtinm@turningpoint.org.au

Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, in a letter to ATODA dated 2 September 2013, provided a summary or project information for AOD treatment service providers.
For more information: See the document.

The Project team have reported that the project is entering phase 2, which incorporates consultations with AOD services that are recipients of Commonwealth of AOD funding in each jurisdiction, including a presentation of the proposed quality framework.

• ATODA received a briefing from the Department of Health and Ageing on the Project on Friday 19 July as part of the annual face-to-face meeting of the Peaks Capacity Building Network in Brisbane.
• ATODA and the AOD Policy Unit met with Turning Point on 4 November to provide initial input into the project.
• Face to face consultations with ACT stakeholders were coordinated during the week of 16 December 2013.

• ATODA and members of the Peaks Capacity Building Network met informally with Turning Point regarding the new initiative on Thursday 18 July at Australian Winter School in Brisbane.

• ATODA received a briefing from the Department of Health on the Project on Friday 26 July as part of the Alcohol and other Drug Council of Australia’s National Policy Forum at Parliament House in Canberra.
• ATODA attended a face to face meeting in Melbourne on 6 February 2014 with the other State and Territory peak bodies and Turning Point to discuss a draft framework model and next steps.
• Turning Point and ATODA coordinated a second phase consultation forum on the development of the quality framework (for recipients of Commonwealth AOD funding) that was held in May 2014. The presentation from the Quality Framework team to ACT stakeholders can be downloaded here.
• To support consultations, Turning Point developed 2 discussions papers. Discussion Paper 1 summarises the findings of Phase 1 of the consultation (conducted in late 2013), in which processes for quality standards were reviewed with investigation of how these link to broader questions of evidence-based practice and quality improvement. Discussion Paper 2 was developed to inform the jurisdictional consultations (mapped to the areas of the Quality Framework model).