Surge in Australian Drug Overdoses Driven by Stimulants
Latest reporting from UNSW's National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre reveals over 2,000 drug-induced deaths in 2024, driven by sharp increases in methamphetamine and cocaine harms.
Harry Taruva 
Sydney — Drug-induced fatalities and emergency hospital admissions in Australia have recorded a sharp upward trajectory, driven predominantly by escalating harm linked to amphetamine-type stimulants and cocaine, new findings from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney reveal.
Annual surveillance data released by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) recorded 2,005 drug-induced deaths in 2024, averaging approximately 5.5 fatalities per day.
This marks a 7.4% increase in the national age-standardised mortality rate compared to 2023, effectively halting a multi-year decline observed since 2017.
In addition, drug-related hospitalisations surged by 10.5% in the 2023–24 period to 56,797 cases, outpacing the growth rate of overall hospital admissions nationwide.
NDARC Deputy Director, Associate Professor Amy Peacock, highlighted that while opioids remain involved in the highest number of overall fatalities, recent growth is anchored in a 29% jump in amphetamine-type stimulant deaths and a 40% surge in cocaine-related mortality.
“Methamphetamine in particular remains a significant challenge for prevention, treatment and harm reduction and should not be viewed as a problem of the past,” Prof. Peacock said.
“The sooner we respond to these changing patterns of drug-related harm, the greater our opportunity to prevent avoidable deaths and hospitalisations," she said.
The data further revealed that males accounted for 66% of overdose deaths, with 73% of fatal cases involving polydrug consumption.
