In Australia, around eight percent of high school students aged 16 to 17, said in a survey between 2022 and 2023 that they had used illicit drugs at least once in their lifetime. Around five percent of respondents aged 12 to 15 in the same time period said they had used illicit drugs at least once in their lifetime.
Illicit drug use among high school students in Australia from 1996 to 2023, by age group
Changes to the national survey methodology for 2022/2023 (pen and paper to online survey).
Data collection spread across two academic years (previously a single academic year used).
The smaller number of schools and students used in the 2022/2023 survey reduces the precision of prevalence estimates.
Additional time lag between the COVID-delayed 2022/2023 survey and the previous ASSAD survey in 2017 (five years instead of three).
Illicit drugs includes hallucinogens, amphetamines, cocaine, opioids and MDMA. Prior to 2017, single questions were used to measure amphetamine use and opioid use respectively. Excludes cannabis.
As this difference may have affected the measure of use of any illicit drug, only methamphetamine use and heroin use were included for 2017 and 2022/2023 when considering trends.
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Department of Health (Australia). (February 2, 2024). Illicit drug use among high school students in Australia from 1996 to 2023, by age group [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 22, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1450623/australia-illicit-drug-time-school-students-by-age-group/
Department of Health (Australia). "Illicit drug use among high school students in Australia from 1996 to 2023, by age group." Chart. February 2, 2024. Statista. Accessed December 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1450623/australia-illicit-drug-time-school-students-by-age-group/
Department of Health (Australia). (2024). Illicit drug use among high school students in Australia from 1996 to 2023, by age group. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1450623/australia-illicit-drug-time-school-students-by-age-group/
Department of Health (Australia). "Illicit Drug Use among High School Students in Australia from 1996 to 2023, by Age Group." Statista, Statista Inc., 2 Feb 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1450623/australia-illicit-drug-time-school-students-by-age-group/
Department of Health (Australia), Illicit drug use among high school students in Australia from 1996 to 2023, by age group Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1450623/australia-illicit-drug-time-school-students-by-age-group/ (last visited December 22, 2024)
Illicit drug use among high school students in Australia from 1996 to 2023, by age group [Graph], Department of Health (Australia), February 2, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1450623/australia-illicit-drug-time-school-students-by-age-group/
