Youth Drug Offences Hit New Low as National Drug Strategy Nears End. What Comes Next?

As the National Drug Strategy approaches its final year in 2026, it’s time to ask: has it worked? Designed as a decade-long framework, it launched in 2017 aiming to reduce and prevent the harmful effects of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. The strategy aimed to combine prevention, treatment, and law enforcement into a unified national effort.

Now, the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) provide some answers, and the numbers are striking.

The Numbers: A Decade of Progress

Since 2016, youth drug offences have more than halved.

In 2023–24, the number of illicit drug offenders nationwide dropped to 48,213. That was the lowest figure since records began. Among youth offenders (aged 10–17), the decline was even more pronounced. Youth illicit drug offenders fell by 17%, down to 2,791, marking a ninth consecutive annual decrease.

The youth offender rate fell to 105 per 100,000, the lowest since the time series began in 2008–09. For perspective: before the strategy began, the rate stood at 254.3 per 100,000 in 2015–16. In less than a decade, that figure has dropped by more than half.

This decline cannot be attributed solely to the National Drug Strategy, but its role is impossible to ignore. The framework has encouraged:

• Greater focus on early intervention in schools.

• Expansion of rehabilitation programs over custodial sentences for young offenders.

• Targeted campaigns addressing specific substances and age groups.

There are, no doubt, other factors at play as well. Broader social trends and improved youth engagement services likely played a part as well. But the sustained, year-on-year decreases suggest something more than coincidence, and paint the National Drug Strategy in a very positive light.

Where Policy Goes from Here

The real challenge begins in 2026. With the framework set to expire, policymakers must decide what course they chart from here. Will they renew and refine the current strategy, building on its successes, or pivot to new priorities, such as synthetic substances and vaping?

While the statistics show magnificent progress, there is still work to be done in prevention and education, especially given the rapid pace at which new substances emerge and consumption trends change. Recent years have shown a marked rise in vaping rates among youth, from 1.8% of 14-17s in 2019 to 9.7% in 2022-23, according to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation. The Foundation also reported that 3.5% of that age group admitted to vaping daily.

A Moment for Action

The new ABS crime data is, clearly, encouraging. Fewer young Australians are finding themselves in the criminal justice system for drug-related offences, and the trend is long-term, not a blip. But these gains need to be safeguarded. The next iteration of the National Drug Strategy must anticipate tomorrow’s challenges while cementing today’s achievements, continuing the decline in drug-related offences while combatting new challenges such as the rise of vaping.

For now, the numbers speak clearly: youth drug offending is at a historic low. The question is, will Australia seize the chance to push them lower still?