Addiction is a cost-of-living issue: why we need more than AA
April Long, CEO SMART Recovery Australia
Australians have returned Labor to office, and delivered a clear mandate to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. But amid promises of energy rebates, housing relief, and grocery price interventions, one major issue was conspicuously absent from the campaign trail… addiction and recovery support, despite its deep connection to economic and social wellbeing.
Addiction affects millions of Australians every year. And not just individuals, families, communities, and workplaces. It has a profound economic and social toll but remains largely invisible in political discourse.
As cost-of-living pressures intensify, so do the drivers of addiction: stress, disconnection, housing instability, and trauma. Treating addiction as a moral failing or personal weakness won’t reduce these harms but investing in recovery will.
With a renewed term, the Albanese Government has a critical opportunity to recognise addiction as a complex public health issue with far reaching consequences. That includes continued investment in modern, evidence-based recovery options that reflect the real lives and needs of Australians.
For decades, the 12-step model of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has been one of the most visible support options for addiction. While its helped many, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Its abstinence-based approach works for some but excludes many others.
What if your struggle is with methamphetamine, sex, gambling, or prescription drugs? What if you want to reduce harm, rather than stop completely? What if you don’t believe in a higher power, or simply need a different kind of support?
SMART Recovery (Self-Management and Recovery Training) offers a national, evidence-based, secular program that empowers people to take control of their own recovery, using proven psychological tools such as cognitive behavioural therapy and motivational interviewing. Led by trained peers, clinicians, and people with lived experience, it’s practical, flexible, grounded in science… and most importantly, it works.
A 2021 University of Wollongong evaluation of the program found a 43 per cent reduction in days engaged in problematic behaviours (substance use, gambling) and there’s currently 456 meetings across Australia, in prisons, rehab centres, Aboriginal health services, regional towns, and youth programs. Online meetings extend the reach to rural and remote communities- a critical equity measure for our geographically vast country.
But SMART is just one part of a growing and diverse recovery ecosystem. Organisations across the country are stepping up with innovative, inclusive approaches.
From Offender and Rehabilitation Services (OARS) supporting criminalised women, to Lives Lived Well delivering youth-focused recovery meetings in schools; to the Palmerston Association which offers specialised meetings for LGBTIQ+ communities, and Clean Slate Clinic which provides digital, home-based detox support, our sector is building a national response that is compassionate, credible, and community-driven.
Together, we’re reimagining what recovery support looks like and making sure it includes all Australians, because addiction is not just a health issue it’s an economic one.
Harmful alcohol use alone costs the Australian economy more than $14.4 billion annually, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). That figure doesn’t account for gambling harm, illicit drug use, or the intergenerational effects of addiction on families and communities.
I know those effects firsthand. I grew up with a parent experiencing addiction. The financial strain, the emotional volatility, and the constant unpredictability left a mark- not just on our family life, but on my sense of safety, identity, and future. Like many children in similar households, I learned early how invisible addiction can be.
The re-elected Labor Government has already demonstrated a strong commitment to health equity, cost-of-living relief, and mental wellbeing and importantly, has recognised the value of evidence-based recovery. We encourage the government to:
- Fund a broader range of evidence-based recovery options, within mainstream health funding.
- Support workforce development by training peer facilitators and clinicians in contemporary recovery models.
- Integrate recovery services across systems - including primary care, justice, housing, and employment.
- Invest in digital infrastructure and innovation, so that every Australian, no matter their postcode, can access timely, effective support.
Recovery is about more than stopping harm. It’s about rebuilding lives, restoring connections, and offering people hope, dignity, and choice.
When we fail to invest in recovery, it’s not just services that suffer, it's all Australians. People who are working, voting, and trying to survive. People like the ones I grew up with and the ones walking through our doors daily.
This is public health reform, not moral rescue. It’s about giving people real tools and real choices. It’s time to give Australians more than one pathway to recovery.
