Australian Aboriginal perspectives on alcohol and other drug education, care and treatment

Research Background
Mainstream alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment in Australia is shaped by biomedical frameworks that inadequately respond to the complexities of substance use for many Aboriginal people. These models fail to address the intersections of trauma, mental health, and structural inequalities, and for many Aboriginal people are widely experienced as culturally unsafe—creating barriers to help seeking and contributing to poor outcomes. In contrast, Aboriginal approaches to AOD treatment are recognised as best practice due to their holistic, relational, and culturally grounded foundations. 

Methods/Approach
This study is grounded in ‘Indigenist methodology’ that privileges Aboriginal self determination and the advancement of Aboriginal knowledges. A relational literature review was conducted and the research was led by an Aboriginal researcher and guided by an Aboriginal advisory group. The study used Yarning as a culturally appropriate method across two Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations in urban and regional New South Wales. Between October 2025 and July 2026, 25 staff members (14 Aboriginal, 1 Indigenous, 10 non Indigenous) participated in research yarns. Collaborative thematic analysis and poetic inquiry were used to analyse 39 hours of recorded knowledge. The project received AHMRC approval, and dissemination activities were designed to strengthen skills, capacity, and community benefit.

Research Findings
There are four interconnected practices which are central to Durri’s approach to youth AOD care: connection to Country as a modality for engagement and healing; kinship-based relational care; purposeful strengthening of cultural identity; and Aboriginal-led cross-cultural allyship. Connection to Country provides young people with emotionally safe spaces for stillness, reflection and relational depth, enabling meaningful AOD education through shared cultural activities. Kinship structures guide staff responsibilities and relational obligations, with Elders modelling cultural authority, consistency and respect. Identity-building practices—such as affirming language, cultural role modelling and visible expressions of cultural pride—counter deficit narratives and reinforce young people’s belonging and self-determination. Finally, Aboriginal-led allyship ensures that non- Aboriginal health workers and outside practitioners work in ways defined by Durri that uphold Aboriginal leadership and support bicultural (both ways) care.

These practices are not adjuncts to treatment; they are the foundation of effective AOD care for Aboriginal youth. They respond to the historical, political and social determinants shaping young people’s lives and demonstrate how culturally embedded, community-driven approaches foster safety, trust and healing. While grounded in Dunghutti and Thunghutti knowledge systems, these insights offer relevance for other Aboriginal communities, service providers and policy contexts seeking to strengthen culturally informed AOD care.

Teneale Lavender is an Aboriginal Australian researcher, poet and mother. Teneale was born on Dharawal Country, New South Wales, and is a proud descendant of the Walbunja people, with English and Irish ancestry. She is a mother to both human and non‑human kin and currently lives on beautiful Birpai Country on the Mid North Coast of NSW.

Teneale is a second‑year PhD candidate in the School of Social Sciences at UNSW Sydney, undertaking doctoral research on Aboriginal ‘ways’ of alcohol and other drug care within Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations across New South Wales. Her work centres on the cultural elements of care, highlighting how Aboriginal knowledge systems shape healing, treatment, and community wellbeing. She practices relational research, including co‑authorship with community knowledge holders, which ensures that her research is grounded in relational accountability and Aboriginal self‑determination. A published poet, she incorporates arts‑based and creative methodologies into her research practice. Her work seeks to address the longstanding exclusion of Indigenous knowledges from mainstream health systems and to advance the application of Aboriginal ways of caring across both Indigenous and non‑Indigenous contexts.