In this month’s release: latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey, women’s experiences with the health system and the latest scam/fraud data.

Forthcoming releases

If you are interested in any of the forthcoming releases or datasets, please contact the Parliamentary Library to discuss in more detail.

(a) Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA)

Note: Release dates may be subject to change without notice.

Recent reports

National Drug National Drug Strategy Household Survey, 2022-23 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare)

Between 2022–23 more than 21,000 people across Australia took part in the latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey. Key findings from the survey include:

• 11.5% of people had used marijuana/cannabis in the previous 12 months, equating to around 2.5 million people. This is lower than the proportion doing so in 2001 (12.9%).
• 1.0% (200,000 people) of the population had used methamphetamine and/or amphetamine in the previous 12 months. In contrast, around 1.6 million people in Australia (7.5% of the population) had used it in their lifetime.
• 1.4% of the population (or around 300,000 people) had used ketamine in the previous 12 months, and around 900,000 people had used it in their lifetime. Between 2004–16 around 70,000 people using ketamine in the last 12 months.
• 2.2% of the population (500,000 people) had used pain-relievers for non‑medical purposes in the previous 12 months. This continues the downward trend since 2016.
• 6.6 million people (31%) consumed alcohol at risky levels in 2022–23. This is slightly lower than the proportion in 2016 (33%) and below the peak of 6.8 million people in 2010 (38%).

The proportion of people aged 14 and over who have ever smoked tobacco has declined over the past two decades. In 2001, about half the population had smoked tobacco in their lifetime. By 2022–23, this had reduced to just 1 in 3 (35%).

EndGenderBias Survey (Department of Health and Aged Care)

In 2023 the National Women’s Health Advisory Council conducted the #EndGenderBias survey to ask Australian women about their experiences of barriers and bias in the health system.

Of the 2,570 women who responded, two-thirds reported gender bias or discrimination. Gender bias was experienced most in relation to sexual and reproductive health and chronic pain, while over 70% said they experienced bias in the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions.

Frauds and Scams Data

Scam Statistics Dashboard (National Anti-Scam Centre)

The latest statistics on scams show that in 2023:

• There were 301,778 scams reported, with $476,778,116 in financial losses.
• The reported 8,681 investment scams yielded the biggest financial losses, encompassing $292,623,743 (42.7% of total losses).
• There were 149,952 reports of attempts to gain personal information (including Identity theft, hacking, phishing and remote access scams). The total amount lost in these scams was reported at $50,647,006.
• There were 3,652 reported dating and romance scams, incorporating losses of $34,344,656.

Personal Fraud, 2022–23 (Australia Bureau of Statistics)

In 2022–23 (persons 15 years and over):

• 8.7% or 1.8 million people experienced card fraud, which was higher than the rate in 2021–22 (8.1%).

• 98% of those who experienced card fraud notified (or were notified by) an authority about the incident, with 92% contacting or being contacted by a bank or financial institution.
• 34% (1 in 3) had less than $100 withdrawn or used in the most recent incident of card fraud, while 1 in 6 (18%) had more than $1,000 withdrawn or used.

• 2.5% or 514,300 people experienced a scam, which was similar to the rate in 2021–22 (2.7%).

• 2.1% or 434,300 people experienced online impersonation, down from 2.5% in 2021–22.

• 1.0% or 199,100 people experienced identity theft, which was similar to the rate in 2021–22 (0.8%).

Interested in finding out what the latest statistics are telling us about the Australian economy and population? Each month the Parliamentary Library publishes a Flagpost article listing new reports on a wide variety of topics. The list includes important upcoming ABS releases and reports from other research organisations and government departments.