30/08/2026
Every 3.5 hours, someone in Australia dies from an overdose. That's 7 people a day, 2,596 lives in a single year.
For our staff who work on the frontlines every day, these are not simply statistics. "Every number represents somebody's son or daughter. Somebody's parent. A partner. A friend. A colleague. Somebody," says the team behind our Proactive Overdose Response Initiative (PORI).
Today is International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD). For the last 25 years, it’s brought people together to remember those lost to overdose, and also an opportunity to advocate for more to be done to prevent further deaths.
Every day our staff are meeting people who are doing everything they can to survive, while dealing with poverty, trauma, chronic pain, mental illness, stigma and unstable housing. They don’t want to die. They need practical support to stay alive, so they can recover and rebuild their lives.
Overdose can be prevented, but people are still dying. Evidence-based solutions that can save lives already exist.
These numbers aren’t set in stone. We can all take action to turn things around. While specialist Alcohol and Drug services play a vital role, there are things we can all do:
✅learning to recognise the signs of overdose,
✅learning how to use naloxone (and carrying it where appropriate),
✅checking in on friends and neighbours,
And if you use drugs, avoid using alone and seek help early.
Read more about work we are doing to prevent overdose in our community: nrch.com.au/ioad-2026/
Learn more about our Community Overdose Response Training run by our PORI team and book a session: nrch.com.au/community-overdose-response-training/
Pictured: Pat & Richard from our PORI team demonstrating how to use naloxone.
