"We want to make a difference in people's lives"
Who are the people and the community sector organisations that work with Tasmanians with alcohol and other drug problems?
The purpose of the ATDC Workforce Survey is to build a profile of the people who, and organisations that, work in the Tasmanian community sector delivering alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) services and programs.
This is the fifth round of surveys, with this work being conducted every two years since 2010. Across a 10 year period these surveys have provided an evolving picture and identified workforce trends, requirements and training needs. The learnings from these surveys underpins the ATDC’s core peak body function to provide leadership and representation for the Tasmanian ATOD sector.
The ATDC Workforce Survey is comprised of two surveys, one examining the workforce and the other, the organisational perspective.
Distributed to the ATDC’s membership, the results of the 2018 Survey capture the majority of Tasmanian community sector organisations delivering ATOD services and programs with 16 responses to the organisational survey, and 152 responses to the workforce survey.
ATDC Workforce Survey 2019 Results
177
workers in ATOD sector surveyed
129
full time equivalent (FTE)
2 in 3
identify as female
22%
20-34 years of age
53%
35-54 years of age
24%
55+ years of age
over 5x
increase in proportion of 60-64 year olds (2% in 2016, 13% in 2018)
over 2x
increase in proportion of ages 55+ (10% in 2016, 24% in 2018)
5%
identify as a person with a disability, compared to 23% of the Tasmanian population
10%
of workers identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, compared to 5% of Tasmanians overall
6%
are culturally and linguistically diverse, in accordance with the Tasmanian population
60%
are university qualified with a bachelor's degree or higher
82%
in permanent positions, had access to additional benefits and covered by Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award
1 in 2
less than 5 years in ATOD sector
1 in 4
more than 10 years in ATOD sector
7 in 10
access clinical supervision
908 vs 3 employees
in largest organisation compared to smallest
88%
of CEOs and managers surveyed did not consider staff turnover to be a significant issue
Support and non-clinical ATOD workers were the most common positions organisations are seeking to fill in 2018-19
ATDC Workforce Survey 2018 Recommendations
Workforce strategy
Recommendation: We need a dedicated ATOD Workforce Development Strategy to deliver a coordinated approach to increasing client complexity, the ageing workforce and the diversity of professional specialisations.
Reduce stigma
Recommendation: Develop workforce materials that promote the Tasmanian ATOD sector as a ‘career of choice’ and invest in initiatives that actively address the issues of worker wellbeing and stigma that are associated with working in the field.
Lived experience
Recommendation: Support the establishment of a funded Tasmanian ATOD consumer representative organisation that can work with community sector and government organisation to increase the number of workers with ‘lived experience’ in the Tasmanian ATOD workforce.
Professional membership
Recommendation: Explore ways to increase membership to professional bodies and associations, as this is an effective approach for workers to maintain professional qualifications.
Awareness and integration
Recommendation: Increase awareness of and seek out collaborative opportunities with the Tasmanian ATOD sector and other community sectors (e.g. mental health and housing) to increase understanding of the services provided.
