Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS)

The Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) is a national study, designed to monitor illicit drug markets and provide a strategic early warning system of significant changes and emerging trends in illicit drug use. The project has been running nationally since 1999, and is jointly funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, and the National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund.

The methodology of the IDRS comprises three components: (1)interviews with individuals who regularly inject illicit drugs; (2) interviews with key informants, professionals who have regular contact with substance-using populations through their work; and (3) analysis of indicator data sources related to illicit drugs, such as the National Household Survey on drug use, Needle Availability Program data, drug treatment data, and information from police seizures.

The project is co-ordinated at a national level by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) at the University of New South Wales. The Tasmanian arm of the project is run by Raimondo Bruno and Associate Professor Stuart McLean from the Tasmanian School of Pharmacy at the University of Tasmania.