The sector is ready, and the community needs Australian alcohol and other drug treatment services to ask about sexuality and gender identity

Sexuality and gender diverse Australians are a priority population in federal and state-based alcohol and other drug (AOD) strategies. Research evidence shows higher prevalence of AOD use by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people, riskier use and a higher proportion have accessed AOD treatment. Despite these disparities, Australian AOD treatment services do not routinely collect data on sexuality or gender identity. As a result, the treatment needs, experiences and outcomes of LGBTQ people remain largely invisible. The Australian Bureau of Statistics' recently released standardised indicators for the recording of sex, gender, variations of sex characteristics and sexual orientation presents an opportunity for the AOD sector to implement inclusive data collection as a foundational step towards achieving policy priorities for LGBTQ people. This commentary includes an implementation case study from the New South Wales non-government AOD treatment sector, where sexuality and gender identity indicators have been collected since 2016.