In 2011, the NCETA conducted a national survey of training providers involved in the delivery of alcohol and other drug (AOD) qualifications through Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) across Australia. The aim of the study was to examine the content and delivery of AOD qualifications, the demand for and availability of these courses, and to develop a national database of RTOs that delivered these qualifications. A total of 49 RTO providers participated in a telephone survey.

Training providers identified a need to improve the standard of all qualifications delivered to the AOD field. Strategies:
• increased collaboration among training providers
• forums and other forms of professional development to facilitate training improvement
• better linkages between training providers and service providers
• improved training pathways and credit transfer between VET and higher education providers

Respondents raised concerns about AOD qualifications in the Community Training Package and supported revision, including:
• the need to address comorbidity/mental health issues in AOD qualifications. Inclusion of at least one mental health unit of competency as a core unit in all AOD qualifications was suggested (while mental health qualifications generally included AOD units, AOD qualifications did not necessarily include mental health units or content)
• specific guidance on the amount of coverage to be given to specific drugs, including cannabis
• a reduction in generic units and an increase in AOD units included in AOD qualifications