01
Naloxone everywhere
Make free take-home naloxone routine and easy to obtain through pharmacies, hospitals, treatment services, outreach and custodial release.
Penington Institute Annual Overdose Report 2026
WA has Australia's highest unintentional drug-induced death rate.
Overdose is preventable. The response should be led by evidence, health care and harm reduction, not stigma.
Updated September 2026
2,596
drug-induced deaths in Australia in 2024
2,091
were unintentional drug-induced deaths
9.0
WA unintentional drug-induced deaths per 100,000 people
233%
rise in WA's rate from 2004 to 2024
Source: Penington Institute, Annual Overdose Report 2026, executive summary pp. xii-xiv and WA chapter p. 13.
The charts
Easy numbers. Hard conclusion.
All figures below come from Penington Institute's Australia's Annual Overdose Report 2026.
How to read the data: 2023 and 2024 figures are preliminary and likely to rise. Drug categories overlap and must not be added together. A drug recorded in a death was not necessarily the primary cause, taken concurrently, or present at a toxic concentration.
WA trend
WA's unintentional drug-induced death rate has more than tripled from its low point
WA went from 2.7 deaths per 100,000 people in 2004 to 9.0 in 2024.
2023 and 2024 data are preliminary and likely to rise.
Source: Figure 7.1 and discussion, p. 13; data cube, p. 160.
2024 state comparison
WA sits at the top of the national list
WA9 per 100,000
SA8.5 per 100,000
Victoria8.1 per 100,000
Queensland7.4 per 100,000
NSW6.8 per 100,000
Tas., NT and ACT combined5.9 per 100,000
Apart from 2016, WA has had the highest rate every year since 2011.
Source: Figure 7.1 and discussion, p. 13; data cube, p. 160.
City and country
This is not just a Perth problem
8.9
Greater Perth
218 unintentional drug-induced deaths in 2024
8.6
Rest of WA
54 unintentional drug-induced deaths in 2024
Greater Perth and regional WA are both carrying the crisis.
Source: Table 7.1, p. 14.
National comparison
Drug-induced deaths were nearly double road-traffic deaths
Drug-induced deaths2,596
Road-traffic-accident deaths1,307
Australia built a road-safety culture. Drug-induced deaths demand the same seriousness.
This comparison uses all drug-induced deaths, including intentional and undetermined deaths, as defined by the report.
Source: Figure 5.1, p. 3; data cube, p. 154.
Primary Health Networks
Perth South, Perth North and Country WA all matter
Perth South112
Perth North106
Country WA54
Counts are 2024 unintentional drug-induced deaths. Rates are age-standardised averages for 2020-2024: Perth South 9.8, Country WA 8.5 and Perth North 8.2 per 100,000.
Source: Table 9.12, p. 107.
Local areas
WA's ten highest-count local areas
Stirling215
Perth City144
Mandurah139
Wanneroo134
Rockingham120
Swan119
Cockburn115
Bayswater - Bassendean107
Gosnells107
Bunbury100
Top ten WA Statistical Area 3 counts, aggregated across 2015-2024. Gosnells and Bayswater-Bassendean share eighth place.
Source: Table 9.13, pp. 118-119.
Not one stereotype
Overdose is not one drug
Opioids877
Amphetamine-type stimulants772
Benzodiazepines514
Alcohol311
Antidepressants293
Anticonvulsants and neuropathic pain modulators234
Cannabinoids218
Cocaine141
2024 Australian unintentional drug-induced deaths involving each drug type. Categories overlap and must not be added together.
Important: “Cannabinoids” includes natural cannabis, more toxic synthetic cannabinoids, and cases where a cannabinoid was present but did not contribute to the death. The report records no sole-drug death identified as botanical cannabis since 2014, although some cases did not distinguish natural from synthetic cannabinoids.
Source: Executive summary, pp. xiii-xiv; cannabinoids, pp. 72-76; data cube, p. 155.
A health-led response
Evidence before assumptions.
Brian supports free, voluntary and anonymous clinical drug checking as one practical way to understand a changing drug supply and give people clearer information before harm occurs.
What this means
What should WA do now?
The data does not support a simple “tough on drugs” story. The report records deaths involving illicit substances, pharmaceutical medicines and alcohol, often with multiple drug types recorded. It also notes pre-existing health conditions and social disadvantage.
02
Treatment without stigma
Provide timely, affordable, evidence-based treatment—including opioid pharmacotherapy—without judgement or barriers that turn people away.
03
Anonymous drug checking
Offer voluntary, confidential, health-led testing so people can learn what a substance contains, understand the risks and make a more informed choice—without police involvement.
04
Overdose prevention education
Give people, families and frontline workers practical skills to recognise an overdose, respond immediately and reduce avoidable risks—without judgement or scare campaigns.
“WA has the highest unintentional drug-induced death rate in the country. That should shame us into action. People do not need slogans after they die. They need naloxone, treatment, drug checking and a government willing to follow the evidence.”
Hon Dr Brian Walker MLC
Read the Penington report.
These charts are drawn from Penington Institute's Australia's Annual Overdose Report 2026. The report notes that 2023 and 2024 data are preliminary and likely to rise.
Simple data. Human stakes. Preventable deaths.
The point is not to frighten people. The point is to stop people dying.