Non-residential withdrawal services

Key messages

Non-residential withdrawal is one of the treatment streams available for people receiving alcohol and other drug treatment services in Victoria.
Non-residential withdrawal involves a clinical withdrawal assessment and withdrawal treatment in the person’s home or at an alcohol and other drug treatment service or in association with a rural hospital.
Non-residential withdrawal may be suitable for people with alcohol and/or other drug dependence who have a level of stability in their lives. It may also be suitable for people in rural areas who are accessing shared-care arrangements.
Non-residential withdrawal supports people to safely withdraw from alcohol and/or other drug use through a cessation or gradual reduction regime.

About non-residential withdrawal services

Non-residential withdrawal services are one of the treatment streams for people who require alcohol and other drug treatment in Victoria.

Non-residential withdrawal involves a clinical withdrawal assessment and withdrawal treatment in the person’s home or at an alcohol and other drug treatment service or in association with a rural hospital. Withdrawal services also provide referral and information face to face and by telephone.

Eligibility for non-residential withdrawal services

Non-residential withdrawal may be suitable for people with alcohol and/or other drug dependence who are at low risk and who have supportive friends or family and stable housing.

It may also be suitable for people in rural areas with either low or high needs who are accessing shared-care arrangements.

Objectives of non-residential withdrawal

Non-residential withdrawal supports people to safely withdraw from alcohol and/or other drug use through a cessation or gradual reduction regime. Services are coordinated with medical services such as hospitals and general practitioners.

Non-residential withdrawal seeks to:

cease or reduce alcohol and other drug use to a level that restores a person’s health and wellbeing in the short term
provide a firm foundation for a person’s longer-term improved health and wellbeing
form part of an integrated and coordinated care pathway through linkage with the care and recovery coordination service for clients assessed as complex.