The Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia - 24 April 2009 - Workplace Alcohol/ Drug Testing Under Pressure

24 April 2009 - Workplace Alcohol/ Drug Testing Under Pressure

As workplace alcohol and drug testing becomes more popular, questions arise about the ability to provide employee/ employer support for managing consequences and support for workers impacted by a positive test. While the Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia (ADCA) welcomes moves to improve safety for workers and clients, workplace testing programs do create a whole new treatment-seeking population for the alcohol and other drugs (AOD) sector to manage.

"Weighing the safety of workers and clients - against the practicality of implementing and sustaining a comprehensive workplace testing system is a complex issue," ADCA CEO David Templeman said. "It raises questions about who pays for the ongoing treatment and whether there are enough AOD workers, especially in remote areas, to respond when someone does test positive."

Mr Templeman said that the introduction of new industry-wide aviation safety regulations by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) that focus on the use by employees of alcohol and other drugs was an important initiative not only for the industry, but also for the travelling public.

CASA's regulations state that anyone in the aviation industry who provides a positive sample for prohibited levels of alcohol or another drug, will be immediately stood down from safety-sensitive activities and must undergo an assessment. Such an assessment can only be conducted by a psychiatrist, an addiction medicine specialist, or a non-specialist medical practitioner in conjunction with a tertiary qualified AOD professional.

"As workplace AOD testing becomes more commonplace in Australia, the AOD sector will face greater stresses as it is already ill-equipped to deal with increasing demands for services," Mr Templeman said. "CASA has advised ADCA that it has undertaken awareness initiatives and formed a CASA Working Group to work on a 'guidance document' for General Practitioners (GPs) and AOD professionals in the methods of undertaking assessments.

"However, ADCA remains concerned of the sector's capacity to meet the possible increase in requests for services as a result of CASA's new regulation. ADCA fears that employees 'caught out' by the new testing regime could be forced onto waiting lists, prolonging treatment, and undermining the process of being able to return to the workplace. This situation is likely to be exacerbated in rural, regional and remote areas where access to psychiatrists or addiction medicine specialists is limited."

Media Enquiries: Brian Flanagan, Manager Strategic Communications and Policy - Phone 02 6281 0686 (w) or 0400 860 058 (m)

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