Domestic violence in Aboriginal communities is made worse by excessive substance usage. Women and children were often forced to leave the family home because of domestic violence and in some towns, it was generally expected that incidents of domestic violence would be higher on pension days when people had funds to finance their drug and or alcohol dependency. The department said these were typical of the experiences of indigenous communities throughout Australia. Solvent sniffing appears to be a significant problem among isolated Aboriginal communities, where it has major health and social implications, particularly as the people becoming addicted to this are so young. In some cases, drug abuse problems were aggravated by lack of adult supervision and the absence of indoor recreation facilities to provide a focus for young people during the rainy season.
Substance abuse leads to high levels of incarceration among indigenous people.
This results in a whole range of social issues for the individual concerned, their family and dependants, and their community. The lack of trained indigenous counsellors created pressures in communities trying to deal with the problem by using their own resources. Indigenous families will also take responsibility for feeding, housing and supporting individual users and their children, creating further pressures in communities with high existing levels of poverty. The submission stressed the importance of culturally appropriate responses. The parliamentary inquiry is investigating the social and economic costs of substance abuse with particular regard to family relationships, crime, violence, law enforcement, road trauma, workplace safety and productivity, and health care costs.