New South Wales alcohol and other drug service providers' perceptions of the relative importance of client variables for determining treatment need.

Introduction: This study examines alcohol and other drug (AOD) service providers' perceptions of the most important variables (client complexity and demographic) for determining treatment need and intensity of intervention.

Methods: Online cross-sectional survey of N = 188 clinicians/service managers working in AOD services across metropolitan and regional/rural New South Wales, Australia. Participants ranked the importance of demographic and family factors, substance use, physical health, mental health, functioning and activities of daily living and youth-specific variables in identifying treatment need (five-point Likert scales).