Brimbank has ranked as the second-highest local government area in Victoria for heroin-involved overdose deaths over the past decade, according to new data.
In a report, the Coroner’s Court of Victoria revealed Brimbank recorded 134 heroin-involved overdose deaths between 2015 to 2024 – equal with the City of Melbourne.
The City of Yarra recorded the highest number during this period with 173 heroin-involved overdose deaths.
Victoria also recorded the highest number of fatal overdoses in a decade in 2024.
The report is the first release of 2024 full year overdose data and reveals 584 Victorians died from overdose last year, compared to 547 in 2023 and 552 in 2022.
A significant finding in the 2024 data was the continuing rise of illegal drug involvement in Victorian overdose deaths.
In 2024, illegal drugs contributed to 65.6 per cent of Victorian overdose deaths, up from 58.9 per cent in 2023 and 54.9 per cent in 2022.
While heroin-related deaths have remained stable, overall overdose deaths in Brimbank declined in 2024 compared with the previous two years, according to IPC Health.
IPC Health said this suggests community-led support and harm reduction efforts are having a meaningful impact.
According to IPC Health, alcohol and other drug (AOD) dependence is often rooted in social and structural adversity, such as trauma, mental health challenges, housing instability, unemployment, and social isolation.
Brimbank experiences significant socio-economic disadvantage: in 2021, its SEIFA Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (IRSD) was 913, placing it in the bottom 10 per cent of all LGAs across Victoria for advantage.
IPC Health general manager of operations and clinical care Jason Hodge said reducing AOD dependence requires a holistic, integrated, community-based response.
“Because every person’s circumstances are different, there is no single solution. We work to understand the root causes and connect clients with a full spectrum of support— including within IPC Health and through referrals —so that everyone, regardless of background, has the opportunity to be well for life,” Mr Hodge said.
IPC Health also highlighted that substance dependence is not a personal failing, rather, it’s often an adaptive response to financial hardship, social exclusion and other vulnerabilities
