History of the ADMHSS

In 1986 the Alcohol and Drug Information Service (ADIS) was launched to provide 24-hour support, information, counselling, and referral for Western Australians experiencing problems and concerns related to alcohol, drug use and comorbidity issues. This was a recommendation of the National Drug Summit in early 1985.  In its first year, ADIS received 5,575 calls.

A decade later, in 1996, the Parent Drug Information Service (PDIS) was launched to provide support to parents and families affected by someone else's alcohol or other drug (AOD) use. Calls to the Parent and Family Drug Support Line were answered by the ADIS counselling team. PDIS also supported parents in the Adult Drug Court and provided parent peer support groups at the Drug and Alcohol Office (DAO).

In the 1990s, Quitline was an additional support line managed by ADIS. The Quitline is a national telephone service for those wanting information, assistance, counselling and support with smoking cessation. In WA, Quitline was funded by the Public Health Division, Department of Health Western Australia.

In 2000 parent peer volunteers were trained to form the Parent Peer Volunteer Network and answer calls from concerned parents.

Eleven years later the Booking Service was launched. The Booking Service consists of the Cannabis Intervention Requirement Scheme, Other Drug Intervention Requirement Scheme, and the Alcohol Interlock Scheme. These are WA Police and Department of Transport diversionary schemes. The purpose of these schemes is to minimise harm by diverting people with minor drug and alcohol offences from the justice system into the health system.

As technology has evolved, in addition to phone, email and mail out support, Live Chat commenced from late 2010 to early 2011. Live Chat support is free and operates seven days a week from 7.00am - 10pm.

In January 2015, the ADIS commenced an eight-month pilot project to implement a dedicated telephone and online support service specifically targeting working away from home communities, including fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) workers.  This included greater promotion of the existing ADIS services to regional and remote communities. The focus was on AOD use and mental health and wellbeing.

Later in April 2015, the Alcohol and Drug Information Service was renamed, rebranded and officially launched by the Minister for Mental Health to the Alcohol and Drug Support Service (ADSS) which at that time was comprised of three support lines:

  • Alcohol and Drug Support Line
  • Parent and Family Drug Support Line
  • Working Away Alcohol and Drug Support Line

In addition, PDIS was rebranded to become called the Parent and Family Drug Support (PFDS). The renaming and rebranding was implemented to better reflect the evolving services offered to meet the needs of the community.

Due to low call numbers the Working Away Alcohol and Drug Support line was ceased from February 2018 and calls were redirected to ADSL. Later in 2018, the Meth Helpline was launched with funding for three years. Funding was not continued, and Meth Helpline ceased in 2021 with calls redirected to the Alcohol and Drug Support Line for the next 12 months.

On 2 March 2022 the Minister for Health officially launched the Here For You Support Line, to provide statewide support to anyone concerned about their own or another person's mental health and/or alcohol and other drug issues.  Here For You operates between 7am to10pm seven days per week. 

Here For You is one of five components of the Immediate Drug Assistance Coordination Centre (IDACC). IDACC has been envisaged to address the needs of Western Australian's experiencing a crisis involving problematic alcohol and other drug use to enable them to immediately access care and support in a coordinated and seamless way. The IDACC facility (not due to open until 2025) will provide immediate 24/7 assistance to those experiencing an AOD-related crisis. The IDACC is comprised of five interrelated service components that will together provide a holistic and person-centred response for individuals in AOD crisis related and include support for their families and significant others:

  1. Here For You Support Line (currently operates 7am to 10pm)
  2. Drug and Alcohol Clinical Advisory Service (DACAS) for clinicians, that is staffed by AOD specialists at Next Step (currently operates 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday)
  3. 24/7 Drop In Hub (commence in 2025)
  4. Short-term Crisis Beds (commence in 2025)
  5. Assertive Outreach and Care Co-ordination Team (commence in 2025)

The Alcohol and Drug Support Service encompasses three support lines and two program areas:

  • Alcohol and Drug Support Line (ADSL)
  • Parent and Family Drug Support Line (PFDSL)
  • Here For You Support Line (1800here4u)
  • Parent and Family Peer Volunteer Support Network
  • Diversion Booking Service

To ensure the service name is reflective of our service, ADSS underwent rebranding in 2025 to the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Support Service (ADMHSS).

The ADMHSS provides comprehensive alcohol, drug and mental health support via multiple methods of access, which include telephone, live chat and email. All support lines are answered by professionally qualified counsellors. The option of speaking to a Peer Volunteer is currently on hold, but callers have the option when calling PFDSL to speak with a parent and family peer volunteer who has lived experience of supporting someone with alcohol and/or other drug issues. 

Our new rebranded support line logos are:

* Our brand-new logo has kept the traditional colours of purple (from ADSL), orange (from Here For You), green (from PFDSL). 

Page last updated17 January 2025