These Guidelines should be used in conjunction with existing guidelines and discipline-specific practice standards. There are a growing number of guidelines being developed on the management and treatment of people with co-occurring mental health and AOD use disorders across jurisdictions and disciplines. Some other existing guidelines which AOD workers may find useful are listed in Appendix A. These Guidelines have drawn on these and other key resources and reference is made to them throughout this document.
All AOD workers should refer to the standards and competencies relevant to their own professions; for example, those specified by the Australian Psychological Society, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, the Australian Medical Association, the Nursing Board, the Australian Association of Social Workers, the Australian Counselling Association, and Volunteering Australia. In addition, the National Practice Standards for the Mental Health Workforce [8] provide practice standards for services and professionals who work with people who have mental health conditions.