NADAbase and the NSW MDS, explained.

What is the NSW MDS for AOD treatment services?

The NSW Minimum Data Set for Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services (NSW MDS DATS) collects consistent information about the clients and activities of drug and alcohol treatment services funded by NSW Health. The NSW Ministry of Health is the collection authority, and the data is used to inform policy and planning for the sector.

According to NSW Health's fact sheet on the collection:

• it has more than 40 data elements, collected across a client's treatment episode
• it covers agency details, client demographics, drug use and the services provided
• reporting is expected monthly, no later than the 21st of the month after the month of collection
• funded providers should confirm with their funding or contracting agency which services, clients and activities are in scope

Public treatment providers report through local electronic medical record systems. NGO members of NADA can use NADAbase, while organisations that are not NADA members must have their own way of meeting NSW Health's MDS requirements.

What are NADA and NADAbase?

The Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies (NADA) is the peak organisation for the non-government AOD sector in NSW, with close to 100 organisational members. NADAbase is NADA's system for client data collection and reporting, including outcomes data, and it is provided free to members.

NADAbase supports three collections in one place: the national AODTS-NMDS, the NSW MDS and client outcome measures (COMS). Members use the data for client records, quality improvement, evaluation and research, and NADA submits data to funding bodies on members' behalf.

There are two ways to get data into NADAbase:

• Direct entry: staff enter clients, episodes and outcome assessments through the NADAbase portal.
• Import: services that keep records in their own client management system upload a set of comma-delimited files. Five files are mandatory (episodes, other drugs of concern, previous treatment, other services and service contacts), and a sixth file carries outcome surveys for services that use them.

NADA's published reporting schedule is:

• NSW Health: a monthly MDS extract of open and closed episodes on the 21st of each month, covering the previous month
• Primary Health Networks: quarterly extracts of closed episodes and COMS data, with a summary report, about six weeks after each quarter
• Australian Government-funded services: an annual national extract of closed episodes for the previous financial year, prepared in October or November, with national data sent to the AIHW through its Validata tool

For importers, NADA asks state-funded services to upload by the 21st of the month after collection.

How does the NSW MDS relate to the AODTS-NMDS?

The national AODTS-NMDS is a subset of the NSW MDS. NADA's tutorial material explains that NADAbase follows the NSW data set so members can collect every item their different funders require in one go. NSW then forwards its data for the national collection to the AIHW each year.

The two collections have some practical differences:

• Timing. The NSW MDS is reported monthly and includes open episodes. The national collection is annual and includes closed episodes only.
• Episode closure. The NADAbase Data Dictionary says an episode should be closed when there has been no contact for one month and no further contact is planned. The national manual uses three months without contact.
• Service contacts. NADAbase records individual contacts within an episode, such as face-to-face, group, phone or video sessions.
• Extra items. The NSW data set includes items the national collection does not, such as screeners and family-related fields.

Recent changes are worth checking in your own forms. From 1 July 2025, NADAbase added optional items for pregnancy status, number of accompanying children and child protection involvement. From 1 July 2026, the Domestic Violence Risk Screener (DVRS) replaced the previous domestic and family violence screener, in line with NSW Health requirements. The June 2026 Data Dictionary says both formats are accepted until 1 October 2026, after which only the new format is accepted.

What are COMS and which outcome measures are used?

Client outcome measures (COMS) track how clients are going across four areas. NADA's guidance lists the instruments used for each:

• Drug and alcohol use: the Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS)
• Psychological health: the Kessler 10+ (K10+)
• Health and social functioning: the WHO Quality of Life 8 (WHOQOL-8)
• Blood-borne virus risk: injecting and overdose questions drawn from the BTOM-C

NADAbase can also hold a nicotine dependence measure and the Australian Treatment Outcomes Profile (ATOP) in its survey file, for services that use them.

COMS are not mandatory for every service, but NADA notes that NSW Health and PHNs have started including them in some contracts. Check your service agreement. NADA also points out that outcome data is useful for individual care planning and for showing change from the client's perspective, but it does not on its own prove that treatment caused that change.

What are the common data-quality issues in NSW AOD reporting?

NADA's importer guidance and data reviews highlight a familiar set of problems:

• Long open episodes. NADA has started reviewing long open episodes, beginning with 2025-26 records, and services may receive automated emails asking them to review and close them.
• Missing mandatory values. Open episodes are the only allowed exception.
• Invalid codes. For example, a PO box postcode instead of the client's residential postcode.
• Date and logic errors. Incorrectly formatted dates, a date of birth after the episode start, cessation before commencement, or dates outside the reporting period.
• SLK mismatches. The linkage key not matching the client's recorded details.
• Duplicates. Possible duplicate clients and episodes flagged in NADAbase's Data Quality Report.
• File structure. Incorrect column order or missing agency codes in import files.

NADA's advice to importers is to correct errors in the source system as well as in NADAbase, so the same problem does not return next month.

How does software help with NSW AOD reporting?

Monthly NSW reporting rewards services that capture good data as they go. In Mimaso, client, episode and service data is captured once, in notes and forms on desktop or the mobile app, so the same information feeds every report.

Missing or invalid fields are flagged on entry, and the whole return is validated again before submission. Mimaso produces MDS and AODTS-NMDS returns in the format each collection requires, and funder-specific reports, such as PHN reporting, can be configured to your service agreements. Mimaso covers all eight state and territory AOD peak bodies, including NADA, VAADA, QNADA, WANADA, SANDAS, ATDC, ATODA and AADANT.

Mimaso has more than 21 years in the health and welfare sector and is ISO/IEC 27001 certified. Your data belongs to your organisation, with a full export available if you ever leave.

NADAbase and NSW MDS frequently asked questions

Do we have to use NADAbase?

NADAbase is a free service for NADA members. Services that are not NADA members need their own way to meet NSW Health's MDS requirements, and members with their own client management system can import files rather than entering data directly.

When is NSW MDS data due?

NSW Health expects monthly reporting, no later than the 21st of the month after the month of collection. Your funding agreement may set additional requirements.

Is the NSW MDS the same as the AODTS-NMDS?

No. The national AODTS-NMDS is a subset of the NSW MDS. NSW forwards its national data to the AIHW each year.

Are client outcome measures mandatory?

Not for every service. Some NSW Health and PHN contracts now include them, so check your agreement.

Sources

NSW Health: NSW Minimum Data Set for Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services fact sheet. NADA: NADAbase Data Dictionary (June 2026), NADAbase importer guide, NADAbase FAQs and NADAbase tutorials. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: AODTS-NMDS Data Collection Manual 2025-26.

This guide is general information, current as at November 2026. Check the latest NADAbase Data Dictionary and your service agreement for your own requirements.

More reporting guides

• AODTS-NMDS reporting, explained
• PRIMHD reporting, explained
• How Mimaso handles reporting and compliance