WA Diversion Program

The WA Diversion Program is a series of police and court-based programs aimed at diverting offenders with drug use problems away from the justice system and into treatment.

Working in partnership with WA Police and the court system, the program provides offenders of all ages with access to education and treatment.  This creates a positive change that benefits both the offender and the community.

Referrals from justice stakeholders such as magistrates, lawyers and police are essential to the program's success. 

To find out how the WA Diversion Program is making a difference in our community, see the evaluation reports of the court diversion programs.

Police diversion programs

There are two police diversion programs available as part of the WA Diversion Program: 

• The Cannabis Intervention Requirement for adult offenders facing minor cannabis charges; and 
• The All Drug Diversion program for offenders caught with small amounts of illegal drugs other than cannabis.

Court diversion programs

Court diversion programs are available to most offenders appearing in court who have drug-related problems, depending on the seriousness of the offence.  

These programs are voluntary and in most cases the offender is required to plead guilty during their court appearance.

Court diversion programs include:

• Pre-sentence Opportunity Program (POP)
• Young Persons Opportunity Program (YPOP)
• Diversion programs for Aboriginal people
• Supervised Treatment Intervention Regime (STIR)
• Youth Supervised Treatment Intervention Regime (YSTIR)
• Drug Court