Introduction Involuntary drug and alcohol treatment occurs in many countries and its role is often controversial. This can be a particular concern in relation to First Nations or other culturally distinct populations. This study explores beliefs and attitudes of drug and alcohol clinicians when considering referral of Aboriginal Australians to involuntary drug and alcohol treatment in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Methods The Involuntary Drug and Alcohol Treatment program (IDAT) is legislated by the NSW Drug and Alcohol Treatment Act 2007. There are two IDAT units—in urban (Sydney, four beds) and regional NSW (Orange, eight beds). NSW Health drug and alcohol clinicians who had referred clients to IDAT between 2016 and 2018 were invited to participate in a semi‐structured 1:1 interview. Eleven clinicians (n = 2, male) from six local health districts (urban through to remote) agreed to participate. A descriptive qualitative analysis of responses was conducted. Results Two key themes summarised the beliefs and attitudes that clinicians reported influencing them when considering referral of Aboriginal Australians to involuntary drug and alcohol treatment in NSW: (i) dilemma between saving someone's life and being culturally safe; and (ii) need for holistic wrap‐around care. Discussion and Conclusions Almost all clinicians were worried that being in IDAT would further erode their Aboriginal client's autonomy and be retraumatising. Strategies are needed to support the involvement of Aboriginal‐specific services in IDAT processes and ensure local support options for clients on discharge. Future research should examine the effectiveness, acceptability and feasibility of involuntary drug and alcohol treatment programs.

Several initiatives have sought to increase the number of First Nations individuals with a higher degree in research (i.e., PhD or research masters)-in Australia and in similarly colonised countries. However, little has been written on day-to-day support structures and mechanisms that might help First Nations Australian candidates thrive in postgraduate research degrees and beyond. For sensitive research fields such as alcohol, emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers must grapple with topics which are stigmatising and in some instances associated K. S. Kylie Lee and Scott Wilson are joint primary author.

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