Journalists often seek access to clients, staff and others involved with alcohol and other drug (AOD) services who can share their personal stories of lived and living experience of AOD use. These personal stories can challenge stereotypes, deepen public understanding of AOD use, and empower individuals by platforming their voices in issues that affect them, yet media reporting frequently produces stigmatising portrayals of AOD issues and the lives of people who use AOD and often results in negative outcomes for those sharing their stories.

This podcast is a recording of our recent event which profiled new resources developed by AADC to support best practices in AOD services when approached by media for access to lived and living experience stories.

Chaired by AADC CEO, Melanie Walker, this event included an expert discussion panel with:

• Jenny Valentish, journalist, media trainer and the author of addiction memoir Woman of Substances
• Michael White, EO, South Australian Network of Drug and Alcohol Services
• Dr Jackie Hallam, CEO, Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drug Council Tasmania
• Ele Morrison, Deputy CEO, Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League
• Jill Rundle, CEO, Western Australian Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies

This joint Australian Alcohol and other Drugs Council, Australian Women's Health Alliance and Deafness Forum Australia event showcases and explores innovative and collaborative responses – and new directions in responding – to gender-based violence across our three sectors.

Chaired by AADC CEO, Melanie Walker, this event includes presentations and a panel discussion featuring:

• 0:03:26 - 0:25:51 - Kimberley Wilde, WA Coordinator, Justice Reform Initiative (then WANADA project lead) and Jill Rundle, CEO, Western Australian Network of Alcohol & other Drug Agencies (WANADA)
• 0:25:52 - 0:36:20 - Rebecca Lang, CEO, Queensland Network of Alcohol and Other Drug Agencies (QNADA)
• 0:36:21 - 0:52:05 - Dr Vanessa Letico PhD, Victoria University, Lecturer in Criminology, College of Law & Justice
• 0:52:06 - 01:03:25 - Michele Campbell, Clinical Director, Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies (NADA)
• 01:03:26 - 01:16:31 - Phoebe, a lived experience advocate in disability and gender-based violence policy, advocacy, and research, based in regional Victoria
• 01:16:32 - 01:31:44 - Holly Brennan, CEO, Centre Against Domestic Abuse (CADA) and Board Member, Australian Women’s Health Alliance
• 01:31:45 - 02:04:59 - Panel discussion featuring special guest panelists from Women with Disabilities Australia.

𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘩𝘰𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘴, 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮: 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴

Keeping people out of the criminal justice system is one of the key priorities in AADC’s Strategic Plan. This event will highlight and explore innovative and collaborative responses to the range of intersecting issues contributing to the overrepresentation of particular population groups in the criminal justice system, including people who use alcohol and other drugs (AOD), people with disability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

This event features speakers including:

0:00 - 03:58 - Melanie Walker, CEO, Australian Alcohol and other Drugs Council

03:59 - 14:35 - Mick Gentleman MLA, Minister for Corrections, ACT Government

14:36 - 30:18 - April Long, Chief Executive Officer, SMART Recovery Australia

30:19 - 47:35 - Kymberley McKay, Board Member NOFASD Australia, General Manager at Department Correctional Services, South Australia

47:36 - 52:16 - Nicole Hewlett, Project Manager, First Nations Cancer & Wellbeing Research Program, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland

52:17 - 1:07:00 - Jody Barney, Deaf Indigenous Community Consultancy Pty Ltd, Senior Fellow with Atlantic Fellows Social Equity and Global Fellow for Social Change, current Churchill Fellow

1:07:01 - 1:20:08 - Gerard Byrne, President, Australasian Therapeutic Communities Association and Operations Manager, WHOS Treatment Services

1:20:09 - 2:00:39 - Panelist Q & A

This event is about ensuring that clinicians working in the alcohol and other drugs (AOD) sector have a good understanding of how to use the new AOD specific table - and the related guidelines - to provide appropriate supporting documentation for clients applying for the Disability Support Pension (DSP).

We will also explore what happens when someone on Centrelink payments enters residential rehabilitation – or other treatment programs – for AOD dependence and the steps that need to be taken to ensure continuity of payments.

Please visit https://aadc.org.au/events/ for copies of each presenter's slides and topic factsheet.

0:00 - 02:55 - Introduction

2:56 - 22:26 - Alex Abel, Branch Manager, Carers, Disability and Student Payments, Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS)

22:27 - 46:37 - Andrew Wright, Director, Mutual Obligation and Compliance Policy and Dan Lausevic, Director, Assessments and Mutual Obligations, Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR)

46:38 - 1:36:36 Panel speakers include:

- Nathan Dean, Director, Carers and Disability Payments Policy Section and Sara Morris, Assistant Director, Disability Support Pension Projects Section, DSS

- Andrew Wright, Director, Mutual Obligation and Compliance Policy and Dan Lausevic, Director, Assessments and Mutual Obligations, DEWR

- Donald Wolters, Assistant Director, Disability Pension and Parenting Payments Branch and Jenny Rohan, Assistant Director/Psychologist, Assessment Services, Smart Centre Operations Division, Services Australia

- Dr Craig Rodgers, Senior Staff Specialist, Addiction Medicine, St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney and President Elect, Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs (APSAD)

- Toni Eachus, Operations Manager and Deputy CEO, Goldbridge Rehabilitaion Services, QLD

- Rebecca Lang, Deputy Chair, AADC Board and CEO, Queensland Network of Alcohol and Other Drug Agencies (QNADA)

Forum Chair: Melanie Walker, CEO, AADC

In the May Federal Budget, it was announced that from 1 July 2023 the more than 50,000 Australians who need treatment for opioid dependency will have funded support to access the treatment they need from their local pharmacy at a cost they can afford, through a $377.3 million investment over 4 years in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) Opioid Dependence Treatment program (ODTP). 

This event, co-hosted with the Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL), explores the resultant changes and transitional arrangements, and provides an opportunity to ask any questions arising ahead of implementation. 

Speakers include:

0:00:00 - 0:05:31 - Melanie Walker, CEO, AADC 

0:05:32 - 0:08:54 - John Gobeil, CEO, AIVL 

0:08:55 - 0:23:49 - David Laffan, Assistant Secretary, Pharmacy Branch, Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care 

 0:23:50 - 1:45:18 - Panel speakers include:

- David Laffan, Assistant Secretary, Pharmacy Branch, Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care

- Kirsten Buckingham, Director, Alcohol and Other Drugs Branch, Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care

- Rebecca Lang, Deputy Chair, AADC Board and CEO, Queensland Network of Alcohol and Other Drug Agencies (QNADA)

- Stephanie Hocking, Director of Clinical Services and Programs, Centre for Alcohol and Other Drugs, NSW Ministry of Health

- Chris Gough, President, AIVL and Executive Director, Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation & Advocacy (CAHMA)

- Ele Morrison, Senior Project Officer, AIVL

Co-hosted with Suicide Prevention Australia (SPA), this events previews findings from SPA's upcoming report on alcohol and other drugs and suicide. It also brings together a panel of experts to explore the findings and wider issues for the AOD sector. Speakers include:

00:00 - 02:49 Introduction with Melanie Walker, CEO, Australian Alcohol and other Drugs Council

02:50 - 08:17 - Nieves Murray, CEO, Suicide Prevention Australia

08:18 - 28:34 - Anne Leslie, Senior Policy Advisor, Suicide Prevention Australia

28:35 - 1:07:25 - Panel discussion with:

- Nieves Murray, CEO, Suicide Prevention Australia

- Anne Leslie, Senior Policy Advisor, SPA

- Professor Michael Farrell, Director, and Ria Hopkins, PhD candidate, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC)

- Dr Rose Crossin, Senior Lecturer, Department of Population Health, University of Otago, NZ

- Sam Biondo, Executive Officer, and Gillian Clark, Mental Health Reform Lead, Victorian Alcohol & Drug Association (VAADA)

- Paul Dessauer, CEO, Peer Based Harm Reduction WA

Australian Alcohol and other Drugs Council (AADC) and Alliance for Gambling Reform (AGR) co-host an event to explore the importance of implementing formal standards for services. This comes in the wake of several high-profile cases across the country where clients were harmed by unregulated services.

00:00 - 06:28 - Introduction

06:29 - 16:05 - Rebecca Lang, CEO, Queensland Network of Alcohol and Other Drug Agencies (QNADA)

16:06 - 28:27 - Jill Rundle, CEO, Western Australian Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies (WANADA)

28:28 - 39:17 - Rob Stirling, CEO, Network of Alcohol and other Drugs Agencies (NADA)

39:18 - 50:17 - Carol Bennett, CEO, Alliance for Gambling Reform

50:18 - 58:34 - Dr Stefan Gruenert, CEO, Odyssey House Victoria

58:35 - 01:19:00 - Q & A

01:19:01 - 01:20:39 - Wrap up