Date: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Time: 9.30AM – 4:30PM
Location: In person at Orygen – Parkville VIC 3052
*catering will be provided
Description:
Attention Deficit and Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders, with a typical onset before 12 years of age. It can significantly impact a young person’s participation in life, school and community. ADHD can increase the risk of harmful substance use, and AOD dependence, particularly if someone’s ADHD has been undiagnosed or not treated.
This training is designed for AOD workers who want to deepen their understanding of ADHD, and build confidence in responding to co-occurring substance use.
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Describe the core symptoms, subtypes, and developmental course of ADHD in young people.
- Understand the prevalence and patterns of co-occurring ADHD and substance use problems among young people
- Describe the role of medication in treating ADHD and the evidence regarding their safety and effectiveness in individuals with co-occurring substance use.
- Apply evidence-based psychological and behavioral interventions for ADHD and co-occurring substance use
Eligibility Criteria
This training is open to people working in AOD-specific roles in publicly funded services (i.e. AOD, mental health locals).
Who is not eligible?
Students on placement or internships, workers outside of Victoria, workers not in an AOD-specific role.
Terms & Conditions
Please cancel your registration at least 24 hours before and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.
Date: Thursday, 12 February 2026
Time: 9.30AM – 4:30PM
Location: Online
Description:
Attention Deficit and Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders, with a typical onset before 12 years of age. It can significantly impact a young person’s participation in life, school and community. ADHD can increase the risk of harmful substance use, and AOD dependence, particularly if someone’s ADHD has been undiagnosed or not treated.
This training is designed for AOD workers who want to deepen their understanding of ADHD, and build confidence in responding to co-occurring substance use.
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Describe the core symptoms, subtypes, and developmental course of ADHD in young people.
- Understand the prevalence and patterns of co-occurring ADHD and substance use problems among young people
- Describe the role of medication in treating ADHD and the evidence regarding their safety and effectiveness in individuals with co-occurring substance use.
- Apply evidence-based psychological and behavioral interventions for ADHD and co-occurring substance use
Eligibility Criteria
This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service.
Who is not eligible?
Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.
Terms & Conditions
Please cancel your registration at least 24 hours before and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.
This is a one-hour Talking Point webinar. To attend the webinar, click the link below to register.
Description:
Over 30 Local Government Areas have used the framework to reduce alcohol consumption, injuries and crime. In the US it has been used to also reduce smoking, cannabis and depression. An Australian cost benefit analysis has shown that using the CTC approach to adolescent alcohol consumption has a return of investment of $2.60. This presentation will outline the Communities that Care model and how communities can use the model. It will also present findings from the National Australian Cluster Randomised Control Trial, and other national and international longitudinal evidence. This webinar will be presented by Dr Bosco Rowland.
Date: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Time: 1:00pM – 2:00PM
Location: Zoom
Cost: Free
Who should attend: This webinar is only available to staff who are working in a Victorian Department of Health (DH) funded AOD organisation.
Registration: Click here to register
This is a one-hour Talking Point webinar. To attend the webinar, click the link below to register.
Description: Nitrous Oxide (N2O), colloquially known as “laughing gas” or “nangs”, is a dissociative anaesthetic that has become increasingly popular among young people. The growing popularity of N2O can be attributed to its ease of access through social media and messaging platforms. Concerns of the harmful effects of N2O on users’ physical and psychological health have grown; yet this growing concern is not matched by harm reduction support. This mismatch highlights not only the need to develop harm reduction resources for N2O but also for these resources to be adapted to social media platforms. This study drew on the lived experience of young people who used N2O to develop harm reduction resources for dissemination on social media. This webinar will be presented by Prof Julaine Allan & A/Prof Jacqui Cameron
Date: Wednesday, 3 September 2025
Time: 1:00pM – 2:00PM
Location: Zoom
Cost: Free
Who should attend: This webinar is only available to staff who are working in a Victorian Department of Health (DH) funded AOD organisation.
Registration: Click here to register
Date: Wednesday, 25th June 2025, 9:30AM – 4:30PM
Location: Online (Link will be sent to you closer to the training date)
Description
This session will cover how workers can provide effective brief intervention support to young people unwilling to engage in more traditional, clinical or intensive AOD support. The workshop will also cover other experiential and novel ways to work with young people when traditional approaches aren’t fit for purpose.
Learning Objectives:
- What are and when can we use AOD Brief Interventions with young people
- Experiential and novel approaches to supporting young people experiencing AOD issues
- Exploring creative and tailored ways to meet the needs of young people experiencing AOD issues
Eligibility Criteria
This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including those who are new to the AOD sector or recently employed under the COVID-19 Workforce Initiative and Peer workers.
Who is not eligible?
Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.
Terms & Conditions
Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration at least 24 hours before the cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.
No shows will be charged a $50 cancellation fee.
Date: Wednesday, 12th February 2025, 9:30AM – 4:30PM
Location: Online (Link will be sent to you closer to the training date)
Description
This session will cover how workers can provide effective brief intervention support to young people unwilling to engage in more traditional, clinical or intensive AOD support. The workshop will also cover other experiential and novel ways to work with young people when traditional approaches aren’t fit for purpose.
Learning Objectives:
- What are and when can we use AOD Brief Interventions with young people
- Experiential and novel approaches to supporting young people experiencing AOD issues
- Exploring creative and tailored ways to meet the needs of young people experiencing AOD issues
Eligibility Criteria
This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including those who are new to the AOD sector or recently employed under the COVID-19 Workforce Initiative and Peer workers.
Who is not eligible?
Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as Family Violence, Homelessness and Mental Health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.
Terms & Conditions
Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration at least 24 hours before the cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.
No shows will be charged a $50 cancellation fee.
Working effectively with young people includes engaging with their social and cultural ecosystems to build resources that can sustain them into the future. This training outlines a framework for family inclusion where practitioners can better understand their role in relationship to families and communities.
Learning outcomes:
- Understanding how engaging with families can improve outcomes for young people
- Keeping the family in mind when care planning
- Strategies for enhancing communication and strengthening relationship bonds
Eligibility Criteria
This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including Peer and LLE workers.
Who is not eligible?
Students on placement or internships, workers from other community sectors such as family violence, homelessness, mental health, and AOD workers outside of Victoria.
Please ensure you have clearance from your line manager to attend. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.
No-shows will be charged a $50 cancellation fee.
Presented by: Dr Eddie Mullen, Director of Medical Workforce, Lead Psychiatrist, Hype Clinic, Dual Diagnosis Stream, Substance Use Research Group
Slides: Autism Substance Use and Addiction_Eddie Mullen
In this video, Dr Eddie Mullen discusses the clinical understanding of autism and the challenges faced by autistic people.
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