Online – Elevate

The Art of Asking, Grant Writing Masterclass

Registrations will be screened to ensure you meet this criteria:

This masterclass is tailored to those in the AOD sector who are newer to grant writing or want to strengthen their foundation skills. This includes emerging AOD sector leaders (i.e. team leaders, coordinators, project workers) in the AOD sector responsible for, or who contributed to, developing submissions to the Department of Health.
A maximum of two participants per organisation can be accepted

Date: Tuesday, 31 March 2026, 9:30 AM – 3:00 PM

Location: Online

Description:

A practical entry-level masterclass for emerging AOD sector leaders who are new to grant writing or have limited experience. This session will help build the skills, strategies and confidence needed to develop standout grant submissions for Department of Health funding.

Optional add on: Budget Extender Session – This optional session is designed as a practical starting point for people with little or no experience in grant budgeting.

Please note: This is not a session that will direct you to current funding opportunities. If you’re an experienced grant writer, you’ll find the content covers material you’re already confident with.

By the end of this masterclass participants will be able to:

Draft a strong funding ‘pitch’ that supports cohesive and successful grant writing.
Address the key components of government grant applications.
Recognise and avoid common pitfalls (based on ‘real world’ Department of Health feedback).
Apply strategies for writing clearly, persuasively, and with impact.
Use AI tools ethically and effectively in grant writing.
Strengthen your organisations funding culture and learn how to turn an unsuccessful submission into future success

Facilitators:

Dr Allison Salmon (she/her), Director, The Centre for Impact & Change – For over 25 years, Dr Allison Salmon has driven meaningful change in health policies, systems, and practices through evidence-based innovation. Allison brings extensive expertise in developing compelling funding submissions, crafting influential government proposals, and effectively pitching strategic initiatives to diverse stakeholders. With deep experience working directly with government agencies, Allison effectively navigates policy environments, influences health priorities, and aligns interventions with governmental objectives. Her skill in stakeholder engagement, strategic planning, and conducting comprehensive gap analyses ensures her submissions and pitches resonate deeply with decision-makers. Allison’s specialist expertise spans alcohol and other drug policy, including harm reduction strategies such as drug consumption spaces, overdose prevention, and tobacco control.

Lucy Demant (she/her), Principal Consultant, The Centre for Impact & Change – For nearly twenty years, Lucy has been working to improve outcomes for children, young people and the community. Lucy is a skilled writer with deep expertise in competitive grant and submission writing for government and philanthropy, writing for web, resource development and values-based messaging. A strategic thinker she has led major workforce development and capacity-building projects and delivered complex programs at scale. She is a natural collaborator, skilled in facilitating groups, cultivating sophisticated partnerships and engaging diverse stakeholders. Lucy brings her management coaching expertise to The Centre’s services – she is adept at coaching managers and emerging leaders, honing their practice to create high-performing, cohesive teams. Lucy’s specialist areas include the alcohol and other drug sector, family violence, youth disability and youth mental health, with a strong foundation in health promotion, prevention and early intervention.

Eligibility Criteria

This training is funded for emerging leaders (i.e. team leaders, coordinators, project workers) in the AOD sector responsible for, or who contributed to, developing submissions to the Department of Health.

Who is not eligible?

Students, interns, workers from other community sectors such as family violence, homelessness, mental health and AOD workers outside of Victoria.

Terms & Conditions

If you cannot attend, cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.

The Brain Workshop (online)

*To enrol, change ‘Enrol Now’ to ‘I’m Going’. Check if you’ve enrolled correctly under ‘My Courses’

Date: Thursday, 16 April 2026 9:30AM – 4:30PM

Location: Online

Description:

Alcohol and other drugs can affect the brain in both consistent and idiosyncratic ways. Up to 70% of people in alcohol and other drug treatment have significant temporary or long term cognitive impairment related to drug use, lifestyle or other factors.

In this workshop, learn about how different parts of the brain can be affected by drug use and how this may impact functioning. You will gain a thorough understanding of how the brain works, the functional impact of drugs and the effects on treatment.

Learning outcomes:

Understand how alcohol and other drugs affect the brain in the short and longer term
Gain skills in assessment of functional impairment and daily functioning
Adapt treatment to improve outcomes for clients who have cognitive impairments

Suitable for new, experienced and advanced practitioners and workers in low threshold and clinical settings.

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 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.

Walking the line – A workshop on professional boundaries (online)

*To enrol, change ‘Enrol Now’ to ‘I’m Going’. Check if you’ve enrolled correctly under ‘My Courses’

Date: Thursday, 27 August 2026 9:30AM – 1:00PM

Location: Online

Description:

This half-day workshop will build and strengthen core knowledge and skills in understanding and maintaining professional boundaries, specifically when working with clients with alcohol and other drug issues. This will include:

Understanding professional boundaries
Strategies to prevent and respond to boundary challenges
Consideration of specific boundary issues to different AOD treatment roles, including lived experience roles
The use of technology
Selfcare

This workshop will use case based discussion throughout to ensure knowledge and skills taught are relevant to the AOD workforce.

Key learning outcomes:

Understand professional boundaries and their maintenance
Recognise and respond to boundary challenges
Build your own toolkit of practitioner specific boundary maintenance strategies, including managing technology
Recognise your own and your colleagues’ warning signs and challenging client presentations
Enhance your self care skills and know when to debrief and access further support

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 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.

Taking the Pressure Down: De-escalation Skills (online)

*To enrol, change ‘Enrol Now’ to ‘I’m Going’. Check if you’ve enrolled correctly under ‘My Courses’

Date: Thursday, 2 July 2026 9:30AM – 1:00PM

Location: Online

Description:

In this half-day workshop, we explore effective ways of managing challenging and aggressive behaviours in professional settings. Learn to recognise early warning signs, understand common triggers and respond with confidence to maintain safety and therapeutic engagement.

You’ll improve your informal screening skills and learn how to have effective conversations about challenging and aggressive behaviours. Increase your toolbox of effective responses, including brief and longer therapeutic interventions, build skills in maintaining therapeutic relationships and learn how to practice self care.

You’ll walk away with the skills you need to handle difficult situations and maintain strong professional relationships while also prioritising your own wellbeing and self care.

Learning outcomes:

Understand professional boundaries and their maintenance
Understand challenging and aggressive behaviours and their contributing factors
Build screening, formulation and conversation skills about challenging and aggressive behaviours
Learn and practice effective responses, including de-escalation
Enhance self and other care techniques

Suitable for new, experienced and advanced practitioners and workers in low threshold and clinical settings.

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 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.

Taking the Pressure Down: De-escalation Skills (online)

*To enrol, change ‘Enrol Now’ to ‘I’m Going’. Check if you’ve enrolled correctly under ‘My Courses’

Date: Thursday, 26 February 2026 9:30AM – 1:00PM

Location: Online

Description:

You’ll walk away with the skills you need to handle difficult situations and maintain strong professional relationships while also prioritising your own wellbeing and self care.

Learning outcomes:

Understand professional boundaries and their maintenance
Understand challenging and aggressive behaviours and their contributing factors
Build screening, formulation and conversation skills about challenging and aggressive behaviours
Learn and practice effective responses, including de-escalation
Enhance self and other care techniques

Suitable for new, experienced and advanced practitioners and workers in low threshold and clinical settings.

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 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.

Motivational Interviewing: Deepening Conversations (Advanced)

*To enrol, change ‘Enrol Now’ to ‘I’m Going’. Check if you’ve enrolled correctly under ‘My Courses’

Details:

Date: Thursday, 10 December 2026, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Location: Online

Description

Prerequisite: The workshop is suitable for workers who have completed MI Foundation Skills AND Developing Skills (or equivalent) and now want to deepen and integrate MI skills more effectively into their practice.

Deepening Conversations builds on the Foundation Skills and Developing Skills workshops to build confidence in guiding curious, respectful conversations about change. This workshop is highly practice-based, applying the principles and core skills to common challenges to work with resistance and ambivalence, evoke change talk and foster hope.

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

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.

Motivational Interviewing: Deepening Conversations (Advanced)

*To enrol, change ‘Enrol Now’ to ‘I’m Going’. Check if you’ve enrolled correctly under ‘My Courses’

Details:

Date: Tuesday, 16 June 2026, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Location: Online

Description

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

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.

Motivational Interviewing: Developing Skills (Intermediate)

*To enrol, change ‘Enrol Now’ to ‘I’m Going’. Check if you’ve enrolled correctly under ‘My Courses’

Details:

Date: Tuesday, 10 November 2026, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Location: Online

Description

As a follow up from the Foundation Skills workshop, this one-day course offers an opportunity to refresh, consolidate and deepen understanding of MI and practical application of the model after a period of putting the skills into practice.

This workshop provides participants to practice core skills in a positive learning environment with coached feedback. The aim is to have fun revisiting the skills, and gain more focus in their ongoing practice. The workshop extends the foundation skills training, including deepening reflections, exploring the role of values and working with change talk.

The workshop is suitable for workers who have prior training in MI (or completed the MI Foundation Skills training).

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

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.

Motivational Interviewing: Developing Skills (Intermediate)

*To enrol, change ‘Enrol Now’ to ‘I’m Going’. Check if you’ve enrolled correctly under ‘My Courses’

Details:

Date: Thursday, 20 August 2026, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Location: Online

Description

The workshop is suitable for workers who have prior training in MI (or completed the MI Foundation Skills training).

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

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.

Motivational Interviewing: Developing Skills (Intermediate)

*To enrol, change ‘Enrol Now’ to ‘I’m Going’. Check if you’ve enrolled correctly under ‘My Courses’

Details:

Date: Tuesday, 12 May 2026, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Location: Online

Description

The workshop is suitable for workers who have prior training in MI (or completed the MI Foundation Skills training).

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

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.