This is a one-hour Turning Point Connect & Learn webinar. To attend the webinar, click the link below to register.
Description: Professor Edward Ogden PSM will delve into the impacts of alcohol and other drugs on road safety. Drawing from decades of research to explore how substances impair cognition, reaction times and decision-making. Key topics will include the nature of the driving task, the pharmacology of impairment and the role of addiction specialists in driver assessment.
Date: Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Time: 1:00pM – 1:45PM
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
Ready to take the next step in your career? Find out more about the Graduate Program of Addictive Behaviours at Monash University!
Applications for Semester 2 2026 are now open. Semester 2 begins on 27 July 2026.
By enrolling in one of our courses, you will develop the specialist knowledge and professional skills to support individuals and communities impacted by addiction.
- Graduate Certificate of Addictive Behaviours (M4018): 1 year part-time
- Graduate Diploma of Addictive Behaviours (M5022): 2 years part-time
- Master of Addictive Behaviours (M6014): 2–3 years part-time
Each of these online postgraduate courses (with part-time study) builds on units offered in the previous qualification and provides pathways for further study and postgraduate research opportunities in addiction.
Why join?
✔️ Advance your career.
✔️ Learn from leading experts and real-world practitioners.
✔️ Gain a postgraduate qualification from a Group of Eight University, ranked in the top 40 globally.
✔️ Make a measurable impact on people’s lives.
Ready to take the next step in your career? Find out more about the Graduate Program of Addictive Behaviours at Monash University!
Applications for Semester 1 2026 are now open and will close soon after classes begin on 23 February 2026.
By enrolling in one of our courses, you will develop the specialist knowledge and professional skills to support individuals and communities impacted by addiction.
- Graduate Certificate of Addictive Behaviours (M4018): 1 year part-time
- Graduate Diploma of Addictive Behaviours (M5022): 2 years part-time
- Master of Addictive Behaviours (M6014): 2–3 years part-time
Each of these online postgraduate courses (with part-time study) builds on units offered in the previous qualification and provides pathways for further study and postgraduate research opportunities in addiction.
Why join?
✔️ Advance your career.
✔️ Learn from leading experts and real-world practitioners.
✔️ Gain a postgraduate qualification from a Group of Eight University, ranked in the top 40 globally.
✔️ Make a measurable impact on people’s lives.
An evidence-based introduction to writing effective, clinically relevant and legally compliant case notes for the AOD sector, presented by Greg Coman.
NOTE: This online training is only available to staff who are working in a Victorian Department of Health (DH) funded AOD organisation in an AOD role.
Date: Wednesday 12th November 2025
Time: 9:30am – 3:30pm
Venue: Online
Register: here
Cost: Free
Enquiries: tp@turningpoint.org.au
This training aims to enable alcohol and other drug (AOD) workers to understand the benefits of writing effective case notes for them, their clients, and their workplace. It will provide the basis for the development of essential skills required for effective case note writing.
The online workshop is pitched at an introductory/ beginner level, but previous participants with some case note writing experience have reported it to be a helpful refresher. It provides: an understanding of what case notes are; an understanding of the importance and benefits of case notes; guidelines for the content and style of case notes; and opportunities to learn and practice effective case note writing. Videos are used throughout to illustrate points. Participants will be introduced to templates they can consider using in their clinical practice.
Greg Coman PhD is a Counselling Psychologist with over thirty years experience working in a wide range of mental health settings. His tertiary qualifications reflect his interests in stress, trauma and problem gambling. Greg undertook his Master of Science degree in psychology, examining stress and coping amongst Australian police personnel. His PhD thesis examined the efficacy of group telephone counselling for people with gambling difficulties. He has worked as a psychologist in community health, employee assistance programs and military settings. He has extensive experience in the adult mental health education and training environment and is passionate about providing training to assist clinicians in their work with clients.
NOTE: This online training is only available to staff who are working in a Victorian Department of Health (DH) funded AOD organisation in an AOD role.
*To enrol, change ‘Enrol Now’ to ‘I’m Going’. Check if you’ve enrolled correctly under ‘My Courses’
This is a 2-day training.
Day 1: Wednesday 4 March 2026, 1:00PM – 5:00PM
Day 2: Thursday 5 March 2026, 9:30AM – 12:30PM
Location: Online
Description: An entry-level introduction to harm reduction principles and best practice, delivered by peer trainers from Harm Reduction Victoria. Across 7 modules (delivered over two half-days online), you’ll gain a basic understanding of key topics and learn directly from people with living experience about what people who use drugs really want and need from services. There is an activity that needs to be completed before attending the second day of training. Participants will receive details via email the week before the training.
DAY ONE – Wednesday 4 March 2026, 1:00PM – 5:00PM
Harm Reduction 101
- Understand the history of harm reduction in Victoria & Australia.
- Understand the National Drug Strategy policy of Harm Minimisation and how Harm Reduction fits into this policy.
- Understanding the Substance, Set and Setting principles as a way to understand an individual’s drug experience.
Safer Injecting
- Understand safer injecting practices, including injecting sites; using a tourniquet, and infection & Blood Borne Virus risk.
- Understand the circulatory system and the difference between veins and arteries.
- Understand through “hands-on” demonstration the drug mixing up the process and the transmission risk points during the process.
Drug Overdose & Adverse Effects
- Understand some of the common myths around opioid overdose.
- Be able to recognize the signs of overdose and of actions to take in different circumstances
- Understand when and how to intervene in overdose situations.
Naloxone Administration
- Understand where to obtain naloxone for clients
- Understand the different formulations of naloxone available
- Understand the difference between someone who is ‘on the nod’ or overdosing and the appropriate time to administer naloxone.
DAY TWO – Thursday 5 March 2026, 9:30AM – 12:30PM
Introduction to Pharmacotherapy
- Be aware of the pharmacotherapy options available to PWUD in Victoria.
- Understand how to access pharmacotherapy in Victoria.
- Be aware of Victoria’s “broken system”
Working Effectively with people who use drugs
- Understand barriers to effectively working with people who use drugs (PWUD), in particular, people who inject drugs (PWID)
- Understand and challenge the ‘gateway drug’ theory.
- Understand common myths about PWID, the effects of criminalisation, and the stigma on the health of PWUD
Stigma & Discrimination
- Understand how stigma and discrimination act as a barrier in healthcare settings.
- Understand how frameworks of morality and social discourse frame our understanding of drug use.
- Understand how we can all contribute to eliminating stigma and discrimination in ourselves and our services
Eligibility Criteria
This training has been funded for workers employed under the Victorian AOD Traineeship initiative.
Terms & Conditions
If you cannot attend, cancel your registration 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 Turning Point Connect & Learn one-hour webinar. To attend the webinar, click the link below to register.
Description: According to WHO, hepatitis C is the main cause death globally in people who inject drugs, yet it is easy to diagnose and treat. Australia has the potential to eliminate hepatitis C, but this requires a concerted effort to diagnose and treat HCV in PWID, not just those who have injected in the past but those who are continuing to inject drugs. While diagnostic and treatment pathways for HCV are simple, adapting them to the needs of our clients, rather than expecting our clients to adapt to our treatment systems, is the key to increasing the rates of diagnosis and treatment. This has implications for both the way we design our health care systems and the way we manage individuals within those systems. The webinar will be presented by A/Prof Nico Clark.
Date: Tuesday, 16 September 2025
Time: 1:00pM – 1:45PM
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 Turning Point Talking Point one-hour webinar. To attend the webinar, click the link below to register.
Description: E-cigarettes containing nicotine (e-cigarettes) have demonstrated effectiveness for smoking cessation among general populations, but limited evidence in people with substance use disorders (SUD). This presentation will focus on the NEAT Trial, a pragmatic, two-arm, open-label parallel-group randomized controlled trial (n=363) examining the effectiveness of e-cigarettes for smoking abstinence in people with SUD following discharge from smokefree inpatient withdrawal services. The webinar will be presented by Professor Billi Bonevski.
Date: Wednesday, 29 October 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 Turning Point Connect & Learn one-hour webinar. To attend the webinar, click the link below to register.
Description: Attendees will gain an increased appreciation for managing clients in rural and regional Victoria. Discussion will focus on the need for flexibility within the regulations guiding practice, and attendees will gain understanding regarding the difficulties of distance and opioid agonist treatment.
Date: Tuesday, 28 October 2025
Time: 1:00pM – 1:45PM
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 Turning Point Connect & Learn webinar. To attend the webinar, click the link below to register.
Description: This presentation provides a brief overview of co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders and introduces key principles for working effectively with clients experiencing this. The presentation will aim to improve knowledge about the prevalence of comorbid mental health and substance use disorders, their relationship and impact on recovery. Dr Lea Foo and David Hill will provide tools and strategies to support addressing comorbid mental health conditions in the AOD space.
Date: Tuesday, 18 November 2025
Time: 1:00pM – 1:45PM
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
