Online – Elevate

Health in the Context of Gendered Violence: A Practical Session for the Harm Reduction Workforce

Health in the context of Gendered Violence

A practical session for the Harm Reduction Workforce – Supporting Harm Reduction workers to recognise and respond to the health impacts of gendered violence

Date: Wednesday 7 October 10am – 12pm

Delivery: Online – A link will be sent to your registered email address prior

To Register: please email mbagnall@vaada.org.au

Description: Gendered violence can have significant and complex impacts on health. For people who use alcohol and other drugs, experiences of violence may intersect with substance use, health needs and barriers to accessing care. This session will support Harm Reduction workers to strengthen their understanding of the health implications of gendered violence and consider how they can support the people and communities they work alongside.

Designed as an informal session, come along and pick Dr. Jo’s brain about how we can best support our community, in their experience of gendered violence.

The session will explore

The health impacts of gendered violence
Recognising health concerns and indicators of risk
The intersection of gendered violence, substance use and health
Responding to disclosures and supporting safety
Practical considerations for Harm Reduction practice
Supporting people to access appropriate health and specialist services

Presenters:

Dr JoAnn Parkin,
Fidelis Forensics

Acting Director, Department of Forensic Medicine, Gold Coast University Hospital

Jo is a forensic physician and Fellow of the Faculty of Clinical Forensic Medicine at the RCPA, with 17 years’ frontline experience. As Acting Director at Gold Coast University Hospital, she has led integrated health and forensic care. Previously the medical lead for training and research at VIFM, she advanced awareness of NFS and continues to promote education, research and multidisciplinary practice.

Sheldon Fauth,

Uniting VT
Specialist Family Violence Advisor, Alcohol and Other Drugs |

Sheldon Fauth is a Specialist Family Violence Advisor in AOD at Uniting. She is an intersectional feminist with expertise in the interrelationship between substance use and family violence. Her work strengthens recognition, assessment and management of family violence risk, including non-fatal strangulation, and supports coordinated, person-led responses across AOD, health and family violence systems.

Presented by VAADA, Fidelis Forensics and Uniting

FASD Across All Systems: Why It Matters

FASD Across All Systems: Why It Matters

Understanding the Intersection of Out of Home Care, Justice and Alcohol & Other Drug Services

Description:

Join AADC and NOFASD Australia for a webinar launching a new lived experience FASD resource.

This new resource features carers’ insights on navigating Out-of-Home Care, Justice and Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) service systems with practical learnings for professionals, and a live Q&A with lived experience and sector experts.

Date: Tuesday 29 September, 2026

Time: 1:00pm – 2:30PM AEST

Cost: Online – A link will be sent to you before the webinar

Who should attend: This webinar is relevant for professionals, practitioners and frontline workers across the Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD), Out-of-Home Care (OOHC), Justice, Child Protection, Mental Health, Family Services, Housing and Homelessness, Youth, and Community Services sectors, as well as anyone interested in strengthening support for children and young people with FASD and their families.

Registration: Click here for more information and to register

Non-Fatal Strangulation in the context of alcohol and drug use

Non-Fatal Strangulation in the context of alcohol and drug use – Webinar

Supporting the AOD workforce to recognise, respond to and support people experiencing non-fatal strangulation

Dates:
Wednesday 7 October 1pm – 2.30pm

Delivery: Online – Al ink will be sent to your registered email address prior

Description: Non-fatal strangulation (NFS) is a serious form of family violence that can result in significant, sometimes invisible or delayed, health impacts. For people who use alcohol and other drugs, substance toxicity, withdrawal, altered perception, memory and cognitive impacts can make NFS more difficult to recognise and respond to. This online session will explore how AOD workers can recognise indicators of NFS, respond in a trauma- and violence-informed way, and support safe, person-led pathways to health and specialist services.

You will learn:

Recognising signs, symptoms, invisible injuries and delayed effects of NFS
How substance toxicity, withdrawal and cognitive impacts may obscure NFS
Trauma- and violence-informed enquiry and assessment
Risk assessment, documentation, referral and continuity of care
Supporting people experiencing family violence within AOD settings
Working across AOD, health and family violence systems

Presenters:

Dr JoAnn Parkin,
Fidelis Forensics

Acting Director, Department of Forensic Medicine, Gold Coast University Hospital

Sheldon Fauth,
Uniting VT

Specialist Family Violence Advisor, Alcohol and Other Drugs | Sheldon Fauth is a Specialist Family Violence Advisor in AOD at Uniting. She is an intersectional feminist with expertise in the interrelationship between substance use and family violence. Her work strengthens recognition, assessment and management of family violence risk, including non-fatal strangulation, and supports coordinated, person-led responses across AOD, health and family violence systems.

Presented by VAADA, Fidelis Forensics and Uniting

Non-Fatal Strangulation in the context of alcohol and drug use

Non-Fatal Strangulation in the context of alcohol and drug use – Webinar

Supporting the AOD workforce to recognise, respond to and support people experiencing non-fatal strangulation

Dates:
Wednesday 23 September: 10.00AM – 11:30AM

Delivery: Online – Al ink will be sent to your registered email address prior

You will learn:

Recognising signs, symptoms, invisible injuries and delayed effects of NFS
How substance toxicity, withdrawal and cognitive impacts may obscure NFS
Trauma- and violence-informed enquiry and assessment
Risk assessment, documentation, referral and continuity of care
Supporting people experiencing family violence within AOD settings
Working across AOD, health and family violence systems

Presenters:

Dr JoAnn Parkin,
Fidelis Forensics

Acting Director, Department of Forensic Medicine, Gold Coast University Hospital

Sheldon Fauth,

Uniting VT
Specialist Family Violence Advisor, Alcohol and Other Drugs |

Presented by VAADA, Fidelis Forensics and Uniting

Consumer Consensus on the Optimal Deliver of the Opioid Dependence Treatment Program – Webinar 3

Consumer Consensus on the Optimal Deliver of the Opioid Dependence Treatment Program

Description:

In this webinar, you will hear what people with lived-living experience of the Opioid Dependence Treatment Program (ODTP) have identified as priorities for optimal delivery of the program in Australia. The consumer consensus statement presented in this webinar was developed through consultation with AIVL member organisations and people across Australia who have direct experience of the ODTP.

Date: Wednesday 2 September

Time: 12:00pm – 1:30PM AEST

Cost: Online – A link will be sent to you before the webinar

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 for more information and to register

Pharmacotherapy Systems, Mapping Challenges and Best Practice – Webinar 2

Pharmacotherapy systems, mapping challenges and best practice: What We’ve Learned and What It Means for Opioid Treatment

Description:

This webinar provides an overview of emerging findings from recent research that has aimed to build a shared understanding of challenges and priorities in opioid dependence treatment. It brings together insights from clinicians, consumers, and service leaders to highlight barriers to access, workforce and service issues, and areas where further evidence and alignment are needed.

The session is designed to inform and prepare stakeholders for the National Consensus for Action Forum: A Roundtable on Australian Opioid Dependence Treatment in Canberra focused on consensus-building, advocacy, and practical action.

Target Audience

Clinicians delivering opioid agonist treatment (OAT)
Clinical directors, service managers, and governance leads
Researchers and guideline developers engaged in opioid treatment
Consumers (though specific webinars are planed that are targeted primarily for this audience)

Key Outputs/Outcomes

By the end of the webinar participants will:

Shared understanding of challenges and priorities from a treatment system perspective
Greater alignment across clinical and system stakeholders
Documented points of convergence and uncertainty.

Relationship to the National Consensus for Action Roundtable

This webinar provides evidence informed context, ensuring that by September:

Major challenges and priorities are already mapped
Forum participants can focus on consensus statements, advocacy priorities, and action planning
The research process actively strengthens sector advocacy rather than running parallel to it

Date: Tuesday, 25 August

Time: 1:00pm – 2:30PM AEST

Cost: Online – A link will be sent to you before the webinar

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 for more information and to register

Setting the Scene: Reforming Australia’s ODTP – Webinar 1

Setting the Scene: Reforming Australia’s ODTP – Key Evidence, Priorities and Unfinished Business

Description:

The ODTP National Consensus for Action Roundtable will be held on 7 September 2026 at Parliament House Canberra, where expert representatives including lived and living experience advocates, policy makers, clinicians, researchers and other key stakeholders will be joined by Australian Government Parliamentarians, bureaucrats and ministerial representatives to build and endorse a National Opioid Dependency Treatment (ODT) Program consensus statement. Our aim is that this document will outline critical, cross-jurisdictional ODT program principles that centre efficacy, equity and sustainability, and the associated actions required to implement meaningful healthcare and systems reform. This process is a crucial unified step towards an internationally accepted gold-standard for ODT in this country and a commitment to future healthcare innovation, that Australian communities should rightfully expect, and that clinical and policy experts agree is an imperative priority to deliver.

This webinar, the first in a series of three pre-roundtable events, will guide participants through a detailed overview of two key documents: the recently launched Harm Reduction Australia (HRA) Opioid Treatment Program Policy Brief and the PBS Post-Market Review of PBS ODTP Medicines Report to PBAC (March 2023). An overview of available ODTP medications, additional formulations and alternative approaches to ODT that have succeeded in other jurisdictions internationally, will also be explored. Informing the consensus building discussions that will take place at Parliament House in September, this webinar is intentionally informative and sets the groundwork for building meaningful consensus in the lead-up to the face‑to‑face Roundtable event. Providing a backdrop for policy and research perspectives in the Australian setting, we warmly invite webinar participants to take up the opportunity to participate by contributing questions, as well as to become familiar with what is possible in building our own successful future model for ODT.

Date: Tuesday, 11 August

Time: 1:00pm – 3:00PM AEST

Cost: Online – A link will be sent to you before the webinar

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 for more information and to register

Group Facilitation Skills Training for AOD Workers (online)

**This training is now full**

1-day workshop:

Date: 23rd September 2026

Time: 10am – 4:30pm

Online: a link will be sent to you prior to the workshop date

Learning outcomes

By the end of the workshop participants will be able to:

Establish the culture of the group and safety within the group space.
Define content and process and apply both with balance between the two.
Identify common challenges that present in the delivery of group programs and apply strategies for managing these.
Understand how to work in a variety of group formats.
Apply skills and strategies for attending to responsivity in groupwork.
Apply skills for providing the group with a sense of closure at the end of a group program.

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.

Register

Registrations open 12th August

Terms & Conditions

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

When the Prescription Becomes the Problem

Registration: Click here to register

When the Prescription Becomes the Problem: Assessing and Managing Dependence on Benzodiazepines, Opioid Analgesics and other medications

This is a 45 minute Turning Point Connect & Learn webinar. To attend the webinar, click the link below to register.

Description: This presentation will look at how concurrent alcohol use changes risk, presentation and overdose potential, and what clinicians need to watch for in day-to-day assessment and management.

Dr Basanth Kenchaiah is a general adult and addiction psychiatrist with a particular interest in prescription medication dependence and managing inappropriate polypharmacy. He works part time at GV Health and St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, in addition to private practice at Delmont Private Hospital. He sits on the executive committee of the Australian Deprescribing Network and was until recently Chair of the Subcommittee for Advanced Training in Addiction Psychiatry, RANZCP.

Date: Tuesday,29 September

Time: 1:00pm – 1:45PM

Cost: Online – A link will be sent to you before the webinar

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

Methamphetamine use and psychosis: evidence, guidelines & what’s cooking

*This workshop is now full!*

This is a 45 minute Turning Point Connect & Learn webinar. To attend the webinar, click the link below to register.

Description: What’s really cooking in methamphetamine treatment? This talk explores current evidence for effective medication and psychosocial interventions, demystifies meth psychosis (what we know and what remains unclear), and bridges the gap between research and practice. We’ll unpack emerging guidelines and trials, including psychedelic-assisted approaches, to give clinicians an understanding of what you can offer right now, and what the next few years will bring.

Associate Professor Shalini Arunogiri is a clinical addiction psychiatrist and researcher at Monash University and Turning Point, Eastern Health. She is the Clinical Director of the Hamilton Centre, Victoria’s statewide centre for co-occurring addiction and mental health, and an NHMRC Emerging Leader Fellow. Shalini has been an investigator on six Australian national multisite randomised controlled trials of methamphetamine use disorder treatments: N-ICE, LiMA, Ready2Change, the Tina Trial, OLAM, and PsiMA.

Shalini completed her PhD on methamphetamine psychosis in 2019 and has published extensively on this topic, with over 37 research outputs and more than $11 million in grant funding focused on methamphetamine. Shalini is immediate past Chair of the RANZCP Faculty of Addiction Psychiatry, past Board Director of the International Society of Addiction Medicine, and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Advances in Dual Diagnosis. She works alongside clinician-researchers across addiction and mental health, committed to building the evidence base for integrated care and treatments for people who use methamphetamine.

Date: Tuesday, 27 October 2026

Time: 1:00pm – 1:45PM

Cost: Online – A link will be sent to you before the webinar

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