*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
No shows will be charged a $50 cancellation fee. If you cannot attend, cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.
*Registrations open June 10!
*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 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
If you cannot attend, cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.
*To enrol, change ‘Enrol Now’ to ‘I’m Going’. Check if you’ve enrolled correctly under ‘My Courses’
Date: Thursday, 9 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 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
If you cannot attend, cancel your registration and make your spot available to someone else on the waitlist.
*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:
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.
We are at capacity and are no longer accepting registrations.
CHCAOD009 Develop and review individual alcohol and other drug treatment plans (2 February 2026 – 27 March 2026)
Turning Point (RTO 6948) has been contracted by the Department of Health (DH) Victoria to provide competency learning and assessment opportunities to the Victorian AOD workforce.
Eligibility: To enrol in a unit of competency you must work in a publicly funded organisation in the Victorian Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) sector and be an Australian Citizen/Permanent Residence or New Zealand Citizen.
Cost: There is no cost to complete this unit of competency if you meet the selection criteria.
Details
This is only for the unit of competency CHCAOD009 Develop and review individual alcohol and other drug treatment plans
Delivery: Online and virtual classes.
Online learning and assessment will commence 2 February 2026 and will conclude 27 March 2026.
In addition, you must be available to attend the following online virtual classes:
- Wednesday 11 February 2026, 9:30AM – 1:00PM
- Wednesday 25 February 2026, 9:30AM – 1:00PM
- Wednesday 4 March 2026, 9.30 – 1:00PM
Application process:
This is an expression of interest only and not an enrolment. You must be available to attend all virtual classes advertised.
If we can offer you a place, you will receive an email notification and must confirm your acceptance by the specified deadline, as places are limited and demand is high.
Enrolment to Elevate and submitting your registration does not guarantee enrolment into the unit of competency.
Contact Student Administration – tp@turningpoint.org.au if you have any questions.
Please take note of the training package and dates.
The workshop is suitable for those in a supervisory or line management role with previous training in MI. This workshop is not an introduction to MI. It is important that all participants have prior training in MI.
Training package:
- 2-day in-person workshop
- a series of 6 x 90-minute coaching sessions for a year after the workshop
| 2-day workshop (in-person) at |
| Tuesday 21 July 2026 |
9:30am-4:30pm |
| Wednesday 22 July 2026 |
9:30am-4:30pm |
| Six 90-minute supervisors’ coaching sessions (online) |
| Monday 24 August 2026 |
2:00-3:30pm |
| Monday 28 September 2026 |
2:00-3:30pm |
| Monday 30 November 2026 |
2:00-3:30pm |
| Monday 15 February 2027 |
2:00-3:30pm |
| Monday 12 April 2027 |
2:00-3:30pm |
| Monday 21 June 2027 |
2:00-3:30pm |
Location for in-person workshops: Catholic Leadership Centre, 576 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne VIC 3002 (are you eligible for our travel contribution?)
Cost: $80 + booking fees
Description
When we move into supervision roles, we often find ourselves having change conversations – only this time with staff rather than clients, and often in a context of line management or other accountability tasks.
This 2-day workshop examines how MI can be helpful in the context of providing professional supervision, while respecting that there are other skills and functions of a supervisory role. The workshop also offers practical strategies to support and coach supervisees to learn MI skills for use in their own practice, even if we feel we are still working on our own MI skills.
The training is highly interactive, with a focus on practical skill development. The two-day workshop will offer an opportunity to:
- Review experiences and progress in integrating MI into one’s own practice
- Review challenges and experiences in coaching others in MI
- Identify the core learning tasks in MI and incorporate a progressive skill development approach to learning MI
- Examine the MI framework from the perspective of the supervisor
- Develop strategies for using MI approaches within the supervision context
- Develop strategies to coach MI self-monitoring and skill development in supervisees
- Introduction to MI coding as a tool for supervisors
- Provide feedback in an MI consistent manner.
Participants will be invited to join a series of 90 min coaching sessions to troubleshoot and deepen the content from the MI for Supervisors. Being a supervisor can feel isolating – no one else holds a similar role in an organisation, even if there are similar positions or other departments. This workshop aims to help supervisors build their network and support systems with colleagues in similar roles. The sessions will provide an opportunity to reflect, address key challenges, and build capacity across the AOD sector.
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, and workers not in an AOD-specific role.
Terms & Conditions
Refunds are available up to 7 days before the event.
*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 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
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.
Details:
Date: Tuesday, 16 June 2026, 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Location: Catholic Leadership Centre, 576 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne VIC 3002
Cost: $40
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 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
Refunds available up to 7 days prior.
*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 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
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.
Details:
Date: Thursday, 20 August 2026, 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Location: Catholic Leadership Centre, 576 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne VIC 3002
Cost: $40
Description
As a follow-up to the MI Foundation Skills workshop, this one-day course offers an opportunity to refresh, consolidate, and deepen your understanding of MI and its practical application of the model after a period of putting the skills into practice.
This workshop gives participants an opportunity 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 builds on 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 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
Refunds available up to 7 days prior.
