Provider: Training and Assessment

Motivational Interviewing: Foundation Skills (in-person)

Click here to register

Dates:

Day one: Thursday, 11 June 2026, 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Day two: Thursday, 18 June 2026, 9:30 – 4:30 PM

Location: La Trobe University, City Campus – 360 Collins Street, VIC 3000 (are you eligible for our travel contribution?)

Cost: $80

Click here to register

Description

Motivational Interviewing is a skills-based approach to conversations about change that focuses on the client’s needs and wants. MI offers a framework for navigating the common experiences of resistance and ambivalence that so often accompanies the change process.

This two-day workshop introduces the framework and rationale of MI, core skills and application of these skills across the change process. Combining theory with practice, the workshop provides a comprehensive overview into what MI is, what it isn’t and how it works in practice. The training is highly interactive, with a focus on practical skill development.

The workshop is suitable for both workers with no knowledge of MI and for those who want to refresh and deepen their understanding and practice of the core skills of MI. 

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 are available up to 7 days prior.

Motivational Interviewing: Foundation Skills

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

Dates:

Day one: Thursday, 12 March 2026, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM*

Day two: Thursday, 19 March 2026, 9:00 – 4:30 PM

*Bookings can only be made from day one of training.

Location: Online

Description

Motivational Interviewing is a skills-based approach to conversations about change that focuses on the client’s needs and wants. MI offers a framework for navigating the common experiences of resistance and ambivalence that so often accompanies the change process.

This two-day workshop introduces the framework and rationale of MI, core skills and application of these skills across the change process. Combining theory with practice, the workshop provides a comprehensive overview into what MI is, what it isn’t and how it works in practice. The training is highly interactive, with a focus on practical skill development.

The workshop is suitable for both workers with no knowledge of MI and for those who want to refresh and deepen their understanding and practice of the core skills of MI. 

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.

Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) Skill Set

ENROLMENTS HAVE CLOSED

CHCAOD004 Assess needs of clients with alcohol and other drugs issues (6 October 2025 – 5 December 2025)

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 CHCAOD004 Assess needs of clients with alcohol and other drug issues
Delivery: Online and virtual classes. You must be available to attend the following:

  • Wednesday 15 October 2025, 9:30AM – 1:00PM
  • Wednesday 22 October 2025, 9:30AM – 1:00PM
  • Wednesday 5 November 2025, 9.30 – 1:00PM
  • In addition to the above, you must also be available for 1 hour between 9:00AM – 4:00PM to complete a live simulation between Monday 27 Oct – Thursday 30 Oct (allocated day and time will be arranged with your trainer and assessor

Application process:
This is an expression of interest only. Apply using the registration link below. You will be notified via email if you have been successful in securing a place and you will be required to accept your offer by a due date.

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.

CHCAOD004 Assess needs of clients with alcohol and other drugs issues

CHCAOD004 Assess needs of clients with alcohol and other drugs issues

Course Dates: 21 September 2026 – 20 November 2026 (see dates below)
Delivery: Blended delivery: Online and virtual classes

Turning Point (RTO 6948) provides Vocational Education and Training (VET) opportunities to the Victorian Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) workforce.

Turning Point staff conducting the AOD competencies meet the training and assessment requirements as outlined in the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF). This training is targeted at new employees to the Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) sector, currently employed in DH funded AOD Services.

Training Description:

  • This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to prepare for and conduct assessments of alcohol and other drugs (AOD) clients to determine treatment planning and referral needs.
  • This includes knowledge of factors affecting assessment for a range of different client groups including cultural background, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, and whether treatment is voluntary or mandated.
  • This unit applies to people involved in the assessment of clients with AOD issues using established organisation or standardised AOD assessment tools. For this training we will be using Victoria Department of Health Intake and AOD Comprehensive Assessment documents.

Blended delivery: Online and virtual classes
Training and assessment components are delivered in an online learning environment. Student resources essential for your learning will be available via the Learning Management System.
This unit of competency is assessed, and you will be required to complete assessment tasks.

You must be available to attend the following virtual classes 9:30am – 1:00pm:

•Wednesday 30 September 2026
•Wednesday 7 October 2026
•Wednesday 21 October 2026

In addition to the above virtual classes, you must also be available for 1 hour between 9:00am – 4:00pm to complete a live simulation. Allocated day and time will be arranged with your trainer and assessor.

Expression of Interest (EOI) only: Applicants must be currently employed in Victorian DH funded services in an AOD role to be eligible to apply for this training. This is an expression of interest only, you must be available to attend all mandatory virtual classes advertised and meet the selection criteria below.

Selection Criteria: 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. There is no cost to complete this unit of competency if you meet the selection criteria. You will be notified via email if you have been successful in securing a place and you will be required to accept your offer by a due date, as demand is high and there are limited places.

To register your EOI, please click here

Motivational Interviewing Foundational Skills (online)

Dates:

Day one: Thursday, 4 December 2025, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM*

Day two: Thursday, 11 December 2025, 9:00 – 4:30 PM

*Bookings can only be made from day one of training.

Location: Online

Description

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative method for guiding conversations about change. More than a set of techniques, MI is a discipline in its own right that brings together a set of values, principles and disciplined use of skills to assist people in resolving ambivalence and deepen motivation to pursue meaningful changes for them.

While the skills take time and practice, the conversation style is gentle, and curious and comes from a place of faith in the other person. The hope is that, together, we may discover what is meaningful for this person and what choices would work best for them, knowing who they are and what they want deep down for their future. MI asks us to be mindful of the way our own hopes and assumptions can interfere in the process as much as they can help and create a space of genuine enquiry and deepening understanding.

Rather than replace other approaches, MI can enhance and deepen the full range of interventions we use by bringing a more acute awareness to the how and when of conversation rather than just what we talk about.

The training is highly interactive, with a focus on practical skill development. The two-day workshop will offer an opportunity to:

  • Gain a clear and up-to-date understanding of MI – what it is, how it works and recent changes to the framework
  • Increase understanding of the change process
  • Review and practice the core skills
  • Apply the skills to the change process
  • Increase ability to work effectively with resistance and ambivalence
  • Practice skills in softening sustained talk and eliciting change talk
  • Develop strategies to continue learning and practising MI.

 

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 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 Foundational Skills

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

Dates:

Day one: Tuesday, 5 August 2025, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM*

Day two: Tuesday, 12 August 2025, 9:00 – 4:30 PM

Bookings can only be made from day one of training.

Location: Online/Zoom

Description

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative method for guiding conversations about change. More than a set of techniques, MI is a discipline in its own right that brings together a set of values, principles and disciplined use of skills to assist people in resolving ambivalence and deepen motivation to pursue meaningful changes for them.

While the skills take time and practice, the conversation style is gentle, and curious and comes from a place of faith in the other person. The hope is that, together, we may discover what is meaningful for this person and what choices would work best for them, knowing who they are and what they want deep down for their future. MI asks us to be mindful of the way our own hopes and assumptions can interfere in the process as much as they can help and create a space of genuine enquiry and deepening understanding.

Rather than replace other approaches, MI can enhance and deepen the full range of interventions we use by bringing a more acute awareness to the how and when of conversation rather than just what we talk about.

The training is highly interactive, with a focus on practical skill development. The two-day workshop will offer an opportunity to:

  • Gain a clear and up-to-date understanding of MI – what it is, how it works and recent changes to the framework
  • Increase understanding of the change process
  • Review and practice the core skills
  • Apply the skills to the change process
  • Increase ability to work effectively with resistance and ambivalence
  • Practice skills in softening sustained talk and eliciting change talk
  • Develop strategies to continue learning and practising MI.

 

Eligibility Criteria

This training is has been funded for workers employed under the AOD Traineeship Program and to AOD workers employed in a state-funded AOD service.

Who is not eligible?

Workers from other community sectors such as family violence, homelessness, mental health, non-supervisors 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.

Motivational Interviewing Foundational Skills

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

Dates:

Day one: Tuesday, 5 August 2025, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM*

Day two: Tuesday, 12 August 2025, 9:00 – 4:30 PM

Bookings can only be made from day one of training.

Location: Online/Zoom

Description

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative method for guiding conversations about change. More than a set of techniques, MI is a discipline in its own right that brings together a set of values, principles and disciplined use of skills to assist people in resolving ambivalence and deepen motivation to pursue meaningful changes for them.

While the skills take time and practice, the conversation style is gentle, and curious and comes from a place of faith in the other person. The hope is that, together, we may discover what is meaningful for this person and what choices would work best for them, knowing who they are and what they want deep down for their future. MI asks us to be mindful of the way our own hopes and assumptions can interfere in the process as much as they can help and create a space of genuine enquiry and deepening understanding.

Rather than replace other approaches, MI can enhance and deepen the full range of interventions we use by bringing a more acute awareness to the how and when of conversation rather than just what we talk about.

The training is highly interactive, with a focus on practical skill development. The two-day workshop will offer an opportunity to:

  • Gain a clear and up-to-date understanding of MI – what it is, how it works and recent changes to the framework
  • Increase understanding of the change process
  • Review and practice the core skills
  • Apply the skills to the change process
  • Increase ability to work effectively with resistance and ambivalence
  • Practice skills in softening sustained talk and eliciting change talk
  • Develop strategies to continue learning and practising MI.

 

Eligibility Criteria

This training is has been funded for workers employed under the AOD Traineeship Program and to AOD workers employed in a state-funded AOD service.

Who is not eligible?

Workers from other community sectors such as family violence, homelessness, mental health, non-supervisors 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.

Motivational Interviewing Foundational Skills (online)

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

Dates:

Day one: Thursday, 16 October 2025, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM*

Day two: Thursday, 23 October 2025, 9:00 – 4:30 PM

*Bookings can only be made from day one of training.

Location: Online

Description

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative method for guiding conversations about change. More than a set of techniques, MI is a discipline in its own right that brings together a set of values, principles and disciplined use of skills to assist people in resolving ambivalence and deepen motivation to pursue meaningful changes for them.

While the skills take time and practice, the conversation style is gentle, and curious and comes from a place of faith in the other person. The hope is that, together, we may discover what is meaningful for this person and what choices would work best for them, knowing who they are and what they want deep down for their future. MI asks us to be mindful of the way our own hopes and assumptions can interfere in the process as much as they can help and create a space of genuine enquiry and deepening understanding.

Rather than replace other approaches, MI can enhance and deepen the full range of interventions we use by bringing a more acute awareness to the how and when of conversation rather than just what we talk about.

The training is highly interactive, with a focus on practical skill development. The two-day workshop will offer an opportunity to:

  • Gain a clear and up-to-date understanding of MI – what it is, how it works and recent changes to the framework
  • Increase understanding of the change process
  • Review and practice the core skills
  • Apply the skills to the change process
  • Increase ability to work effectively with resistance and ambivalence
  • Practice skills in softening sustained talk and eliciting change talk
  • Develop strategies to continue learning and practising MI.

 

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including  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.

Motivational Interviewing Foundational Skills (online)

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

Dates:

Day one: Thursday, 16 October 2025, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM*

Day two: Thursday, 23 October 2025, 9:00 – 4:30 PM

*Bookings can only be made from day one of training.

Location: Online

Description

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative method for guiding conversations about change. More than a set of techniques, MI is a discipline in its own right that brings together a set of values, principles and disciplined use of skills to assist people in resolving ambivalence and deepen motivation to pursue meaningful changes for them.

While the skills take time and practice, the conversation style is gentle, and curious and comes from a place of faith in the other person. The hope is that, together, we may discover what is meaningful for this person and what choices would work best for them, knowing who they are and what they want deep down for their future. MI asks us to be mindful of the way our own hopes and assumptions can interfere in the process as much as they can help and create a space of genuine enquiry and deepening understanding.

Rather than replace other approaches, MI can enhance and deepen the full range of interventions we use by bringing a more acute awareness to the how and when of conversation rather than just what we talk about.

The training is highly interactive, with a focus on practical skill development. The two-day workshop will offer an opportunity to:

  • Gain a clear and up-to-date understanding of MI – what it is, how it works and recent changes to the framework
  • Increase understanding of the change process
  • Review and practice the core skills
  • Apply the skills to the change process
  • Increase ability to work effectively with resistance and ambivalence
  • Practice skills in softening sustained talk and eliciting change talk
  • Develop strategies to continue learning and practising MI.

 

Eligibility Criteria

This training has been funded for workers employed in a Victorian State-funded Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) service, including  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.

Motivational Interviewing Foundational Skills

Unfortunately, our waitlist is now at capacity.

Dates:

Day one: Wednesday, 2 April 2025, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM*

Day two: Wednesday, 9 April 2025, 9:00 – 4:30 PM

*Download both days to your calendar.  Bookings can only be made from day one of training.

Location: Online (Link will be sent to you closer to the training date)

Description

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative method for guiding conversations about change. More than a set of techniques, MI is a discipline in its own right that brings together a set of values, principles and disciplined use of skills to assist people in resolving ambivalence and deepen motivation to pursue meaningful changes for them.

While the skills take time and practice, the conversation style is gentle, and curious and comes from a place of faith in the other person. The hope is that, together, we may discover what is meaningful for this person and what choices would work best for them, knowing who they are and what they want deep down for their future. MI asks us to be mindful of the way our own hopes and assumptions can interfere in the process as much as they can help and create a space of genuine enquiry and deepening understanding.

Rather than replace other approaches, MI can enhance and deepen the full range of interventions we use by bringing a more acute awareness to the how and when of conversation rather than just what we talk about.

The training is highly interactive, with a focus on practical skill development. The two-day workshop will offer an opportunity to:

  • Gain a clear and up-to-date understanding of MI – what it is, how it works and recent changes to the framework
  • Increase understanding of the change process
  • Review and practice the core skills
  • Apply the skills to the change process
  • Increase ability to work effectively with resistance and ambivalence
  • Practice skills in softening sustained talk and eliciting change talk
  • Develop strategies to continue learning and practising MI.

 

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 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.

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