This is a 2-hour webinar
Date: Tuesday, 17 February 2026, 10:00AM – 12:00PM
Location: Zoom
Cost: Free
Description:
For many years, support for people wanting to reduce harmful alcohol use has focused heavily on one pathway – abstinence. While this may be a necessary path for some, many clients are seeking alternative ways to change their drinking and workers are looking for practical options to offer them.
In this webinar, Dr Paul MacCartney (GP and Addiction Medicine Specialist) and the team from Uniting will share a holistic, evidence-informed pathway that is changing outcomes for clients and the services that support them. Through real-world examples and practice-focused discussion, they’ll unpack how pharmacotherapy and collaborative care can be used as a meaningful part of treatment planning.
You’ll explore:
- The impact of alcohol use on clients, families and communities
- Alternatives for people stuck on the “detox-relapse” cycle
- How AOD workers, GPs and specialist services can partner to get the best outcomes for clients
This session is ideal for AOD workers, GPs, clinicians and anyone wanting to feel more confident talking about and working with pharmacotherapy as part of alcohol treatment for the people they support.
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
This is a 1-day in person training.
Description: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) has evolved over the years and is a most favourably reviewed treatment approach. There is much evidence for the effectiveness of CBT with a range of Alcohol and Other Drugs issues. In recent years CBT has expanded its focus to include third wave approaches. These approaches seek to blend traditional CBT principles with concepts new to cognitive-behavioural therapies such as mindfulness and acceptance.
In this introductory workshop you will build your capacity in applying evidence-based interventions that work on the underlying processes that support behavioral change. You will discover how, when and why to apply a best practice cognitive, behavioral or emotion focused approach.
This workshop will introduce you to a range of models, techniques and interventions to help your clients to change negative thought patterns, develop coping strategies, and improve emotional wellbeing. It will be a practical and interactive workshop where you will be introduced to a range of tools, worksheets and relapse prevention strategies that you can use collaboratively with your client to implement.
Date: Thursday, 2nd October 2025
Time: 10:00pM – 4:00PM
Location: Turning Point, 110 Church Street, Richmond, VIC 3121
Cost: Free
Who should attend: AOD clinicians, counsellors, support workers and allied health working in a Victorian Department of Health funded AOD organisation.
Registration: Click here to register
This is a 1-day in person training.
Description: Working with cognitively impaired clients can be a significant challenge, particularly when access to assessment services and resources are limited. Cognitive difficulties may arise from a range of aetiologies including acquired brain injury, mental health, substance use, or neurodevelopmental differences and together, this can have a cumulative and adverse impact on treatment outcomes and recovery. This workshop will provide practical strategies for working with clients who present with or have concerns regarding cognitive difficulties. In particular, this workshop will cover four main themes:
- Recognising cognitive impairment
- Underlying aetiologies across the lifespan
- Supporting clients with cognitive impairment
- Referral pathways: When might assessment be indicated?
Date: Friday, 28th November 2025
Time: 9:30pM – 4:30PM
Location: Turning Point, 110 Church Street, Richmond, VIC 3121
Cost: Free
Who should attend: AOD clinicians, counsellors, support workers and allied health working in a Victorian Department of Health 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
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.
Date: Thursday, 26th February 2026 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Location: Online
Description:
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is one of the key practice skills you need for effective alcohol and other drug treatment. This interactive workshop offers an engaging and practical introduction to CBT and makes CBT meaningful in day to day practice. Improve your understanding of CBT theory and practice, learn a comprehensive CBT framework, and develop skills in tailoring strategies and treatment for different client presentations.
Key learning outcomes:
- Gain core knowledge and clinical skills in different types of behavioural and cognitive therapies
- Understand the CBT approach to assessment, formulation, brief interventions and treatment planning
- Apply knowledge and practice of key alcohol and other drug specific CBT interventions
Eligibility Criteria
This training has been funded for workers employed under the AOD Traineeship Program.
Who is not eligible?
Anyone not employed under the AOD Traineeship Program, workers from other community sectors such as family violence, homelessness, mental health, non-supervisors 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.
