Monthly Newsletter | Edition 37

Editorial

Dear Colleagues, 

I’ve spent the last couple of months visiting and meeting with regional AOD service providers in Victoria. This includes services operating across the South West Coast, Western Districts, South Gippsland, Bass Coast, Goulburn Valley, Greater Bendigo, Wimmera and Mallee. It’s been inspiring to see and hear stories of professional commitment from the AOD workforce, dealing with addiction and mental distress in local communities, supporting people when they are at the worst moments of their life. Many staff have been working in these communities as AOD nurses, clinicians and harm reduction workers for decades. They are the unsung heroes of our sector. Their compassion and commitment gives hope to thousands of individuals, families and supporters dealing with a substance use issue. VAADA could not be more grateful for the important work they undertake each and every day.

Much of this work occurs against a backdrop of entrenched systemic challenges. This includes a lack of particular AOD services in some regions, difficulties navigating treatment pathways and long wait times for some AOD services. Country Victorians who could benefit from timely and appropriate support for an AOD issue, also contend with additional barriers such as isolation, poverty and persistent stigma and discrimination. I was shocked to hear that in one large regional town, no pharmacy is prepared to dispense pharmacotherapy medicines, adding to the burden faced by individuals trying to manage their health condition. This is not good enough. Communities deserve better, the AOD workforce deserves better. This is why I am keeping faith that the Victorian AOD Strategy and the next National Drug Strategy will help provide us with a way forward to overcome these deficits.

I’ll be learning more about the work being led to address health inequities in rural and regional communities when I attend the Alliance of Rural & Regional Community Health (ARRCH) Conference 2026. Being held in Ballarat on the 12^th and 13^th of March, the ARRCH Conference will amplify regional and rural voices and demonstrate how regional health services are innovating solutions to improve health outcomes in country communities. ARRCH is a united voice for regional community health and its members deliver a vast network of free and low cost health services, including AOD services, across Victoria. I encourage you to make time to attend this important event if you are able.

Chris Christoforou
Chief Executive Officer

VAADA Updates

In 2025, VAADA conducted its second Victorian Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) Workforce Survey, with more than 480 AOD workers sharing their experience and perspectives. We have compiled a snapshot highlighting some of the key findings from the report.

Over the coming months, VAADA will release a series of Workforce Snapshot briefs that take a deeper look at key trends shaping the AOD workforce.

Read and download the full report here.

Stay tuned for more informative snapshots coming your way.

Our new AOD Leaders Network will bring service leaders together to share ideas, discuss opportunities, raise issues and address challenges. It will provide a space to collaborate - strengthening relationships between services and fostering greater connection and identity across the Victorian AOD system.

Topics and issues will be driven by the needs of members with network meetings designed to be responsive and forward looking. The AOD Leaders Network will provide opportunities to hear from guest speakers including Departmental updates, supporting our sector’s leaders to plan for and respond to strategic priorities.

VAADA has joined in signing an open letter urging the Victorian Government to retain strong lived experience leadership and independent oversight in the mental health and wellbeing system. The proposed changes risk weakening core commitments made through the Royal Commission.

As highlighted in The Age, the Bill would remove mandated lived and living experience representation in senior roles within the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission and the Victorian Collaborative Centre. These roles were hard-won safeguards to ensure decisions are shaped with people who use the system, not made about them.

The Bill also limits legislated access to system data and blocks access to information on reform progress and levy spending, undermining transparency and trust.

For the AOD sector, these changes matter. 

VAADA stands with our members HACSU, SHARC, Harm Reduction Victoria, EACH and YSAS in calling on the Victorian Government to pause, listen, and uphold the intent of the Royal Commission - not dilute it.

Family Drug Support (FDS) held an event at the Victorian Parliament last week, with VAADA’s Gillian Clark and Harm Reduction Victoria (Australia)'s Nadia Gavin joining other speakers in passionately describing the critical role of families and carers in providing compassionate care, as part of this year’s theme "See the person, not the drug".

Thank you to FDS for inviting VAADA to be part of this important day and to Aiv Puglielli MP for sponsoring and hosting the event. 

Anushka is departing to take up a position with the South Eastern Melbourne PHN. In her two years at VAADA, she has made an enormous contribution to strengthening our workforce development profile and offering. This has included piloting and securing further resourcing for the AOD Leadership Accelerator Program, leading the production of our 2025 Workforce Report and the launch event, establishing new training partnerships, and continuing to grow the Elevate training platform.

Anushka has never shied away from a challenge and recently took on the coordination of the Regional Workforce Forums for the Murray PHN.

We thank Anushka for her leadership, energy and commitment, and wish her every success in this next chapter.

Anushka’s final day at VAADA will be March 19. For any enquiries regarding Elevate!, Accelerator Program or the Murray PHN forums, contact the VAADA office on 03 9412 5600 or via our email.

Family Violence

Join us for the Specialist Family Violence Advisors (SFVAs) Showcase on Thursday, April 30, 2026, bringing together leaders and practitioners from the Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) and Mental Health and Wellbeing sectors.

This event provides an opportunity to hear directly from SFVAs about how MARAM is being translated from policy into practice across services.

Through a series of short presentations, SFVAs will share practical examples of initiatives and practice improvements underway across Victoria, highlighting how services are strengthening their responses to family violence within complex service environments.

Join us for lunch from 12 PM before the showcase to connect with peers across the sector and reflect on the growing role of SFVAs in supporting safer and more effective responses to family violence.

When: Thursday, April 30, 12:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Where: Collins Square Business and Events Centre, 727 Collins St, Docklands VIC 3008

📌 Registrations are now open. Make sure to secure your tickets!

Workforce Development

AOD Leadership Accelerator Program
 Coming soon! 2026 program dates and Expressions of Interest via VAADA ENEWS this month.
👉 Check your eligibility here

You may be eligible for a travel subsidy to attend in-person workshops
👉 Read more about travel contributions

Sector Updates