A national inquiry into the health impacts of alcohol and other drugs has addressed key issues and recommendations presented by SHARC and APSU.
They include LLE peer workforce development, equity, Aboriginal self-determination, improved data collection, alcohol delivery and advertising, harm reduction, and longer-term sector sustainability. The inquiry’s final report, released last week, makes 30 recommendations to the Australian Government following an extensive consultation process.
In May, SHARC CEO Clare Davies and APSU manager Emer Diviney appeared as expert witnesses before the committee at Parliament House in Canberra.
Their submissions were informed by APSU members and SHARC staff in designated lived and living experience (LLE) roles.
The report also reflects broader themes highlighted in SHARC’s submissions, including the impact of stigma and discrimination and the importance of connection, family inclusion and moving from punitive responses to health-based approaches.
Disappointingly, recommendations addressing these critical issues were not included in the final recommendations
Opportunities remain, particularly around peer led recovery housing and navigation supports, LLE-led programs for families and supporters, ongoing national governance, and investment to support LLE participation, and engagement in system reform and service design.
In particular, investment in a national peak body that represents people in recovery who have accessed or tried to access treatment services.
The key themes and issues highlighted by SHARC and reflected in the inquiry’s final recommendations are:
LLE experience and peer workforce reform
- Development of a national alcohol and other drugs (AOD) peer workforce framework
- Accredited training and career pathways
- Clear role descriptions and workforce supports
- Embedding LLE experience in service design, governance, delivery, and evaluation
Equity and priority populations
- Embedding equity within the National Drug Strategy
- Monitoring unmet demand
- Transparent reporting and performance measures for priority populations
- Improved data and outcomes measurement
- Improved national AOD data collection
- Better measurement of service access, outcomes, and unmet demand
- Improved collection of data relating to priority populations
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership
- ·A new National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Drug Strategy
- Co-design with Aboriginal communities and peak bodies
- Increased investment in ACCOs
- Expansion of culturally safe treatment and harm reduction responses
- Harm reduction and drug checking
- National implementation of drug checking services
- Recognition of harm reduction as an essential component of the response
Long-term funding certainty
- Minimum five-year funding agreements for nationally funded AOD services
Click here to read SHARC’s full submission to the federal inquiry.