Program

VAADA Conference 2025 | From Challenges to Solutions: Responding to a Changing World

Day 1 | Thursday February 13

8:00AM
Central Foyer
Registration, Tea & Coffee
9:00AM
Conference Opening | Savoy 1
Welcome to Country by Wurundjeri Elder Tony Garvey
Opening message by the Hon. Ingrid Stitt, Minister for Mental Health
9:30AM
Keynote 1 | Savoy 1
From Malaysia to Australia: influencing harm reduction in Southeast Asia
Professor Dato' Adeeba Kamarulzaman
10:30-11:00AM
Central Foyer
Morning Tea
11:00-12:30PM
SESSION ONE

Savoy 1

Family Violence

AOD & FV practice integration: the best of both worlds

Tony Johannsen, Family Life

Savoy 1

Family Violence

Substance use coercion in a family violence context

Janica Boord, SCHS

Rachel Daniel, BCHC

Savoy 1

Family Violence

Integrating harm reduction in family violence services: a collaborative initiative

Alannah Cavalieri, Odyssey Victoria

Jess Moretti, Uniting

Savoy 3

Models of Care

The future is bright. AOD nurse-led models of care

Maddy Harradence, ANMFV

Megan McKechnie, Alfred Health/Access Health

Savoy 3

Models of Care

Achieving the vision of truly integrated care with a multi-disciplinary team

Patrick Lawrence, First Step

Savoy 3

Models of Care

Connecting carers: New approaches to delivering family/carer-led services

Katherine Cameron, Connect

Anna Guthrie, Connect

Mayfair 1

Multiple & Complex Needs

Expanding the toolbox for an ongoing challenge: the Comorbidity Project

Alexandra Azzi, USYD

Mayfair 1

Multiple & Complex Needs

(Re)imagining integrated care: Exploring barriers and opportunities through co-design

Shalini, Arunogiri, Turning Point

Mayfair 1

Multiple & Complex Needs

Enhancing Clarity in Case Management: The Windana Case Management Manual

Mel Thomson, Windana

Mark Graham, Windana

Mayfair 2

Rural & Regional

Exploring the need for an Academic Regional and Rural Addictions Network (ARRAN)

Robert Lumdin, MBPH

Craig Harvey, Barwon Health

Mayfair 2

Rural & Regional

The Hub: A Walk-In Solution for Timely Intervention and Harm Minimisation in AOD Services

Darren Stevens, LCHS

Tess Watt, LCHS

Mayfair 2

Rural & Regional

Implementing an integrated model for mental health and AOD treatment

Rachael Krepp, WVPHN

Jo Harris, WVPHN

Mayfair 3

Treatment or Program Innovation

The other side of the mountain: elevating the carer voice

Karen McKnight, Connect

Wendy Trewin, Connect

Mayfair 3

Treatment or Program Innovation

Upskilling and collaboration in AOD services across Victoria: pilot program outcomes

Adam Engel, RecX

Henrique Salles, RecX

Mayfair 3

Treatment or Program Innovation

Alternative approach to goal setting: Chronos Approach

Petra Staiger, CEDAAR

Bristol

Access & Equity

A dual diagnosis partnership - filling a gap in Psychiatric Units

Stephanie Bortignon, Anglicare

Gavin Foster, Eastern Health

Bristol

Access & Equity

Nurse Practitioners advancing decentralised Hepatitis C care in opioid treatment

Lucy Hanrahan, Gateway Health

Sam Blake, Gateway Health

Bristol

Access & Equity

Pre and post-natal care experiences of women who inject drugs

Bek Petrovic, Burnet

Verandah

New & Emerging

Beyond 'train and hope' Achieving program sustainability with implementation science

Nick Kerswell, LLW

Jessica Lien

Verandah

New & Emerging

Strengthening Integrated Care: Using CCISC to improve outcomes for consumers

Tamsin Short, Accde

Cathy Keenan, Access Health

Verandah

New & Emerging

RCT of an Alcohol Approach Bias Modification App among outpatients

Victoria Manning, Turning Point

12:30-1:30PM
Central Foyer
Lunch
1:30-2:25PM
Keynote 2 | Savoy 1
Black market economics: enforcement, adaptation, and the paradox of prohibition
Dr James Martin SFHEA, Senior Lecturer, Criminology Course Director School of Humanities and Social Sciences Deakin University
2:55-3:30PM
Central Foyer
Afternoon Tea
3:30-4:30PM
SESSION TWO CONT...

Savoy 1

Lived & Living Experience

Peer-Led Interventions in Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Support: Enhancing Engagement and Outcomes for Trans and Queer Communities

Atlas Bailey, THH

James Houghton, THH

Savoy 1

Lived & Living Experience

Education as a Catalyst for Change: Building Bridges to Citizenship

Naomi Carter, WARCA

Savoy 3

Priority Populations

Engaging and retaining young people in AOD services: consumer perspectives

Emily Deans, Youth Solutions

Savoy 3

Priority Populations

AOD use and treatment among CALD communities in NSW

David Kelly, Odyssey, NSW

Mayfair 1

New Technologies

Engaging Families and significan others in the treatment continuum: challenges and opportunities

Mark Powell, WRAD

Mayfair 1

New Technologies

Framing and understanding what will address harms from others' drinking

Anne-Marie Laslett, CAPR

Mayfair 2

Collaborative Partnerships

2 Kool 4 Skool, The BRACE report card

René De Sant'anna, Odyssey

Petra Straiger, Deakin

Mayfair 2

Collaborative Partnerships

Lived and Living Experience Network initiating Cross-Sector Collaboration

Lachlan Preece, Nexus

Mirella Rao, Nexus

Mayfair 3

WORKSHOP 3:30 - 5:00PM

Crossing the River: Supporting times of transition

Greg Smith, Private Practice

Tye Hammersley, Galliamble

(Continued) Mayfair 3

WORKSHOP 3:30 - 5:00PM

Crossing the River: Supporting times of transition

Bristol

The Power of Data

Using data to change culture

Lisa Walklate, BCHS

Jo Rasmussen, BCHS

Bristol

The Power of Data

Power to change: incorporating digital tehcnology into AOD treatment programs

Sophie Aitken, Caraniche

Nicholas Nicola, Caraniche

Verandah

Advocacy & Action

Remembering the past to shape the future: Australian vaping regulation

James Dunne, AADC

Verandah

Advocacy & Action

Designing public outputs from drug checking services: Lessons for Victoria

Monica Barratt, RMIT

6:00PM
Conference Party | Rose Garden, Garden State Hotel, 100 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Day 2 | Friday February 14

8:00AM
Central Foyer
Registration, Tea & Coffee
9:00AM
Welcome & Opening | Savoy 1
9:00AM
Keynote 3 | Savoy 1
Everything, everywhere, all at once - the expectations for the 10 year Victorian AOD strategy
Dr Paul MacCartney, Chief Addiction Medicine Advisor, Clinical and Professional Leadership Unit, Victorian Department of Health
9:30-10:30AM
Keynote 4 | Savoy 1
I never thought I'd end up in Court: reflecting on the challenges of alcohol reform advocacy
Emeritus Prof. Doug Sellman, Otago University, NZ
10:30-11:00AM
Central Foyer
Morning Tea
11:00-12:30PM
SESSION 3

Savoy 1

Panel Discussion

Vaping in focus: health, policy and regulation

Moderator: Dr Kate Seear, La Trobe University

Dr David Hayward, RMIT

Dr Mary Walker, La Trobe University

Dr Hester Wilson, RACGP

Emeritus Prof. Wayne Hall, Queensland University

(Continued) Savoy 1

Vaping in focus: health, policy and regulation

(Continued) Savoy 1

Vaping in focus: health, policy and regulation

Savoy 3

Social Media & Other Tech

SMS Drug Alerts

Craig Harvey, Barwon Health

Savoy 3

Social Media & Other Tech

Peer Survey Data and Social Media for Harm Reduction Messaging

Linda Cowan, THH

Ben Yonson, BHN

Savoy 3

Social Media & Other Tech

Social Media Impact - and how it informs every other medium

Shara Scott, PCC

Mayfair 1

New & Emerging

How does climate change impact people who use substances?

Sarah MacLean, La Trobe University

Mayfair 1

New & Emerging

Provision of a remote telehealth opioid substitution therapy clinic

Sarah Garry, cohealth

Mayfair 1

New & Emerging

Understanding emerging high potency opioids: effects and naloxone dosing

Suzanne Nielsen, MARC

Mayfair 2

Harm Reduction

The role of podiatrists in identifying and addressing drug harms

Rebecca Wegener, cohealth

Mayfair 2

Harm Reduction

The Supervised Injecting Room Cohort Study (SIRX)

Ashleigh Stewart, Burnett

Mayfair 2

Harm Reduction

Harm Reduction Strategies for Benzodiazepine Use: A Systematic Review

Robert Lundin, BH DAS

Tiggy Branchflower, BH DAS

Mayfair 3

Workforce Sustainability

An enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) for the Victorian AOD sector?

Moderator: Scott Drummond, VAADA

Stephanie Theusen, HACSU

Paul Healey, HACSU

Patrick Stephenson, HACSU

(Continued) Mayfair 3

An enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) for the Victorian AOD sector?

(Continued) Mayfair 3

An enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) for the Victorian AOD sector?

Bristol

AOD & Peer Workforces

Lived and living experience workforce development project

Agnieszka Kleparska BCH

Anna Guthrie, Access Health

Bristol

AOD & Peer Workforces

Exploring the individual multidisciplinary team roles in AOD

Xuan Ye, Monash

Bristol

AOD & Peer Workforces

Lived & living experience at heart - sustaining the LLE workforce

Matthew Corbett, SHARC

Emma Cadogen, DH

Verandah

Family Violence

Improving capability to respond to FDV in MH AOD settings

Alysha Bleney, QNADA

Verandah

Gambling & AOD

Rethinking Gambling in the Justice System

Judy Avisar, SHARC

Elena Campbell, RMIT

Carolyn Crawford, SHARC

12:25-1:15PM
Central Foyer
Lunch
1:15-2:40PM
SESSION 4

Savoy 1

Forensic

The Forest: a partnership to end reincarceration

Amy Kirwan, Burnet

Jade Lane, Burnet

Savoy 1

Forensic

Examining tensions between person-centred and carceral care in residential rehabilitation

Ramez Bathish

Savoy 1

Forensic

Evolving AOD support in corrections: a stage -matched approach

Elizabeth D'Silve

Lana Ngyen, Uniting

Savoy 3

Priority Populations

LBQ women’s help seeking regarding their alcohol, smoking and vaping

Ruth McNair, Melbourne University

Savoy 3

Priority Populations

The more I learn the less I know for sure

Joseph Coyote, Ngaimpe

Savoy 3

Priority Populations

Culturally centred care: empowering African youth and families

Nyachan Nyak, Nas Recovery Centre

Mayfair 1

Multiple & Complex Needs

Examining the association between pain and opioid agonist treatment status

Jie Yang, MARC

Mayfair 1

Multiple & Complex Needs

Neurodivergence and addictions – a co-designed client responsive support group

Staumn Hunder, SCCH

Lynsey Ward< SCCH

Mayfair 1

Multiple & Complex Needs

Severing dysfunctional ties: An MDT approach to treatment-resistant clients

Stephanie Tabner, GVADS

Timothy Ridgeway GVADS

Mayfair 2

Pregnancy, FASD, Post-Partum

The critical role of lived experience in FASD prevention

Angelene Bruce, FARE

Sophie Harrington, NOFASD

Mayfair 2

Pregnancy, FASD, Post-Partum

Addressing GHB use during pregnancy: barriers and solutions

Alex Johnson, Uniting

Rose McCrohan, Uniting

Mayfair 2

Pregnancy, FASD, Post-Partum

Responding to changing drug use patterns in pregnancy

Kerri Felemonow, WADS

Violetta Solarte, the Women's

Bristol

Access & Equity

Reaching across the rainbow with wearable devices: bringing non-residential withdrawal services to the LGBTIQA+ community

Leone Knight, THH

Hayley King

Bristol

Access & Equity

Age-relevant drug and alcohol recovery support for older people

Clare Davies , SHARC

Jo Niven, SHARC

Bristol

Access & Equity

Social Isolation, loneliness and substance use in older adults

Rose Laing, MARC

Verandah

Treatment Innovation

Nurse practitioner-led rapid OAT access within the MSIR

Temika Mu, NRCH

Dellie McKenzie, NRCH

Verandah

Treatment Innovation

Addressing benzodiazepine dependence: The Better Sleep Program

Erin Oldenhof, Reconnexion

Verandah

Treatment Innovation

Building connections beyond recovery: supporting long-term wellbeing for individuals with dual diagnosis

Anna Brockman,BCHS

Clare Woods, BCHS

2:40-3:15PM
Central Foyer
Afternoon Tea
3:15-4:15PM
Keynote 5 | Savoy 1
The rise of novel psychoactive substances in Australia: challenges for drug surveillance and public health
Dr Jenn Schumann | Head of the Drug Intelligence Unit Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, Monash University
4:15PM
Conference Close

Doug Sellman

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Dr James Martin

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Jennifer Schumann

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Prof Adeeba
Kamarulzaman

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Dr Paul MacCartney

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