National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction - NCETA

✨ Great to see the official launch of the State Public Health Plan today.

Jacquie Bowden joined leaders and stakeholders from across the public health sector to mark the launch of the Plan, which sets out key priorities and a shared vision for improving the health and wellbeing of South Australians over the next five years.

A valuable opportunity to connect, share insights, and reflect on how we can collectively improve public health outcomes.

SA Health

📢 New research published in Public Health Nutrition examined Australian consumers’ awareness, understanding and perceptions towards nutrition claims on alcohol labels, such as “low carb”, “zero sugar”, and “vegan friendly”.

Among 2,028 Australian adults who regularly drink alcohol:
🔹 More than half (57%) reported seeing at least one type of nutrition claim frequently in the past six months, with carbohydrate (32%) and sugar (31%) claims most frequently recalled.

🔹 Around one-third to one-half of participants agreed that the nutrition claims were true, easy to understand, and relevant. Most participants considered access to claims’ content important, particularly sugar (76%) and calories (73%).

🔹 Younger participants reported higher awareness of nutrition claim types, and younger age was consistently associated with more positive attitudes towards nutrition claims.

These findings suggest that nutrition claims on alcohol labels are often viewed positively by consumers, raising important public health concerns. As these claims become more common in alcohol marketing, stronger regulation is needed to ensure consumers have access to accurate, objective, and evidence-based health and nutritional information.

🔗 Read the paper here: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980026103395

Victoria Kostadinov, Simone Pettigrew, Ashlea Bartram, Christina Norris, Asad Yusoff, Bella Sträuli, Paula O’Brien, Michelle Jongenelis, Aimee Brownbill, Tanya Chikritzhs and Jacquie Bowden

Thank you to everyone who stopped by the NCETA stand at the Road to Research event yesterday, hosted by the Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute (FHMRI).

It was great to connect with students interested in Honours, Masters and PhD research pathways and discuss opportunities in the alcohol, to***co and other drugs (ATOD) sector.

We have student opportunities available for 2026/27 across a range of projects addressing real-world industry needs, including AOD workforce development and welcome students interested in developing their own research ideas with our team.

📧 If you are interested in learning more, contact us at [email protected]

👟 The NCETA team was proud to take part in this morning.

Thank you to Hutt St Centre for hosting a fantastic event, and to everyone who came together to raise awareness and support for people experiencing homelessness. We’re grateful to have been part of it. 💙

It’s not too late to make a donation, we’d greatly appreciate your support. Every contribution helps make a difference.
💙 https://www.walkamile.org.au/fundraisers/nceta

👟 We’re lacing up for Walk A Mile in My Boots!

Members of the NCETA team will be taking part in this year’s, Walk A Mile In My Boots, a fundraising event hosted by Hutt St Centre to raise awareness and support for people experiencing homelessness.

We’re proud to be participating and raising funds to support the vital work Hutt St Centre does every day alongside people facing homelessness and housing insecurity.

If you’re able to make a donation, we’d greatly appreciate your support. Every contribution helps make a difference.
💙 https://www.walkamile.org.au/fundraisers/nceta

📢 New research published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs examined how health-oriented claims on alcohol product labels (such as “zero sugar”, “low carb” and “low calorie”) influence self-reported consumer perceptions and intended purchasing and consumption.

Among 2,028 Australian adults who regularly drink alcohol:
🔹 Around half found alcohol products with sugar (51%), preservatives/additives (49%), calorie (48%) and carbohydrate (45%) claims more appealing, and similar proportions reported being more likely to purchase alcohol products displaying these claims.

🔹 Around one-third reported they would drink more of an alcohol product if it had a sugar (33%) or calorie (31%) claim.

🔹 Younger people and people who drink at higher-risk levels were more likely than their respective counterparts to agree that claims make products more appealing and that they would be more likely to purchase and consume a product displaying a claim.

Results of this study add to the body of evidence suggesting that health-oriented claims on alcohol labels are shaping consumer perceptions and potentially also behaviours, with the perceived influence of claims greater among populations at higher risk of alcohol-related harm.

🔗 Read the paper here: https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.25-00336

Victoria Kostadinov, Simone Pettigrew, Ashlea Bartram, Christina Norris, Asad Yusoff, Bella Sträuli, Paula O’Brien, Aimee Brownbill, Julia Stafford, Mark Petticrew, Michelle Jongenelis, Tim Stockwell and Jacquie Bowden.

👏 A big thank you to NCETA’s AOD Workforce Reference Group for their support throughout 2025/26.

Their expertise and insights help ensure our workforce development research is guided by stakeholders, end users and experts across the AOD sector, strengthening the relevance and impact of our work.

We’re grateful for their ongoing partnership and look forward to continuing our collaboration in 2026/27.

🤝 Yesterday’s SA AOD Community of Practice Member Event: CoPing Together brought together professionals from across South Australia’s alcohol and other drug sector for a morning of connection, collaboration and shared learning.

The event provided a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas, strengthen relationships across the sector, and contribute to conversations shaping future practice in South Australia.

Interested in joining the SA AOD Community of Practice? Learn more and sign up here: https://sandas.org.au/projects/community-of-practice/

South Australian Network of Drug & Alcohol Services (SANDAS), Drug and Alcohol Services South Australia (DASSA)

🚨 Australia's alcohol and other drug (AOD) training pipeline has shrunk by more than half in just over a decade. That's according to new research in the Australian Journal of Social Issues that compares national AOD vocational education and training (VET) provision in 2024 against 2011. Key findings include:

📉 52% fewer training providers (69 → 33)
📉 59% fewer accredited programs (128 → 52)
🏫 Shift from public TAFEs to private providers (now 52% of the market, up from 28%)
📍 Online delivery has surged, but doesn't fully solve access barriers for rural, remote and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers.

Worth a read for anyone in health workforce policy, VET or the AOD sector:
🔗 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajs4.70125

National Centre for Vocational Education Research, HumanAbility

Welcome Back Ashlea Bartram! 💐

We’re delighted to welcome Ashlea back to the team after her parental leave. It’s wonderful to have her back at NCETA, where she has taken on the role of Manager for our new Substance Use Research and Evaluation (SURE) Program. A special thank you to Victoria Kostadinov for her outstanding work as Acting Manager over the past six months, establishing the program and ensuring a smooth transition. Read more about the SURE program here - https://nceta.flinders.edu.au/projects/research_and_projects/substance-use-research-and-evaluation-sure-program 💙