Australian Winter School Conference

PROGRAM LAUNCH

Australian Winter School 2026 draft program out now! This year’s conference is set to be the best yet, with something for everyone!

💡Come and be part of the conversations about innovations in alcohol and other drug evidence informed treatment, policy and system reform.

🔗 Check out the draft program and see the amazing lineup of keynote speakers and breakout sessions at this year’s Australian Winter School conference: https://www.winterschool.org.au/aws-program

📢We are pleased to share the abstract for James’s keynote presentation,
‘Nicotine: The Latest Escalation of Australia’s War on Drugs’. 📢

Over the past decade, increasing restrictions on the legal supply of ni****ne have resulted in the emergence of a massive, nationwide illicit market. The Australian government estimates that a majority of to***co and nearly all less harmful ni****ne products such as vapes are now supplied by organised crime. Annual expenditure is estimated to be in excess of $7 billion, meaning that ni****ne is now one of the most valuable criminal commodities in the country, exceeding the combined expenditure on cannabis, co***ne, ecstasy and he**in. In response, governments have allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to law enforcement and expanded police powers in an effort to crush the illicit market. This presentation explores the development and implications of Australia’s intensifying ‘War on Nicotine’, assessing the scale, composition, drivers, and likely trajectory of the newest front in Australia's longstanding War on Drugs.

Stay tuned for the full conference program coming soon https://www.winterschool.org.au/

Registrations are open, so grab your tickets here: https://events.humanitix.com/australian-winter-school-conference-2026

📢 We are pleased to share the abstract for Emily’s keynote presentation. 📢

The Indigenous language of New Zealand- Te reo Māori, has adopted new words for ADHD and autism, inherently reducing stigma and building appreciation for neurodiversity: ADHD is ‘Aroreretini’, or ‘attention goes to many things’ and autism is ‘Takiwātanga’ or ‘in their own time’, thanks to the work of expert linguist Keri Opai ((Te Atiawa, Ngāti Ruanui, Waiohua, Ngāti Te Ata, Ngāti Porou).

This presentation discusses the New Zealand Drug Foundation's report on Neurodivergence and Substance Use. The paper is both a literature review and a record of the experiences of people with lived experience of 'neurodivergent' conditions and substance use, including the presenter's own life experience as a neurodiverse person.

Our report shows an elevated level of substance use among people with ADHD, and increased risk of harm from substance use for people with ADHD or autism. We discuss the implications of this evidence for treatment, harm reduction, and policy from a neurodiversity-informed perspective, and ask the question as to whether diagnosis and adaptive supports for people with neurodiverse conditions is, in, itself, a form of harm reduction.

We hope to encourage services working with people who use drugs to critically consider the unique experiences, perspectives and needs of neurodiverse individuals.

Stay tuned for the full conference program coming soon: https://www.winterschool.org.au/

Registrations are open, so grab your tickets here:https://events.humanitix.com/australian-winter-school-conference-2026

Free Pre-conference workshops for AWS 2026 are now OPEN for registration!!!!

QNADA presents Introduction to Harm Reduction facilitated by QuIVAA.

We are proud to present this full day preconference workshop which equips healthcare workers with practical knowledge and skills to support individuals who use substances through a harm reduction lens. Participants will explore core harm reduction principles and gain an overview of major drug categories, including their general effects, associated risks, and evidence-based strategies to reduce harm.

Eligibility:
This preconference workshop is available to QNADA member services.
If you are not a QNADA member service and are interested in attending, you are welcome to email [email protected] to join the waitlist. If places remain available, they may be offered to non-members.

For further information regarding the session and registrations, click here: https://events.humanitix.com/queensland-injectors-voice-for-advocacy-and-action-quivaa-workshop

Registrations are open, so grab your tickets here: https://events.humanitix.com/australian-winter-school-conference-2026

Stay tuned for the full conference program coming soon https://www.winterschool.org.au/

Free Pre-conference workshops for AWS 2026 are now OPEN for registration!!!!

QNADA presents Resisting Collusion & Motivating Change: Working with men who use intimate partner violence training facilitated by Ada Conroy and Kelly Finch.

We are proud to present this full day preconference workshop designed for practitioners who may come across men who use intimate partner violence in the course of their work, and who are seeking to strengthen their practice, contribute to change, and enhance victim-survivor safety.

Eligibility:
This preconference workshop is available to QNADA member services.
If you are not a QNADA member service and are interested in attending, you are welcome to email [email protected] to join the waitlist. If places remain available, they may be offered to non-members.

For further information regarding the session and registrations, click here: https://events.humanitix.com/resisting-collusion-and-motivating-change-working-with-men-who-use-intimate-partner-violence-training

Registrations are open, so grab your tickets here: https://events.humanitix.com/australian-winter-school-conference-2026

Stay tuned for the full conference program coming soon https://www.winterschool.org.au/

📢We are pleased to share the abstract for Benjamin’s keynote presentation,
“Substance use and the modern media environment”. 📢

Thanks to smart phones, streaming platforms, and social media sites, we are consuming more media than ever before. Although there are a number of positives of the modern media environment (e.g., communication, entertainment), there are also some potential negative impacts. In the context of substance use, substance-related content is extremely common in the modern media environment and there is a reported link between exposure to substance-related content and substance use.

In this talk, Dr. Riordan will cover some of his ongoing research aiming to identify and understand how common substance-related content is in the current media environment, what impact exposure can have, and what are the implications for intervention and prevention.

Stay tuned for the full conference program coming soon: https://www.winterschool.org.au/

Registrations are open, so grab your tickets here: https://events.humanitix.com/australian-winter-school-conference-2026

📢We are pleased to share the abstract for Vanessa’s keynote presentation,
“Examining cultural insights at the intersection of social determinants affecting AOD and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities”. 📢

The complex interplay between social determinants and substance use, particularly concerning alcohol and drugs, reveals a profound need for culturally inclusive frameworks and governance within Indigenous communities. This critical issue underscores the necessity of integrating Indigenous perspectives into public health policies and educational curricula. By placing emphasis on addressing systemic factors such as access to quality education, stable employment opportunities, and robust mental health support, we can better understand the social determinants that significantly influence substance use behaviours.

To effectively tackle the challenges of substance, use problems and improve overall health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, it is essential to base our policies on evidence-based insights. These insights should reflect the unique cultural contexts and lived experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, ensuring that interventions are respectful, relevant, and ultimately more successful in promoting health and well-being within these communities.

Stay tuned for the full conference program coming soon https://www.winterschool.org.au/

Registrations are open, so grab your tickets here: https://events.humanitix.com/australian-winter-school-conference-2026

We are pleased to share the abstract for Nicole’s keynote presentation, “If We Keep Looking Back, We’ll Keep Going That Way”: Envisioning an Alcohol and Other Drugs Sector After Drug Prohibition

Drug laws and policies have always been controversial. Much of their contestation stems from the disconnect between what decision-makers say they do versus what they achieve in practice. According to governments, drug prohibition prevents crime and social disorder. Yet overwhelming evidence demonstrates that prohibition is primarily motivated by the desire to control, regulate, and surveil unruly populations. Under prohibition, public safety is reduced; negative health outcomes proliferate; inequalities are exacerbated; and the illegal drug supply has become so unpredictable and potent that it is now a leading cause of unnatural death in Canada and the United States.

In Canada, the government has claimed that drugs are a health issue while still criminalizing those who use them. Contradictory messaging, paired with a decade of half measures that failed to deliver meaningful results, has sown confusion among the public. Support for progressive drug policy reform has waned dramatically as a result. Not only are harm reduction services closing - people who use drugs are increasingly being scapegoated for multiple, intersecting crises as their fundamental rights are being eroded. In many jurisdictions, decades of hard-won progress have been erased seemingly overnight.

These trends are not unique. They are being replicated across the world, and they demand a coordinated response from members of the alcohol and other drugs sector. Together, and drawing from lessons learned in the Canadian context, we will ask what it could look like to address the problems at their source. How do we forge bonds of solidarity across borders, collectively name the costs of prohibition without compromising service provision, and imagine a future where all people, regardless of their relationship to substances, have access to dignity, autonomy, and choice?

Stay tuned for the full conference program coming soon

Registrations are open, so grab your tickets here https://www.winterschool.org.au/

Do you know someone who goes above and beyond to provide exceptional contribution in the AOD and/or Community Controlled sectors across Queensland?

Reminder that nominations for QNADA’s Outstanding Contribution Awards 2026 are now open!

We’re looking for exceptional workers across the following categories:
• First Nations workers
• Peer/Lived/Living experience workers
• LGBTIQA+ workers
• Harm Reduction workers
• Treatment workers
• Researchers

If you’re lucky enough to be connected to more than one amazing worker across the sector, you can submit one (1) nomination per category.

Please keep nominations to 300 words max, capturing the key reasons why your colleague goes above and beyond.

Nominations close on 30 June 2026 – be sure to get yours in on time and spread the word.

Head here to nominate: https://www.winterschool.org.au/nominations

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATIONS CLOSE TOMORROW!

Thinking about attending QNADA AWS 2026? Then you need to know that early bird registrations close tomorrow, 30 April.

You could save up to $130 on your registration, just by buying an early bird ticket!

ICYMI, we’ll be presenting a stellar line up of speakers, with ideas and insights that push the sector forward.

Early Bird Registrations close: Thursday 30 April 2026
Register here: www.winterschool.org.au