Our Advocates

Professor Adeeba Kamarulzaman graduated from Monash University in 1987 and trained in internal medicine and infectious diseases at the Monash Medical Centre and Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. She is presently the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. Professor Adeeba returned to Malaysia in 1997 and established the Infectious Diseases Unit… Read More

Alex Greenwich MP is the Independent Member for Sydney in the New South Wales Parliament. He was elected in 2012 with the support of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore. He is committed to working towards a liveable, sustainable, and progressive Sydney for all. Alex was the co-chair of the successful YES campaign that delivered marriage… Read More

Australia, once an international leader in harm reduction, has never had a national organisation advocating for harm reduction. Harm Reduction Australia (HRA) has now been established to fill that important gap and has my full support. Dr Alex Wodak is a physician who was Director of the Alcohol and Drug Service, St. […] Read More

Angelo Pricolo has been running his pharmacy in Brunswick, Victoria (at times a 24 hour a day business) for over 20 years. He was involved in the first trial in Australia to use methadone as a treatment for opioid addiction for juveniles in detention, which has since grown to every facility in the country. […] Read More

As the Executive Director of the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), I am delighted to be a Harm Reduction Advocate supporting the work of Harm Reduction Australia in calling for increasing investment in harm reduction interventions and opposing the criminalisation and incarceration of people who use drugs, and disproportionate penalties for drug offences in particular the death penalty. […] Read More

Annie Madden is the Executive Director of Harm Reduction Australia, which is a part time role she holds alongside a part time role as a Project Lead with the International Network of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD).  Annie has provided technical expertise to UNODC, WHO, UNAIDS and has been a member of Australian Government delegations… Read More

Harm reduction is supported around the world because of its effectiveness and humane approach to drug use. In the Asia-Pacific Region, Australia has a deserved reputation for innovation and leadership on drug policy which is why the establishment of a national harm reduction organisation and the influence it can have on the region’s approach to… Read More

Seat belts in cars represent highly effective harm reduction policy. But seat belts don’t offer 100% protection, nor do they encourage people to drive. It’s a no-brainer. Professor Basil Donovan is the Head of the Sexual Health Program at the Kirby Institute, UNSW Australia, in Sydney. He also practises at the Sydney Sexual Health Centre,… Read More

Bee Mohamed was the inaugural Chief Executive Officer (2014-2019) of ScriptWise, a not for profit organisation dedicated to prevent the harms associated with prescription medication dependency and/or overdose. It is safe to say that Bee has not only contributed to advocating for better policies in addressing the issue of prescription medication overdose in Australia during… Read More

Bill Bush has been distressed that in contrast to the harms associated with particular drugs, those attributable to drug policy have been largely overlooked. The evidence is there that drug policy itself not only stimulates the drug trade, but is implicated in Australia’s most intractable and serious social problems. Bill looks forward to the prospect… Read More

It was in 1970 that I first began working with drug addicted people in Kings Cross, Sydney, Australia. So, for the past 45 years, I have been working, day after day, with people affected by alcohol and other drugs, both legal and illegal. Also, along with Reverend Ted Noffs, I helped create Life Education Centres. […] Read More

Robert ‘Bob’ Debus was born in Sydney and educated at The University of Sydney. Before serving two terms in the New South Wales parliament (1981/88 and 1995/2007), he worked as a solicitor, publisher and ABC radio broadcaster, producing Radio National programs including the first editions of the program Background Briefing. […] Read More

Bronwyn has over 30 years experience in mental health, and more recently, alcohol and other drug services, and is a strong advocate for harm reduction services, including a health-first approach to substance use and decriminalisation of personal use and possession of small amounts of illicit drugs. Bronwyn is currently the CEO of Directions Health Services,… Read More

Dr Bronwyn Hudson, MBBS (Hons), DCH, MLLR, BCom (Hons), is a Doctor in the Northern Rivers of NSW. Based in Bangalow, she holds positions at Lismore Base Hospital, The Tweed Hospital and Byron Central Hospital. Dr Hudson also runs a drug and alcohol clinic in Bangalow. Dr Hudson is Chair of the Byron Shire Medical… Read More

The evidence is clear. In terms of rights, dignity, families, economics and lives – harm reduction is a no-brainer. I support Harm Reduction Australia so we can bring sophisticated, mature and evidence-based change to the way drugs and the people who use them are considered in our society. Professor Carla Treloar is Deputy Director and… Read More

Harm reduction works because it is driven by affected communities and science. It is compassionate, pragmatic and non-judgmental as it accepts people for who they are, where they are at and listens to what people need. Harm reduction is effective and cost-effective health, social and economic policy. Carrie Fowlie is a systems advocate who promotes… Read More

Charles is currently undertaking a Research Masters at the Burnet Institute, Melbourne, where he also works as a part time Community Engagement Co-ordinator. His MA is focused on examining service user perspectives on the provision of Long-Acting Injectable Buprenorphine (LAIB) within the context of wider Opioid Dependence Treatment Program offerings. Since coming to Australia in… Read More

Chloe is the Victorian Project Officer for Family Drug Support Australia (FDS) and is responsible for running support groups, community workshops and the FDS flagship program, ‘Stepping Stones to Success’ for families effected by problematic alcohol and drug use. She has a background in case management for people receiving unemployment benefits, is a Board Member… Read More

Harm reduction has been proven to be the most effective strategy for addressing the problems of drugs in our society. The scientific evidence and the personal testimonies to its success simply cannot be denied.Old fashioned strategies such as the now universally discredited “war on drugs” have proved to be nothing more than a war on… Read More

I am delighted to lend my support Harm Reduction Australia, having to remind myself that in Australia in the 21st Century, we still have to push for Harm Reduction to hold the place of pre-eminence that it should, in any modern National Drugs Policy. As a simple emergency physician, I see those who object to… Read More

David Gunn, MD, CCFP, FCFP, FRACGP, is a Canadian doctor who moved with his family to the Northern Rivers, NSW in 2017. He currently works in Lismore, as a GP with a special interest in paediatrics, mental health, sports medicine, addictions medicine, chronic pain and the medical use of cannabinoids. He is involved in teaching… Read More

David Heilpern was appointed as a Magistrate in 1998, and was at the time the youngest magistrate in Australia. He ‘retired’ in May 2020. He sat in the criminal, mining, family, industrial, coronial and children’s jurisdictions of the Local Court, and was the Senior Civil Magistrate for five years. During his time on the bench,… Read More

I wandered into the field of addiction medicine as a country GP in Nimbin, NSW in the 1980s. Following an outbreak of Hepatitis B, I established the first rural needle and syringe exchange in NSW. Shortly after I established the first rural methadone clinic in NSW. In 2000 I helped establish Riverlands, a regional drug… Read More

Dr David Jacka was appointed Addiction Medicine Specialist at Monash Health in early 2013. He has worked in the area of public health for many years and in Alcohol and Illicit Drug misuse and Harm Reduction since 1993. Between 2006 and 2012 he worked with the World Health Organization as a drug treatment specialist and… Read More

As a Harm Reduction Advocate I am delighted to be part of HRA’s initiative to raise the salience of drug harm reduction in Australia and abroad. Australia’s achievements in harm reduction are commendable. Unfortunately, the strong community support for harm reduction (demonstrated in population surveys) is not adequately matched by the policies, funding priorities and… Read More

David Stanley is a public health communications practitioner. David has been involved in more than 110 international, bilateral, national and state public health programs. David is published in policy, program and educational texts – all relating to public health information and education programs. In 1984 David founded Convenience Advertising and developed a narrowcasting communication solution with a strong focus on development and… Read More

Dennis Altman, a Professorial Fellow in Human Security at LaTrobe University, is the author of thirteen books, since Homosexual: Oppression & Liberation was first published in 1972. In 2006, The Bulletin listed Dennis Altman as one of the 100 most influential Australians ever, and he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in… Read More

I whole-heartedly support the aims of Harm Reduction Australia (HRA). Although some progress has been made in the minimisation of alcohol and other drug related harm, much remains to be done. In particular, we need work in genuine partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations to reduce the disproportionate level of alcohol… Read More

Associate Professor Ted Wilkes is a Nyungar man from Western Australia.  He is Associate Professor of Aboriginal Research Programs at the National Drug Research Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences at Curtin University. Previously Professor Wilkes worked as the CEO of the Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service (DYHS), and as Associate Professor, Centre for Developmental Health, at the… Read More

Eddie Lloyd is a Councillor on Lismore City Council and Chair of Council’s Social Justice and Crime Prevention Committee. She also sits on the Aboriginal Advisory Group. Eddie is also a criminal lawyer and has been practicing criminal law since 2011. After running her own private practice she then became employed as a Trial Advocate… Read More

Fiona Patten was the leader of Reason Australia (also known as the Reason Party) and was a member of the Victorian Legislative Council between 2014 and 2022, representing the Northern Metropolitan Region until she lost her seat at the 2022 state election. Fiona was one of several crossbenchers who held the balance of power in Victoria’s… Read More

Superintendent Frank Hansen APM commenced his career in the NSW Police Force in1970.  At the time of his retirement at the end of 2010 he held the position of Local Area Commander, Rosehill. Following 15 years in drug law enforcement Superintendent Hansen was promoted to Superintendent in 1994.  He then occupied various positions including Local… Read More

Garth Popple is the Executive Director, We Help Ourselves (WHOS) and Director of WHOS International. He currently holds the following honorary positions: Deputy Chair (ex officio past President) Australasian Therapeutic Communities Association (ATCA); and recently Executive Member of the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) for the past 13 years; a recent Past President –… Read More

Good public policy requires good values and respect for the evidence. Today this principle is under challenge from fundamentalism and populism and needs strong advocacy in the community generally and within the corridors of power. In the field of drug policy, harm reduction has been shown to be effective and enabling for all concerned –… Read More

The War on Drugs is likely the single biggest policy failure in the post-war period, with disastrous consequences ranging from near-failed narco states to ballooning prison populations across the globe. The only blue sky has been the dedication of thousands of people who support and work tirelessly promoting harm reduction in a world where drug… Read More

Gino Vumbaca is the Principal of 3V Consulting Services. Mr Vumbaca has extensive experience in the HIV/ AIDS and drug and alcohol fields both in Australia and internationally. He is a Churchill Fellow, has completed a Social Work degree and a Master of Business Administration at the University of Sydney and is a qualified Company Director.… Read More

Gloria Lai leads on the Asia regional programme for the International Drug Policy Consortium secretariat as the Regional Director – Asia, based in Bangkok, Thailand. Prior to this role, she worked as a senior policy advisor in the Illicit Drugs Section, Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department and the Law Enforcement Strategy Division, Australian Customs and Border… Read More

“It is difficult to understand why we wouldn’t use harm reduction as part of our response to drug use. We mandate seatbelts and helmets; Medicine provides symptomatic relief side by side with treatment for a problem. Harm reduction is logically and experientially essential to addressing problematic, indeed all, drug use. It is the key to… Read More

Greg Chipp is a director of Drug Policy Australia, a newly-established public health NGO primarily concerned with drug policy advocacy and with promoting new legislative approaches to minimise the harms associated with the use of psychoactive substances. Greg has been actively involved in politics and public policy development for several decades, beginning with his involvement… Read More

I fully support Harm Reduction Australia and believe that its formation is much needed and long overdue. I believe Harm Reduction Australia should endorse and promote harm reduction as a policy approach, an area which has been significantly neglected over recent years despite its cost effectiveness and strong evidence base. Harm Reduction Australia is well… Read More

We live in a world where people are imprisoned and executed for drug related crimes as part of the ‘war on drugs’. It is time for leaders at all levels to recognise the futility of this approach and focus instead on strengthening harm reduction efforts as the most cost-effective and humane approach to drug use… Read More

Primum non nocere (above all do no harm) is a basic principle in medicine. In treating cancer, heart disease or diabetes, the harms of disease are balanced against the harms of intervening – mastectomy, amputation, chemotherapy and the side-effects of medicines. Minimising harm is the everyday work of a doctor. There are tradeoffs too in… Read More

I challenge anyone who doubts the appropriateness of the harm reduction approach to spend a day with people who inject drugs on the streets of Sydney’s Kings Cross. They should then explain how removing services that have been shown to effectively reduce the immediate harms faced while comprehensively addressing the usually complex underlying reasons that… Read More

Jake is a Research Fellow with the Centre for Social Research in Health (CSRH), UNSW Sydney, where for over 10 years he has worked with people who inject drugs, including those living with hepatitis C or imprisoned. Jake sits on the editorial board of the International Journal of Drug Policy and the Harm Reduction Journal… Read More

A/Prof James Ward is Head of Infectious Diseases Research – Aboriginal Health at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute in Adelaide. He is of the Pitjantjatjara and Nurrunga peoples from central and south Australia. James has extensive experience in sexual health and blood borne virus research, and alcohol and other drug use in… Read More

Australia can be a country where people who use drugs are treated with respect, dignity and empathy.  Good drug policy will help us to achieve this. We will only have good policy however, if we share and act upon our knowledge, to promote greater understanding of harm reduction as an essential element of our health… Read More

Jenny Heslop is currently the Manager of HIV, Sexual Health, Viral Hepatitis & Harm Reduction Programs across NSW North Coast. She has worked in these fields for over 31years and was instrumental in the roll out of Harm Reduction/NSP Services in NSW from the late 1980’s to current. Jenny has a range of experience working… Read More

I am supportive of Harm Reduction Australia’s key objectives and would be happy to support the goals wherever possible. Jill is the CEO of WANDA and has worked in the alcohol and other drug sector for over 20 years, employed in a leadership role at the Western Australian Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies (WANADA)… Read More

Harm Reduction Australia plays a pivotal role in ensuring Australia’s drug policies and practice are evidence informed and aligned to minimise drug related harms for all people in the community. John Rogerson has been Chief Executive of the Australian Drug Foundation (ADF) since 2008 and has over 20 years’ experience in the alcohol and other… Read More

Julie is the Principal of Urban Realists, a town planning, health and safety consultancy providing advice and support to non-government organisations representing sex workers and people who use drugs illicitly. She provides specialist advice to the NSW sex industry and other stakeholders on various aspects of legislation and local government regulation, health promotion and harm… Read More

Reducing the harm from drugs will always be a difficult journey for individuals, families and communities. However, as many people have stated, including high level law enforcement officials, we will not arrest our way out of drug use problems. As a former Chief Minister of the ACT I understood all too well the need for… Read More

In 1986 Professor Dolan along with several others started the first needle and syringe program in Australia, the third in the world. She evaluated the needle and syringe program in the UK for six years. Dr Dolan received her PhD from the University of NSW in Sydney in 1997. In 2003, Kate established the Program of… Read More

Ms. Kim Gates is currently the Executive Director of the Northern Territory AIDS and Hepatitis Council (NTAHC). Kim is originally from Western Australia were she worked in the WA public service in the areas of Housing and Education before moving into the not for profit alcohol and other drug sector. She moved to Darwin in… Read More

Larry holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in sociology from Griffith University, Qld and has had extensive involvement in the drug and alcohol field. In 1985 he worked in the Queensland methadone program during its expansion under the first national campaign against drug abuse. He then moved into the non-government sector and worked as a… Read More

Harm Reduction is an essential component of a balanced approach to addressing the impacts of alcohol and other drug use within our communities.  UnitingCare ReGen is a strong advocate for the ongoing improvement of Harm Reduction initiatives to compliment Supply Reduction and Demand Reduction measures within Australia’s Harm Minimisation drug policy framework. […] Read More

Leone Crayden is a hands-on, highly-skilled and solutions-focused Executive with a career demonstrating visionary leadership, and outstanding performance in corporate management across the Health, Community Services and Disability Sector. She is currently the CEO of The Buttery a not-for-profit, charitable drug and alcohol rehabilitation, addiction and mental health services organisation located near Bangalow in Northern… Read More

Lisa is passionate about evidence based harm reduction measures. She is concerned about the stigma, barriers to treatment and compromised safety of Australians that results from failure to put pragmatic harm reduction measures in place in policy. Lisa has a background as a veterinarian but has been working in medical affairs in the pharmaceutical industry… Read More

A superb idea which will provide a much needed platform for harm reduction in Australia. I am delighted and honoured to be invited to become a member. Lisa Maher is a Program Head at the Kirby Institute for Infection and Immunity, Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at UNSW Australia, and a NHMRC Senior Research Fellow.… Read More

Professor Margaret Hamilton AO – her over forty five years’ experience in the alcohol and drug field includes clinical work, education, training, research, publication and policy development. She was founding Director of Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre (Vic.) 10 yrs; Chair of the Multiple and Complex Needs Panel (Vic) 5 yrs; an Executive member… Read More

Harm Reduction Australia will be key to achieving and maintaining best practice in harm reduction in our country.  We need to work collaboratively to educate and reform and I’m proud to be involved. Dr Marianne Jauncey was appointed to the position of Medical Director at the Uniting Medically Supervised Injecting Centre in August 2008. […] Read More

Marion McConnell and her late husband Brian are the founding members of Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform which commenced in 1995. Marion is very pleased that this new initiative will bring together like minded individuals and organisations who will pool their expertise and understanding to bring more just, evidence based and health focussed… Read More

Mark is a registered health psychologist working in private practice (Sydney) with a focus on applying psychological principles to lifestyle modification. Mark’s work history includes working for many years in the areas of HIV, and the broader area of sexuality – including being the President of the Australian Society of Sex Educators, Researchers and Therapists… Read More

Mat Henderson is the Principal Lawyer of Reparation Legal, a state lecturer in charge at Thomas More Law School at ACU and casual academic at Southern Cross University law school. He is a long-time advocate for better patient access to medicinal cannabis and drug law reform generally. Mat has a particular interest in military veterans… Read More

Matt Noffs is the co-founder of the Street Universities and CEO of the Noffs Foundation, Australia’s largest drug and alcohol treatment service provider for young people under 25. […] Read More

It’s undeniable that the ‘war on drugs’ has comprehensively failed. It has failed parents, families, young people, and it has failed the taxpayer.  We need to change course urgently. If we are serious about saving lives we have to get serious about harm reduction. In order to help drug users, their families and the wider… Read More

Michael Moore is the former CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia and is the Vice President/President Elect of the World Federation of Public Health Associations.  Michael is a former Minister of Health and Community Care and was an Independent member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly for four terms from 1989 to… Read More

Michael is currently Regional Community Manager for Bendigo Bank’s Melbourne Central Region. Michael has over 20 years international experience in biotechnology and technology commercialisation and finance.  He holds a BA from University of California Santa Cruz, a MSc from the University of London and an MBA from Monash University and has been a regular speaker… Read More

Beginning her career in professional photography just 8 years ago, Michelle Grace Hunder already has two separate portrait series in the National Sound and Film Archive of Australia and is considered one of the most revered Australian Music Photographers. She is also a documentary film maker, producing the critically acclaimed Music Documentary “Her Sound, Her Story” as well as host of the… Read More

Michael John (Mick) Palmer AO, APM is a barrister and 33 year career police officer with extensive experience in police leadership and corporate governance, reform in community, national and international policing and security. He has had an active interest in human rights and illicit drug reform for many years. Mick joined the Northern Territory Police… Read More

Neal Blewett has had a varied career as academic, politician and diplomat.  Following studies at the universities of Tasmania and Oxford, he taught political science at the universities of Adelaide and Flinders.  An opponent of Australian participation in the Vietnam War and an active civil libertarian, he entered Federal Parliament as  Labor member for the… Read More

A rational approach to the control of drugs requires measures that prioritise harm reduction. We do not presently deal with them in that way. As a minimum, policies must be developed that cease the practice of criminalising the personal possession and use of presently illicit drugs – the criminal law is a totally inappropriate mechanism… Read More

Professor Nick Crofts is an epidemiologist and public health practitioner who has been working in the fields of HIV/AIDS, illicit drugs, harm reduction and law enforcement for over 30 years. His major epidemiological work has been on the control of HIV and hepatitis C among injecting drug users in Australia (for which he received an… Read More

Niki Parry has studied social sciences and has worked in the community and health sectors for approximately 15 years now, with most of this time dedicated to AOD health organisations including Hepatitis NSW as well as the Sydney Medically Supervised Injecting Centre. Niki is currently employed by QuIHN (the QLD Injectors Health Network) where she… Read More

Nuno M. R. Jorge is president of OFAP (Organization of the Families of Asia and the Pacific). President Jorge, born in Macau, from a traditional Macanese Family, is a chartered architect, Past President 2007-2009 of the Architects Association of Macau, and registered accountant, received his Diploma in Architecture from the Higher School of Fine Arts… Read More

Dr. Denning has developed specialties in differential diagnosis, psychopharmacology, psychotherapy with seriously disturbed patients, HIV, and substance use disorders. She is one of the primary developers of Harm Reduction treatments. She has written several articles as well as a book for the general public (Over the Influence: The Harm Reduction Guide for Managing Drugs and… Read More

Harm reduction programs make an important contribution to protecting Australians from drug related harms. We need to maintain and strengthen these programs at every opportunity! Paul Haber is a physician specializing in addiction medicine and gastroenterology / hepatology. He is Clinical Director for Drug Health Services for the Sydney Local Health District and has been a consultant at Royal Prince… Read More

Paul Harvey has worked at Hepatitis NSW for almost 25 years; he knows first-hand the importance of BBV harm reduction and wholly supports the aims of Harm Reduction Australia. He is the Information and Communications Manager at Hepatitis NSW and works primarily in digital communications. He was the Hep Review magazine editor for 20 years,… Read More

I began writing about drug issues in the late 90s when the Sydney Morning Herald commissioned a number of features that brought me into contact with researchers working in the area of drugs and alcohol, parents trying to cope with their teenagers’ experimentation with drugs and with Tony Trimingham who went on to establish Family… Read More

Penny Hill is a PhD candidate at the Burnet Institute investigating the impact of health service use on opioid overdose among people who inject drugs, and works for the Centre for Research Excellence into Injecting Drug Use (CREIDU) and the National Naloxone Reference Group (NNRG). Penny has a background as a community health worker in… Read More

This is a very welcome initiative.  what we have been doing is not working well enough and rationality demands that we revisit the problem now.  Australia could do so much more for the problems posed by illicit drugs with the present money – it is so sad that so little of it goes to harm… Read More

Phillip Boulten is a senior criminal law practitioner. He appears regularly in courts at all levels of the criminal justice system. He has appeared in many high profile trials and appeals. He has a special interest in the law relating to national security, having appeared in a number of important cases involving national security issues… Read More

Discussion around illicit drug use is highly politicised and often overlooks the critical importance of harm reduction.  I welcome the establishment of Harm Reduction Australia and look forward to supporting the goals of the organisation. Rebecca has worked in the alcohol and other drug sector for almost 10 years and has been CEO of the… Read More

Richard Di Natale is a former Australian Senator and was leader of the Australian Greens from 2015 to 2020. Prior to entering the Senate, Dr Di Natale was a general practitioner and public health specialist who worked in Aboriginal health in the Northern Territory, on HIV prevention in India and as a drug and alcohol… Read More

Rick Lines is the former Executive Director of Harm Reduction International (HRI) and is now a Professor of Criminology at School of Social Sciences, Swansea University. Rick has been working in HIV and harm reduction services, policy and advocacy since the early 1990s, and is known for his leading work in the areas of HIV… Read More

Robert Richter QC was appointed was admitted to practice as Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1970, was involved in the establishment of the Fitzroy Legal Service and the Aboriginal Legal Service in 1972 and appointed as a Queen’s Counsel in 1985. He has been a member of the Victorian Bar… Read More

I am a consultant physician in private practice in Sydney. I have recognised the futility of the War on drugs for many years and have been writing to politicians and media commentators to promote the safe supply and quality control of recreational drugs. If this could be achieved, it would inevitably reduce crime and gain… Read More

I am excited to be part of the new movement to more effectively champion harm reduction. Australia and New Zealand have close harm reduction histories and I’m pleased to help connect more deeply with our Aussie HR cousins.  Ross Bell is the former Executive Director of the New Zealand Drug Foundation, NZ’s leading alcohol and… Read More

The role of an organisation such as Harm Reduction Australia will be invaluable in maintaining a clear focus on health and welfare policies that make a positive difference in our community. By focussing on endeavours that build on past harm minimisation successes the desire is to steer a progressive, non-punitive approach which enhances the lives… Read More

Scott Wilson is the Director of the Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council (SA) Inc (ADAC). ADAC is the only Indigenous organisation of its kind in Australia, and is based in Adelaide. Scott’s experience in the areas of substance use, misuse and abuse has seen him on nearly every major governmental and non-government committee in Australia over… Read More

Palmerston Association is a leading and respected alcohol and other drug service in Western Australia.  For over 35 years, this organisation has been a leading and strident advocate of a harm minimisation approach. The principles of harm minimisation are enshrined in our most recent strategic framework.  Palmerston is committed to our needle and syringe exchange… Read More

Simon is the CEO of Thorne Harbour Health, formerly the Victorian AIDS Council. Simon was first introduced to harm reduction, when as a 21 year old, he accidently got a part time job working in the Dandenong Needle Exchange. This experience resulted in a change of career path, that would see him spend the next… Read More

Harm Reduction and the enthusiasm and involvement of the affected communities, including people who inject drugs, saved Australia from the worst of the HIV epidemic. The provision of sterile needles and syringes, condoms, peer education and community mobilisation formed the bedrock of harm reduction, saved many, many lives and saved successive governments millions of dollars.… Read More

The creation of Harm Reduction Australia is a timely and wonderful step forward. Bringing together voices that come from different disciplines and experience can only help to improve outcomes in regard to drug use for all Australians. Overdue, but more relevant than ever, Harm Reduction Australia fills a vital gap in the discourse on drugs,… Read More

Stephanie is a member of the Pill Testing Australia consortium that worked on the 2018 and 2019 ACT trials. She has qualifications in law, humanities, and alcohol and other drugs and is a physical and mental health first aider. She has been Harm Reduction Victoria’s DanceWize program coordinator since July 2013 and is a board… Read More

The establishment of HRA  is long overdue as a platform to acknowledge Australia’s harm reduction achievements, advocate for change and an expansion of services, and recognise the people who have consistently and passionately opened themselves up to criticism in their lobbying for evidence-based policies, programs and peer-based  Executive drug user organisations. […] Read More

Tony Trimingham is CEO of  Family Drug Support which he started after receiving many phone calls from families suffering the effects of illicit drugs after he went public about the death of his son Damien from a heroin drug overdose. He has been a counsellor and group leader for 30 years and these skills have… Read More

I fully endorse the key principles of HRA as necessary conditions for a humane and effective way of reducing the harm that all forms of drug use produce among Australians. […] Read More