Vaada Conference 09Melbourne
19 – 20 February 2009

Direction in a time of change
Change is not new to the Alcohol and other Drug field. Over the years, AOD services have responded to a multiplicity of changes including shifting drug trends, policy developments, client and service user needs and changing community attitudes and expectations.

Who drives change in the AOD field? What are the current changes and challenges facing us? Is change necessary to meet client needs? What balance should be struck between change and continuity?

Conference 09 will explore what’s happening today in the AOD field and the consequent challenges. It will offer delegates the opportunity to exchange ideas, share practice wisdom, showcase good practice as well as new and innovative projects, share research findings and create an agenda for future action.

Conference 09 will be of particular interest to those working directly with AOD clients. This includes clinicians, alcohol and drug treatment services, youth and outreach workers, mental health workers, community health services as well as researchers and policy makers involved in addressing AOD issues.

Venue: Jasper Hotel – 489 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne
http://www.jasperhotel.com.au/

Keynote Speakers:

Other Conference speakers include:

• Dr Murat Yucel - Senior Lecturer in Physchiatry, Melbourne University
• David Templeman - CEO, ADCA(Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia)
• Professor Jon Currie - Director,Addiction Medicine, St Vincents Hospital
• Dr Craig Fry - Senior Research Fellow & NHMRC Public Health Fellow, Centre for Applied Philosophy & Public Ethics, University of Melbourne

Neil Hunt (MSc Social Research)

Neil is an Honorary Senior Research Associate at the European Institute of Social Services, University of Kent, Honorary Research Fellow with the Centre for Research on Drugs and Health Behaviour, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Director of Research for the treatment agency KCA (UK).  He also works as a freelance researcher and trainer.

A founding director of the UK Harm Reduction Alliance, his work has covered issues including injecting and risk, understanding drug trends, peer influence and young people, clubbers’ drug use, human rights and drug user involvement. He developed the ‘Break the Cycle’ intervention to reduce injecting that has been disseminated nationally by the Department of Health.

He has completed various commissioned reviews of the evidence base for harm reduction. Recent work has included: work on the effectiveness of ‘Quasi-Compulsory Treatments’ such as Drug Treatment and Testing Orders; a Department of Health study of ‘early exit’ from treatment; an evaluation of the distribution of foil packs to promote transitions from injecting within needle and syringe programmes; development of guidance for the operation of drug consumption rooms in the UK; and, the production of national guidance for England on the management of speedballing.

Dr Fraser Todd(Deputy Director – Teaching) MBChB FRANZCP FAChAM

Fraser graduated from the University of Otago in 1985, undertook training in psychiatry in London and Christchurch and gained his FRANZCP in 1997. He has been employed in the position of Senior Lecturer in the NAC at the Christchurch School of Medicine & Health Sciences since March 1997 and he works as a consultant psychiatrist at Youth Specialty Services, Hillmorton Hospital.

His areas of special interest include cannabis and coexisting substance use and mental health problems. He headed the development of guidelines for the "Assessment and Management of People with Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders" undertaken at the NAC, and is involved in research into the effects of alcohol and cannabis use on the presentation and outcome of people admitted with a first episode of psychosis.
Fraser is also involved in a range of teaching activities. He is coordinating PSMX 404 "Assessment of Addiction and Co-existing Disorders" and also has involvement with the other postgraduate papers offered by the NAC.

Professor Rob Moodie(Nossal Institute for Global Health)

Professor Rob Moodie graduated in medicine from the University of Melbourne in 1976 and later trained in Tropical Medicine at Paris University and Public Health at Harvard University. Since 1979 he has worked for Save the Children Fund and Medicins San Frontieres in refugee camps in the Sudan, for Congress, the community-controlled Aboriginal Health Service in Alice Springs, and for WHO and UNAIDS in Uganda, Cameroon and Geneva. Robwas the Chief Executive Officer of VicHealth, and has an honorary professorial appointment in public health at the Centre for Health and Society.  Rob is now the Chair of Global Health at the Nossal Institute for Global Health, The University of Melbourne.

Rural Sponsorship/Bursary Subsidy 
Once again funds are available to provide financial assistance for disadvantaged delegates to attend Conference 09. An application form addressing the four areas listed below will need to be obtained from VAADA, completed and returned by the close of business on Friday January 23 2009.

• Provide a description of your role with AOD clients at your organisation.
• Detail why the conference is of interest to you in your work.
• Provide the number of employees both in your organisation and those working directly with individuals with AOD issues - client group.
• Provide details of your organisation's annual budget.

For an application form and inquiries please email: conference@vaada.org.au

Call for Abstracts:
"Call for abstracts closed on October 20 2008"

Accommodation
The Jasper Hotel (http://www.jasperhotel.com.au/) is offering a special conference rate of $140 per night for attendees. To access this special rate quote ‘VAADA’ when making your booking. Telephone (03) 8327 2777 or Toll free 1800 468.

Additionally there are a number of websites available to help you to source accommodation. Three suggested sites are:

http://www.octopustravel.com/au
http://www.wotif.com
http://www.downtowner.com.au