The Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and Other Drugs (APSAD) annual conference brings people working across the alcohol and other drugs (AOD) sector together, to share knowledge, insights, and research findings from around Australia, New Zealand, across the Pacific and beyond.
The 2025 Conference was convened by the Matilda Centre’s Associate Professor Christina Marel, alongside Dr Suzie Hudson, Kurt Simpson, and Dr Robert Stirling.
Their tireless work over the past 12 months produced a conference that aimed to elevate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Māori, Pacifika and other First Nations ways of knowing, being and doing, and critically reflect on our own approaches AOD prevention, treatment, research and policy.
More than twenty researchers from the Matilda Centre joined hundreds of delegates at the APSAD 2025 Conference in Gadigal (Sydney), coming together to collaborate, connect, and challenge conventional thinking that have shaped traditional approaches to drug policy, research and practice.
Presentations
Over three and a half days, eleven Matilda Centre researchers presented key findings on their research across several areas of research, policy and practice – challenging delegates to critically reflect on their own assumptions about prevention, support, treatment and awareness of substance use across the life span.
Community of Practice
Sally Boardman presented on the development and launch of the Comorbidity Community of Practice, which provides a new way to support the AOD workforce. The Community of Practice was based on the Guidelines on co-occurring conditions and aims to to provide a platform where members can make connections, access valuable resources and engage and collaborate with other professionals to enhance their practice.
In her presentation, Sally shared key learnings since its launch in April 2025.
Since launch, more than 1600 health and community workers working with AOD use have joined from all over Australia and from a diverse professional background. Sally talked about how the monthly events and regular posts help drive engagement which is increasingly growing month by month.
Photo: Sally Boardman presents on the Community of Practice at APSAD 2025. Supplied
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LinkOurFutures Vaping Trial
The OurFutures Vaping Trial, led by Dr Lauren Gardner, has completed 12-month follow-up among over 5,000 students from 40 schools across NSW, QLD and WA. As part of her presentation, Lauren shared the results from the trial, which found that students who received the OurFutures Vaping intervention had a 65% reduction in the likelihood of vaping over 12 months compared to controls.
Photo: Dr Lauren Gardner presents on the OurFutures Vaping trial results at APSAD 2025. Supplied
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LinkFamily and Friends Support Program
Supporting a loved one who is using alcohol and other drugs can have significant mental and physical health impacts on families and friends. Jessica Deng presented findings from an evaluation into the Family and Friends Support Program, a program designed to support the mental health of carers families.
The evaluation found the program helped participants feel less alone, but experienced high participant dropouts over the three month study, which may reflect the changing needs of supporting someone who is using alcohol or other drugs.
Photo: Jessica Deng presents on the Family and Friends Support Program at APSAD 2025. Supplied
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LinkCracks in the Ice Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Lived experience videos
On the final day of the conference, Dr Steph Kershaw, presenting on behalf of Tariq Isaacs, shared an update on the Cracks in the Ice Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lived experience videos that debuted in early 2025. Steph shared how the resources were developed along with results from the campaign, finding strong support for the honest, recovery-oriented, and destigmatising-approach of the campaign.
Guidelines on co-occurring conditions booth
Delegates wanting to learn more about the Guidelines on co-occurring conditions or other Matilda Centre activities were able to visit many members of our team at our exhibition space. Led by Madhu Senthil Kumar and the Guidelines team, the booth was busy over the three days, with delegates able to find information about how to build capacity within their teams or services to respond to co-occurring mental health conditions.
At the Guidelines booth, delegates were able to access information on clinical Guidelines for both the alcohol and other drug and mental health workforces, the Comorbidity Community of Practice (presented during the conference by Sally Boardman), other evidence-based resources, and information on how to access online training and other training workshops.
Photo: Attendees listening to Madhu Senthil Kumar discuss the Guidelines on co-occurring conditions at APSAD 2025. Supplied
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LinkPosters
For some Matilda Centre presenters, their research was shared through posters, with more than 30 Matilda Centre poster presentations, covering topics such as Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), parental supply of alcohol use, control trials into vaping, and school-based interventions.
Media representations of methamphetamine-related deaths
Referencing a paper published in 2025, Dr Steph Kershaw chaired and presented as part of one Poster Tour. The paper, published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, found that media reporting of drug-related deaths were more stigmatised when deaths were related to methamphetamine use, and if the person was older.
18-20 year follow ups for Australian Treatment Outcome Study – non-fatal heroin overdose
As part of an ongoing longitudinal study, Dr Jessy Lim’s poster presented on the relationship between polysubstance use – where more than one substance is used at a time – and heroin overdoses in the study cohort.
The paper highlighted the importance of quantifying polydrug use by the number of different drugs being used and the relative amount of drug being used. Depression, crime and incarceration were associated with higher overdose risks.
Vulnerable groups and distance to tobacco outlets near schools in Laos
Presenting information from her PhD, Dr Shweta Kulkarni shared her published research examining the characteristics of tobacco retail outlets and prevalence of tobacco advertising and promotion in three districts of Vientiane Capital City, Laos.
The study found inconsistent enforcement of tobacco control policies, with urban districts showing higher compliance with age verification signage, while rural district exhibiting higher levels of tobacco advertising and fewer age verifications. This research underscores the need for stronger, and more consistent tobacco control measures in Laos.
Photo: Dr Shweta Kulkarni poses with her poster presentation at APSAD 2025. Supplied
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LinkInterested in learning more about the Matilda Centre’s research? Check out our current projects and resources on our website.
Thank you to Associate Professor Christina Marel, Dr Suzie Hudson, Kurt Simpson and Dr Robert Stirling for convening the very insightful and engaging 2025 APSAD Conference.