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A Conversation with Diane Lloyd | For World Aids Day
We were lucky enough to sit down with Diane and have a yarn about her experiences and advocacy to mark World AIDS day 2023.

Campaign to Eliminate Violence Against Women Who Use Drugs | (EVAWUD) 2023
The EVAWUD campaign highlights the need to end violence against women and gender diverse people who use drugs and improve drug policies from a feminist, human rights and harm reduction perspective.

Community Leaders | Empowering Stories For International Overdose Awareness Day | A Discussion with Jaye Murray, the President of QuIVAA
I’m Jaye Murray, the President of QuIVAA. Our organisation is dedicated to advocating for and supporting individuals who inject and use drugs in Queensland. My main focus is on harm reduction, human rights, and social justice for individuals who use drugs.

Community Leaders | Empowering Stories For International Overdose Awareness Day | A Discussion with Jane Dicka, Health Promotion Team Manager and Developer Of DOPE, The Harm Reduction Victoria Overdose Training Program
When I started the DOPE program in 2013, you needed a prescription to get Naloxone. Every time I ran an overdose training, I would have to organise a GP or nurse practitioner to write scripts for each of the trainees. Someone else would get the Naloxone during the training so it was ready for the trainees to take home with them. It wasn’t exactly legit, but it was worth it.

Community Leaders | Empowering Stories For International Overdose Awareness Day | David Baxter – Programs Coordinator From The Act
My name is David Baxter. I’m the Programs Coordinator, I also coordinate the Naloxone Program. So I’m one of the leadership team here at CAHMA. I’ve been an employee of CAHMA for about eight years now, and before that, I was a voluntary worker and occasional casual worker for another three years.

Community Leaders | Empowering Stories for International Overdose Awareness Day | Peer Education in Western Australia – Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
There are too many brilliant people to count, all of whom contributed to the Peer Based Harm Reduction Western Australia (PBHRWA) Take Home Naloxone Program. They all put their hearts and souls into building a service that started more than 10 years ago and is still evolving today within the community of people who use drugs.

Community Leaders | Empowering Stories | A Discussion about Overdose Awareness Day with a Peer Needle and Syringe Program (NSP) Worker in Regional Queensland
I’m a Peer-Identified Needle and Syringe Program (NSP) Worker. In my job, I provide injecting equipment to people who use drugs. I also provide health advice on how to use drugs in a safer manner.

Community Leaders | Empowering Stories for International Overdose Awareness Day | Emily Ebdon – Frontline Harm Reductionist & Narcofeminist from Lutruwita/Tasmania
I’ve long been a frontline Harm Reductionist, managing 2 of Tasmania’s busiest Needle and Syringe Programs (NSPs) for over a decade. I’m also a narcofeminist and advocate for people who use drugs. I’m extremely passionate about community, especially my local community!

Community Leaders | Empowering Stories | A Discussion about Overdose Awareness Day with a Peer Projects Coordinator in South Australia
I coordinate a team of harm reduction peers who provide Needle and Syringe Programs (NSPs) and other services to people who inject drugs. We currently have peer workers based at 6 locations in metropolitan Adelaide, from the far southern suburbs to the northern suburbs. The wide reach of our project means that if you live in the suburbs you should be able to access clean equipment, safer injecting information, and support and referrals from a peer worker.

AIVL’s Consumer National Research Priorities Session
In this session, facilitated by the Australian Injecting & Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL), we will discuss what needs to be included in the national research agenda to support better outcomes for the Australian community of people who use drugs (PWUD).

Online Event: AIVL Consumers Forum: All your questions about changes to opioid dependence medications answered
This online event is for people on or interested in Opioid Dependence Treatment in Australia. We will discuss all the upcoming changes, and what they mean for people currently on Opioid Dependence Treatment, there will be also be a Q&A.

Online Event: Changes to the Opioid Dependence Treatment program: implications for access and transitional arrangements from 1 July 2023
AADC and AIVL joint online event, to discuss changes to the Opioid Dependence Treatment program prior to implementation.

Response to Australian Federal Budget 2023: AIVL and its members welcome changes to the Opioid Dependence Treatment Program
The Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL) is excited that the Australian Department of Health has moved to reform the ODTP system in Australia

Interview With DJ Bardi Girl From Deadly Human Rights Show, Koori Radio
A catch up with DJ Bardi Girl, host of Koori Radios Deadly Human Rights Show.

Media Release: Long Awaited Changes Announced For Australia’s Opioid Dependence Treatment Program
Announcements from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Health Minister Mark Butler show a new commitment to reduce costs of ODT that have, until now, placed an unreasonable financial burden on consumers.

Hepatitis SA: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Harm Reduction Project
At AIVL, we like nothing more than having a good yarn with our Member Organisations. We love hearing about projects and initiatives that are focussed on service provision with Mob

Nitazenes Nitty-gritty: What are Nitazenes? And why are they being found in heroin and ketamine in Australia?
If you’ve been keeping yourself up to date with drug alerts coming out of Canberra’s CanTEST facility then you’ve most likely seen recent drug alerts about the detection of novel synthetic opioid Metonitazene and more generally, Nitazenes. So what are they?

CAHMA AND THE CONNECTION: WORKING WITH WOMEN WHO USE DRUGS AND ARE INVOLVED WITH CHILD PROTECTION
AIVL recently yarned with Monica Ruffy about her work with a peer-based support group for mothers who use drugs, based in Canberra.

Media Release: Australian Stigma Conference – dismantling stigma to save lives
The Australian Injecting & Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL) was first incorporated as an association in 1992. The Australian Stigma Conference is a historic milestone, celebrating 30 years of AIVL, an organisation that remains at the forefront of the response to the HIV epidemic in Australia. This response has saved many lives by limiting the spread of HIV Aids among

Check out the livestream of AIVL’s Australian Stigma Conference!
Watch the video here: https://www.facebook.com/AIVLInc/videos/495570829203545 Today’s conference brings together policymakers, healthcare professionals and people who use drugs to discuss how stigma impacts people who use drugs. You can get your questions and comments into the conversation by using Slido! Go to slido.com and then use the code #AIVLSTIGMA22 To see the Conference Program Schedule go to aivl.org.au/events/australian-stigma-conference AIVL is the

International Drug Users Day 2022
November 1 marks International Drug Users Day (IDUD). Held annually, the day remembers the movements and protests against the significant lack of and access to treatments and services for people who use drugs (PWUD); particularly in terms of inadequate public health policy and response to the disproportionate rates of blood borne viruses such as hepatitis and HIV amongst communities of

AIVL and CAHMA at the 27th Annual Remembrance Ceremony for those who lose their life to illicit drugs
On a cold and wet Monday afternoon, AIVL Policy & Project Officer Adrian Gorringe braced the wild weather and joined staff from CAHMA to attend the Family and Friends For Drug Law Reform (FFDLR) (ACT) 27th Annual Remembrance Ceremony. Bill Bush, president of the ACT Chapter of FFDLR opened the event to a considerable turnout. Despite the weather, people, families, and

WORLD FIRST AS A NEW SYNTHETIC DRUG IDENTIFIED BY CanTEST
There is a new drug circulating around Canberra! One reporter claims it may be so novel, there’s a high chance it has not even seen the inside of Berlin’s Berghain Nightclub yet. A new compound, described as “Canberra Ketamine” or “CanKet” has been identified by CanTEST; the ‘face to face’, fixed site drug testing facility based in the ACT. The lead

The decline of meth and the rise of phenyl-2-propanone (P2P)
“I don’t know that I would even call it meth anymore…” – Joe Bozenko, DEA Chemist & Professor, Shephard University.Methamphetamine is arguably the most demonised, stigmatised and generally misconceived drug in global circulation. Within the Australian context, we have all seen the confronting, graphic and gratuitously violent imagery of anti-ice advertisements, depicting ‘ice’ users in diabolical fits of rage lashing

Drugs in sport: dissecting the untold harms of stigmatisation.
Aussies love their stimulants nearly as much as sports! We punch well above our weight on the international level. On the world stage, we just miss out on a podium finish for our average total stimulant consumption, securing 4th place at 59 doses per 1,000 people per day [following Czechia (76 doses), the United States of America (USA; 74 doses),

International Overdose Awareness Day – 2022
International Overdose awareness day was initiated in 2001, August 31 will mark 21 years of the world’s largest annual campaign to end overdose and remember without stigma those who have died, acknowledging the grief of all those impacted by overdose, whose loved ones have died or suffered permanent injury.

Introducing DULF
DULF is a collective made up of two drug users and activists fighting against the prevailing system that stigmatizes and kills drug users. They figuratively want to burn down the existing system, replacing it with a more caring and compassionate model. Their logo of flames encircled by flames suggests they want to be at the centre of something volatile and explosive.

CanTest Drug checking service – A much needed public health response to the overdose crisis
Thursday July 21s saw the grand opening of CanTest, Australia’s first fixed-site drug checking service, often dubbed ‘pill testing’. The service is delivered by Directions Health Services in partnership with AIVL member organisation CAHMA and Pill Testing Australia.

World Hepatitis Day- Message delivered by AIVL’s Ceo at Parliament house
AIVL and the important network of community-led organisations working in response to Blood Borne Viruses and sexually transmissible infections have, for decades utilised their limited resources to work in close partnership with each other. Not only have they been the voice of the community at a national level but have also been drivers for getting the community to both engage in healthcare and promote the uptake of harm reduction practices. We remain closely knit in our joint commitment to eliminate Hepatitis C by 2030.

AIVL’s annual World Hepatitis Day Oration
Whenever there are highly desirable restricted products within society, there will be people willing to produce, and sell “knock-offs” of the products. It doesn’t matter if it is a Gucci handbag, concert tickets, or a pill. Within the drug using community, it is becoming more common for the “People’s Choice” of benzos (Xanax) to be mimicked and sold by “bootleggers.”

International Drug Users Remembrance Day – 2022
21 July marks the date of International Drug Users Remembrance Day, a day observed by the International Network of People who use Drugs (INPUD) in conjunction with UNAIDS, to reflect upon the countless lives lost to drug related harm.

Overdosing is Not a Crime! Neither is Harm Reduction Education and Information.
Whenever there are highly desirable restricted products within society, there will be people willing to produce, and sell “knock-offs” of the products. It doesn’t matter if it is a Gucci handbag, concert tickets, or a pill. Within the drug using community, it is becoming more common for the “People’s Choice” of benzos (Xanax) to be mimicked and sold by “bootleggers.”

AIVL at ‘Support Don’t Punish: Is it time to legalise drugs?’
Last month AIVL Staff attended ‘Is it time to legalise drugs?’ a discussion by Drug Policy Australia on Friday June 24. Presentations by Dr Alex Wodak, Dr Annie Madden AO, The Honourable Michael Kirby, The Honourable Bob Carr, Greg Chipp and Emma Maiden covered topics of the harms of illicit drug criminalisation, drug law reform, and the need for drug policies to be viewed within a public health lens, stating that our current drug policies are not assessed on merit but rather cultural and societal ‘norms’, characterised by moralistic righteousness against the backdrop of maintaining diplomatic ties through the established rhetoric of prohibition politics.

Party and Play: Sex, drugs, gender diversity and perceptions of overdose- Praise for Jack Freestone et al (2022) GHB article
AIVL praises Freestone et al. for the ingenuity of their research that has shed light upon some of the lesser understood scenes associated with recreational drug use, and the role of harm reduction, peer networks and ever apparent need for education around overdose and BBV/STI risks surrounding chemsex.

Overdose is a National Crisis – AIVL urges the Albanese Government to take this issue seriously
Almost 1700 Australians die of illicit drug overdoses each year. These are peoples’ sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, neighbours, and friends.

It’s Your Right Campaign – Live Free of Hep C
The elimination of hepatitis C in a priority group, people who inject drugs, is the goal of a new campaign to be rolled out across Australia over the coming months.

MSIC: 21 Years Of Saving Lives
AIVL has raised concerns about the statutory price reduction of slow-release buprenorphine and the potential impact this may have on people who choose MATOD treatment for Opioid Dependence.

Federal Election 2022: We hope for a better future for People Who Use Drugs
With the public view on drug use shifting fast, AIVL would like the elected government in this federal election 2022 to take a more pragmatic and Peer consultative approach while creating policies that affect PWUD

Ministerial Discretion may be the only solution to ensure MATOD medicine choice
AIVL has raised concerns about the statutory price reduction of slow-release buprenorphine and the potential impact this may have on people who choose MATOD treatment for Opioid Dependence.

The Federal Government is putting a Spotlight on Overdose- but is it enough?
Media Release by Jake Docker: Australian Budget 2022-23

Bulletin: How are people assisted with their first injecting experience, and what information do they receive prior?
How are people assisted with their first injecting experience, and what information do they receive prior? A review of the literature suggests that peer workforces should be expanded and receive more support

Australia’s Opioid Crisis and barriers to access essential medicine
Around 900 people die of opioid-related overdose in Australia each year. Opioid Treatment (OT) can protect against opioid overdose. When will governments in Australia take this seriously and widen access to OT?!

AIVL CEO, Jake Docker on 2XX FM: ‘News From the Drug War Front’
Jake speaks about how stigma & discrimination significantly impact the ability of PWUD to access health, support services and experience a sense of recognition in a society that continues to discriminate against PWUD.

Fentanyl: History, Society & Harm-reduction
This article provides succinct incites on fentanyl, as a medicine, a new drug-related to online drug markets, and a reason to invest more (not less) in community-led harm reduction initiatives.

Increasing Harm: The Dangers of Sniffer Dog Operations
AIVL calls for the government to prioritise human lives.

Australian harm reduction measures only ‘moderately adequate’
Australia ranks relatively highly in the new Global Policy Index. But that ranking flatters Australia’s harm reduction efforts.

National Health Amendment Bill 2021: More transparency and community consultation needed
AIVL calls on Parliament to allow for greater consultation before the PBS Bill 2021 is passed.

World Aids Day 2021: We pay tribute to our predecessors
This World AIDS Day (1 December 2021), AIVL is honouring the work of all those who came before us.

Renewed calls for NSPs in prisons ahead of Drug Users Day
AIVL and Hepatitis Australia highlight international calls for NSPs in prisons, along with a greater focus on harm reduction initiatives.

No significant BBV/STI or AOD measures in Health Budget
AIVL has expressed disappointment there is little evidence of new investment in the AOD, BBV and STI sectors in the 2019 Health Budget.

Overdose Awareness Day: Calls for greater focus on harm reduction
AIVL is calling for a greater focus on key prevention and harm reduction initiatives on International Overdose Awareness Day.

AOD sector urges governments to seize opportunity to make long-lasting reforms
The AOD sector calls on governments to make permanent or expand on reforms introduced during the pandemic.

AIVL World Hepatitis Day Event 2020
Leading drug and infectious disease organisations unite to discuss COVID-19 impact on hepatitis C elimination in Australia on World Hepatitis Day.

The Juice – Information for Safer Gains
Hepatitis Australia/ AIVL joint project ‘The Juice’ is a dedicated resource for people who use performance and image enhancing drugs (PIEDs).

Harm Reduction International Conference postponed to 2023
The HR23 conference will be held in Melbourne in partnership with AIVL and other harm reduction service providers.

International Drug Users Day: UN calls for an end to criminalisation
AIVL is calling on governments to heed calls from the UN for an end to criminalisation on International Drug Users Day.

Government defies logic on welfare drug testing
The Social Services Legislation Amendment (Drug Testing Trial) Bill 2019 seeks to introduce drug testing for welfare recipients.

Mandatory testing of welfare recipients pointless given absence of treatment services
AIVL has expressed frustration at the revival of Australian Government plans to impose drug testing on welfare recipients.

International Overdose Awareness Day: Calls for greater focus on prevention and harm reduction
AIVL is calling for a greater focus on key prevention and harm reduction initiatives on International Overdose Awareness Day.

Stigma and Discrimination Online Training Module developed
AIVL has developed the ‘A Normal Day’ training module to improve comms between health professionals and people who use illicit drugs.

New BBV/STI & AOD measures feature in Health Budget
AIVL has welcomed additional investments in BBV, STIs and AOD initiatives flagged in tonight’s Federal Budget.

Peak health and community organisations pleased with new national BBV and STI strategies
Peak community organisations today welcomed the release of five new BBV and STI strategies by the Australian Government.

Custodial settings and decriminalisation of sex work feature in new BBV & STI strategies
AIVL and Scarlet Alliance, Australian Sex Workers Association welcome the release of five new BBV and STI strategies.

Broad support for 12 month extension to opt-out period for ‘My Health Record’
AIVL wants to extend the opt-out period for the government’s ‘My Health Record’ by 12 months.

International Drug Users Day
AIVL is calling for a greater focus on key prevention and harm reduction initiatives on International Overdose Awareness Day.

Victorian safe injecting facility announcement
AIVL has welcomed the Victorian Government’s decision to trial a medically supervised injecting room in North Richmond.

International Overdose Awareness Day 2017
AIVL is calling for a greater focus on key prevention and harm reduction initiatives on International Overdose Awareness Day.

CAHMA service community event to mark World Hepatitis Day 2017
CAHMA, The Connection and AIVL are hosting a community event to open CAHMA and The Connection’s new premises in Belconnen.

Report calls for NSPs in prisons to address hepatitis C in Australia
New report from AIVL looks at the needs of people living with Hepatitis C after leaving custodial settings in Australia.

Federal Budget 2018: A good start but more to do on drug support services
AIVL has welcomed more funding for drug treatment in the Budget but is disappointed other harm reduction measures have missed out.

International Overdose Awareness Day 2018
AIVL is calling for a greater focus on key prevention and harm reduction initiatives on International Overdose Awareness Day.

Custodial setting and hepatitis C report released
The report makes recommendations for improving hepatitis C treatment for people within or exiting custodial settings.

Enhancing NSP service delivery
The Enhancing NSP Service Delivery project aims to strengthen Australia’s NSP system through a peer-led best practice framework.