Community organisations in the New England are being invited to form a partnership to tackle drugs and alcohol, with funding from the Australian Government.
Member for New England, Barnaby Joyce, said applications were now open for registration of new Local Drug Action Teams (LDATs) to prevent and minimise harm from ice, alcohol and other drugs.
This latest recruitment round aims to approve 40 new LDATs, which can apply for $10,000 in initial funding to support prevention and health promotion activities, with further funding available.
“Alcohol and other drugs, including ice or crystal methamphetamine, are issues for communities, not just for individuals,” Mr Joyce said.
“Community action is effective because many of the factors influencing drug-related harm can only be targeted at the community level, like social connections and education.
“That is why the Federal Government is providing grants of $10,000 each for community groups to start an action plan focusing on activities such as community consultation, leadership building or developing evaluation methods to gauge progress of drug and alcohol harm reduction.”
Previous funding rounds have supported LDATs in locations across the New England including Inverell, Upper Hunter, Tenterfield and Armidale.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt said the program was an important prevention initiative, targeting a broad range of alcohol and drug related issues that are relevant in their communities.
“There are currently 238 local teams doing great work in all states and territories, who in partnership with the Alcohol and Drug Foundation are developing Community Action Plans to target their local needs.
“The LDAT program has received more than $29 million since it began in 2016 and our Government has already committed more than $800 million over four years to reduce the impact of drug and alcohol misuse on individuals, families and communities.”
As part of this investment, the Government has also provided $6 million to implement a range of activities, including additional enhanced online and telephone drug and alcohol information and treatment support services to assist the Australian community during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Applications from new LDATs are now open on the LDAT Community Hub: https://community.adf.org.au and close on Friday 5 March.
(ENDS)