Building awareness and promoting help-seeking

The Catching Up program (2012–2016) built skills in CALD communities to respond to alcohol, drug and mental health issues. Delivered with multicultural partners, it trained more than 1,500 community educators to recognise problems early, reduce stigma and connect people to help. By equipping trusted leaders within cultural groups, the program fostered open conversations and strengthened early intervention. Evaluation showed strong results, with three-quarters of participants rating the training as excellent. The program created lasting impact by embedding knowledge and support directly within communities, improving access, awareness and culturally relevant responses where they are most needed.

Caring for a loved one with addiction can be isolating and challenging, leaving families in need of support. Since 2015, the BreakThrough program has been run in partnership with SHARC, and has helped 13,000 Victorians understand drug use, improve communication, and connect with support networks.

Find out more in the Impact Story below.

MAKINGtheLINK is an award-winning school program that improves peer support and help-seeking for alcohol, drug, and mental health problems among young people. In 2017, it won the Alcohol and Drug Foundation’s Prevention and Education Award. Research shows it is the first program worldwide to achieve sustained changes in adolescents’ attitudes toward substance use and mental health, while also increasing actual help-seeking. Supporting videos highlight the impact of alcohol and cannabis on the developing brain. Most recently, the program received a Medical Research Future Fund grant to co-design a digital adaptation, paving the way for national scale-up.

In hospitality, drinking has long been tied to stress relief and fitting in after work. While alcohol isn’t always a problem for everyone, research shows that male hospitality workers are more likely than women to promote and take part in high-risk drinking, with some even feeling pressure to drink to belong. Supported by VicHealth, our ‘Hospo Drinking Cultures’ project tackled high-risk drinking among men in hospitality, using animated stories to spark change, promote safer ways to unwind, and build a culture of care. Research found the videos were an effective way to get men in hospitality talking about their alcohol use and thinking about healthier choices.

The National Drug Education Principles, originally developed in 1994 and last revised in 2004, were intended to guide school-based drug education across Australia. However, limited awareness and uptake among teachers have constrained their impact.

In 2024, Turning Point was commissioned to lead a comprehensive review to ensure the Principles reflect contemporary evidence, evolving best practice, and the needs of today’s schools and students. Informed by research and national consultation with educators, students, clinicians and researchers, the updated Principles, scheduled for release in 2026, will help bridge the gap between research and the classroom.

Designed to be practical, engaging, and future-focused, the revised Principles will support schools to implement effective, inclusive drug education that builds young people’s knowledge, strengthens protective skills, reduces harm, and promotes wellbeing across diverse communities.