Connect & Learn: Moving the goalposts a non-punitive, non-abstinence approach to alcohol use

Presented by Dr Dean Membrey and Andrea Fischer

This webinar is funded by the Victorian Department of Health and only available for Victorians to register.

Details

When
Tuesday 21 April 2026
1:00pm - 1:45pm

Where

This is online event via Zoom.

This webinar is suitable for workers in the AOD, mental health, allied health and welfare sectors.

Cost
Free

Overview

Since the legislative and societal shift from addressing public intoxication with a law-enforcement response to a health response, Cohealth, and other providers, have been providing both outreach and temporary sobering up services to people displaying intoxication in public places.

In this presentation, Dean and Andrea will reflect on the learnings of operating this service. Dean will also look at the current treatment approach to alcohol use disorder and review the evidence for adopting a more harm reduction focussed paradigm. Andrea will discuss how public intoxication services operate as an entry point to those requiring assistance to manage their use of alcohol. 

Dr Dean Membrey is a general practitioner and addiction medicine specialist who has over a decade of experience providing health care to people experiencing substance use disorders. He is passionate about providing holistic, patient-centred care in community settings to better understand the social, cultural and psychological influences on their presentation. He currently works at Cohealth Innerspace and provides outreach services in the Melbourne CBD to people experiencing homelessness.

Andrea Fischer is the Director of Community Bases Drug and Alcohol Responses at Cohealth. Andrea has a long career in Public Health, having worked for the Burnet and Doherty Institutes. She specialises in managing large-scale public health activities, in Victoria and overseas. Her passion is working with people who use alcohol and other drugs, with an emphasis on infectious diseases prevention, testing and treatment.

Register your details

Date: Tuesday 21st April, 2026

Venue: Online

Time: 13:00pm – 13:45pm AEST

Cost: Free - Connect & Learn is a free seminar series but registrations are essential

Register: click here to register there is no cost to attend but registrations are essential