National FASD Program

Overview

FARE received funding from the Australian Government Department of Health to develop and deliver the National Awareness Campaign for Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Women (the Campaign) from July 2020 to September 2024.  

Launched in November 2021, the National Campaign aims to: 

increase Australians’ awareness of the risks associated with alcohol consumption during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, including FASD
increase the proportion of Australians who are aware that alcohol should not be consumed during pregnancy and that is it safest not to drink alcohol when breastfeeding
increase the proportion of Australian women who intend to not drink any alcohol during pregnancy and when breastfeeding

The National Campaign has four streams: 

Stream 1: general public (visit the campaign website)
Stream 2: priority groups including women at higher risk of alcohol exposed pregnancies 
Stream 3: health professionals 
Stream 4: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Steering Committee

The role of the Steering Committee is to provide oversight and expertise during the National Campaign’s development and implementation.  

The members of the Steering Committee are:  

Organisation	Representing
National Organisation for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (NOFASD)	Ms Louise Gray
National Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (NACCHO)	Ms Dawn Casey PSM
Central Coast Local Health District	Mr Steve Ella
University of Sydney	Professor Elizabeth Elliott AM
Australian College of Midwives (ACM)	Ms Alison Weatherstone
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)	Dr Hester Wilson
Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians, and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) Immediate Past President	Dr Vijay Roach
George Institute for Global Health	Professor Simone Pettigrew
Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE)	Ms Tanya Hosch, Board Director Ms Caterina Giorgi, Chief Executive Officer

National Organisation for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (NOFASD)

NOFASD Australia is leading Stream 2 of the National Campaign and will develop and disseminate a suite of prevention and awareness resources specifically tailored to priority groups.

These resources will aim to:  

Increase awareness and understanding of the campaign messages among priority groups.  
Increase knowledge of the risks of drinking alcohol during pregnancy among priority groups.  
Strengthen behavioural intentions of women in the priority groups to not consume alcohol or reduce alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

NOFASD will also provide advice and feedback to FARE on the content and resources produced for the general public stream (Stream 1). 

National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO)

Led by the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), the focus of Stream 4 is to raise awareness among regional and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities of the impacts of alcohol use during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.

To achieve this NACCHO will collaborate with its member organisations and partners to:

Produce and distribute culturally appropriate resources
Design and deliver innovative health promotion programs
Undertake community development projects

NACCHO will also provide advice and feedback to FARE on the content and resources produced for Stream 1, and consult with NOFASD on the content and resources produced for Stream 2.

Meet the Team

FARE has appointed a passionate and experienced team to coordinate the development and implementation of the National Campaign. We look forward to working collaboratively with colleagues across the country to deliver this incredibly important piece of work. 