NUAA NSW

NUAA is a not-for-profit NSW-based organisation advocating for people who use drugs.

The NSW Users and AIDS Association (NUAA) is a not-for-profit NSW-based organisation advocating for people who use drugs, particularly those who inject drugs. The peak drug user organisation in NSW, NUAA was formed in 1989 in the face of a growing HIV epidemic. A group of drug users, their friends, families and supporters established NUAA as an independent, user-driven community-based organisation

. Funded primarily by the NSW Health Department, NUAA provides education, practical support, information and advocacy to users of illicit drugs, their friends, and allies. NUAA has often led the way in developing innovative approaches to peer education and community development, and has contributed to Australia having one of the lowest HIV rates amongst injecting drug users in the world.

02/09/2026

NUAA is thrilled to announce it will continue to work alongside the NSW Government as part of the newly revealed permanent drug checking at festivals.

Drug checking will be offered at up to 15 festivals a year beginning in October.

Watch this space, next festival to be announced soon!

01/09/2026

👋 Join us on Day 2 of PaC for dedicated Practical Skills & Demonstration mini-sessions! Bringing you up close with NUAA staff and their expertise across a range of relevant programs and practice areas.

These informal, hands-on sessions are a great opportunity to brush up on existing knowledge, learn something new, share experiences and have practical discussions in a small-group setting.

This session is available in person only – online attendees will not be able to join.

🔗 Purchase your ticket to PaC at https://nuaa.org.au/pac-forum-2026-2

31/08/2026

NUAA’s annual Peers and Consumers (PaC) Forum kicks off this Thursday 3rd September!

Our theme for 2026 is Shaping Systems, Storytelling and Power. As peers increasingly move into leadership, advocacy, clinical, legal, and policy spaces, we will reflect on how storytelling becomes a tool for shaping culture, informing practice, and shifting power.

This year, we’d like to offer an exclusive 2-for-1 professional ticket (online or in-person) to this year’s Forum, so you can buy one ticket today and bring a colleague for free. 🎟️

📅 Date: Thursday 3rd & Friday 4th September 2026
📍 Location: Teachers Federation Conference Centre, Gadigal
37 Reservoir Street, Surry Hills NSW & Online via Zoom

🔗 Head to https://nuaa.org.au/pac-forum-2026-2 to get your ticket.

30/08/2026

August 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD). This is the 25th year of IOAD and unfortunately overdose awareness is still very much needed.

Overdose can be prevented, but it requires people to have access to harm reduction equipment, education and culturally-safe services. Criminalization prevents this.

You can help keep your community safe by carrying Naloxone, staying up to date with drug alerts and simply taking to your peers about overdose prevention.

While this day is still needed, it doesn’t have to be forever.

29/08/2026

📢 NUAA's AOD Peer Worker Foundation Training is back! Join us face to face September 22 & 29, or online November 19 & 26 to build your peer work skills, learn trauma-informed practice, and share your story with confidence. 🫂

🔗Head to https://nuaa.org.au/connected to learn more or
📩 Email [email protected] to register!

28/08/2026

Meet NUAA’s Communications and Media Lead, Edie (they/them)

Edie started as DanceWize NSW’s social media worker in 2023 before being asked to take over NUAA’s wider communications approach.

“My first interaction with DWNSW was falling asleep in their care space at a festival,” Edie said.

“They were super lovely and I was really inspired by their mission, so when I saw a chance to work for the project I jumped at it.”

Edie’s background is in journalism and content creation, but they became disillusioned with Australia’s media landscape and wanted to find something more meaningful.

“I’ve always believed good journalism was integral to civic engagement. People need to know what’s going on in the world to advocate for themselves, vote for people who actually represent their values, ensure their rights are protected.

“The opportunities to do that in our current media environment are few and far between, at NUAA I have the opportunity to work for a cause I care about through the medium I’m best at.”

Edie’s favourite part of their job is getting to take the knowledge a colleague has shared with them and put it out into the world.

“When I develop an educational resource or social media post I speak to the people who have first hand experience so the knowledge is always coming from a peer.

“Everyone at NUAA is incredibly passionate and has a wealth of expertise tucked away, I just add the pretty graphics.”

Edie lives with their husband and enormous cat Khoshekh. Outside of work Edie enjoys playing video games, reading and going to live shows.

“I love seeing people perform their art. Bands, plays, ballet I love all of it… except poetry.”

27/08/2026

🎤 MEET THE SPEAKERS: Moving Beyond Good Intentions: Allyship in Practice⁠
⁠
How can clinicians, services, and colleagues better recognise, value, and support the unique expertise of peer workers? The session will highlight concrete ways to strengthen peer integration, create safer and more respectful working environments, and ensure peer voices are meaningfully embedded in service delivery and decision-making.
⁠
PANELISTS: ⁠
Chris Keyes, Deputy CEO, NADA
Dr Marianne Jauncey, Medical Director, Uniting Sydney Medically Supervised Injecting Centre
⁠
MODERATOR:⁠
Edie Diemar, Communications & Media Lead, NUAA
⁠
Get your ticket for PaC now!
🔗 https://events.humanitix.com/nuaa-peers-and-consumers-forum-2026

26/08/2026

🔎 NUAA is hiring!

We are currently looking for a Postal NSP Shop Manager to join our team here at NUAA.

📝 Applications close at 9am on Monday 7th September.

The Shop Manager will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the redesigned Postal NSP. The role is responsible for order fulfilment, stock, supplier relationships, cost monitoring, and the data NSW Health requires, and delivers the new model. Decisions on prices, supplier commitments, budget variations and staffing levels are made by the Exec Team on this role's analysis and recommendation.

🔗 If this sounds like the role for you, read more and apply via https://www.ethicaljobs.com.au/members/nuaa/shop-manager-postal-nsp

24/08/2026

🎤 MEET THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Raechel Wallace!

Raechel Wallace is a proud Wodi Wodi and Wandi Wandian woman from the Yuin Nation on the South Coast of New South Wales. She is the Aboriginal Program Manager at the Network of Alcohol and Other Drugs Agencies (NADA), Associate Research Professor at Charles Sturt University, and Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Wollongong.

With more than 20 years of experience in the Aboriginal alcohol and other drugs (AOD) sector, Raechel has worked across Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, non-government organisations, and the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) at UNSW, where she was employed as a Senior Research Officer. Her work is dedicated to strengthening the Aboriginal AOD workforce, advancing culturally responsive models of care, and improving integration across health and social service systems.

Raechel is recognised for her leadership in Aboriginal AOD, AOD policy, practice, and research, and is committed to supporting better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.

🔗 Get your ticket to PaC at the link in our bio!

21/08/2026

💜 It all started with a barbecue.

In 2001, a small group gathered at a Salvation Army needle exchange in Melbourne to remember people lost to overdose. Twenty-five years later, International Overdose Awareness Day is marked in 40+ countries around the world.

Australia is losing 7 people a day to overdose. Harm reduction, the approach we know saves lives, still gets a fraction of the funding poured into law enforcement.

📖 This edition of User's News covers where IOAD came from, how communities across NSW are marking the 31st of August this year, and simple things you can do to keep the message going all year, not just on the day.

🔗 Read the article at https://www.usersnews.com.au/home/international-overdose-awareness-day-2026

Address

267 Broadway, Glebe
Sydney, NSW
2037

Telephone

+61291716650

Website

http://www.nuaa.org.au/

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