Northern Territory Alcohol and Other Drug Workforce Development Strategic Framework now available

June 2019
NCETA

Building on its extensive alcohol and other drugs (AOD) workforce development (WFD) program of work, NCETA was commissioned by the Northern Territory Primary Health Network (PHN) to develop a five-year AOD WFD Strategic Framework for the NT.

In developing the Strategic Framework, NCETA conducted a comprehensive WFD Needs Assessment in 2017 and a series of targeted consultations in 2018 with identified key stakeholders.

The Northern Territory AOD WFD Strategic Framework, covering the period 2019-2024 was designed to provide guidance on the identification, development and implementation of AOD workforce development initiatives and to strengthen the capacity of the NT AOD service delivery system to provide contextually and culturally appropriate evidence-based services to clients and communities. It takes a systems approach and identifies both new strategies and builds on a range of existing WFD initiatives currently underway in the NT.

The Strategic Framework contains 10 Action Areas and each Action Area includes a rationale, summary of key stakeholder responses, potential initiatives and options for monitoring change over time. The 10 Action Areas are:

  1. Enhance understanding of the NT AOD workforce
  2. Improve recruitment and retention
  3. Support workers in remote and rural communities
  4. Support the Aboriginal workforce
  5. Improve intersectoral collaboration
  6. Improve professional development processes (inclusive of education and training)
  7. Clinical supervision and mentoring opportunities
  8. Support practice innovations
  9. Enhance career pathways
  10. Increase awareness of AOD use and related harms in the NT.

The Strategic Framework acknowledges that in order to implement the Action Areas and meet current and future needs, it is imperative that AOD organisations, NT PHN, NT Health, peak bodies, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, professional bodies, universities and vocational training organisations work together to ensure that the NT AOD workforce is diverse, competent, capable and supported.

Copies of the NT AOD WFD Strategic Framework can be downloaded from the NT PHN website.