HRVic's latest program brings people with lived experience and authentic, relevant, real-world, CURRENT experience with: substance use - various substances, injecting and otherwise experience with Hepatitis B - living with and treatment of experience with Hepatitis C- living with and treatment of experience with HIV - prevention and treatment experience with stigma & discrimination in healthcare settings, in the workplace etc. as a person who uses drugs in Victoria/Australia, and/ or as a person with a BBV HRVic's lived experience speakers are trained, remunerated and given ongoing support by HRVic and choose to speak candidly of our experiences publically at forums, conferences, panels and presentations. We at HRVic and we as peers and speakers feel that sharing real experience and putting real faces to real stories is the only way educate, enlighten and inform health workers and to challenge and combat stigma and discrimination against people who use drugs and people with BBVs. For More Information about booking a 'Speaking Peer- spectively ' lived experience speaker or to enquire about becoming a speaker on HRVic's 'Speaking Peer-spectively' team please email admin@hrvic.org.au or call 9329 1500.

Harm Reduction Victoria Privacy & Confidentiality Policy Statement Harm Reduction Victoria is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of service users, participants, team members and stakeholders in the way information is collected, stored and used. This policy provides guidance on Harm Reduction Victoria’s legal obligations and ethical expectations in relation to privacy and confidentiality. Harm Reduction Victoria will only collect personal information that is necessary to support its service users, provide service delivery and evaluate services provided by the organisation. Harm Reduction Victoria will only collect information through ‘lawful and fair means’ – that is, not through criminal or illegal activity, trickery or deception. Harm Reduction Victoria will endeavor to only collect information directly from the person it belongs to after obtaining consent from that person. If Harm Reduction Victoria is unable to collect information directly from the person it belongs to or obtain their consent but considers the information to be critical in providing health services to that person or other individuals, Harm Reduction Victoria will follow the IPP, APP and HPP guidelines around the collection, notification, storage, use and disclosure of the information. Harm Reduction Victoria strives to respect the confidentiality of any information pertaining to service users and any other individual who may engage with the organisation. However, in the spirit of partnership, Harm Reduction Victoria may share information with other organisations, involved individuals and services users when it is in the best interest of the service user or individual to do so. This best interest should be decided in partnership with the service user, and a standard health information sharing agreement should be used with the individual when we are operating on their behalf and sharing information with others. In the event of collecting or sharing information about individuals or organisations, Harm Reduction Victoria will take all reasonable steps to ensure it is abiding by relevant legislation, including but not limited to those listed in the legislation, clinical guidelines or other requirements. Reasonable steps to establish policies, procedures and work processes may include but are not limited to: Consult with Harm Reduction Victoria’s lawyers, specifically the Privacy and Data Security team For personal information, consult with the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner and/or Office of the Australian Information Commissioner For health information, consult with the Health Complaints Commissioner and/or the Department of Health Privacy Team Complete a Privacy Impact Assessment Enter into an agreement with the individual or organisation that HRVic will be collecting or sharing information. Harm Reduction Victoria is committed to ensuring that information is used in an ethical and responsible manner. Harm Reduction Victoria recognises the need to be consistent, cautious and thorough in the way that information about service users, participants, stakeholders and team members is recorded, stored and managed. All individuals including service users, participants, stakeholders, staff and volunteers have legislated rights to privacy of personal information. In circumstances where the right to privacy may be overridden by other considerations (for example, child protection concerns or public health and safety), staff will act in accordance with the relevant policy and/or legal framework. All team members are to have an appropriate level of understanding about how to meet the organisation’s legal and ethical obligations to ensure privacy and confidentiality. Harm Reduction Victoria strives to provide quality services in which information is collected, stored, used and disclosed in an appropriate manner complying with both legislative requirements and ethical obligations. Harm Reduction Victoria will work to ensure all staff understand their privacy and confidentiality responsibilities in relation to personal information and organisational information about Harm Reduction Victoria, its service users, participants, team members and stakeholders. This understanding should be demonstrated in all work practices. Please contact admin@hrvic.org.au or call (03) 9329 1500 for more information.

Hailing from all over Victoria and all walks of life, DanceWize volunteers are bound by a shared passion for our music culture and harm reduction. We share a deep kinship with the festival, doof, EDM, and broader Victorian music communities. Together, we turn our love for the scene into peer-led support, sharing the knowledge, tools, and skills that empower our community to look out for one another and thrive on the dancefloor. Our living and lived experience provides a unique perspective and expertise that others in the event care space simply cannot offer. It is by working through that peer lens that we can offer deeper understanding and empathy to the community members we support before, during, and after events. We combine expert training with nonjudgmental care to support every festival patron honestly and safely. As a DanceWize Key Peer Educator (KPE), you will be offered a full induction and specialised harm reduction training from an authentic peer perspective. If this sound like you, find out more about the opportunities that Harm Reduction Victoria and its DanceWize program can offer you now. APPLY HERE

Button Around 170,000 Australians are living with chronic hepatitis C infection. Many Australians do not know they are infected, or that they could be cured. These people are at risk of developing liver damage, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. Some people will require liver transplants, and many will not survive. They are also at risk of transmitting the virus onto others. The consequences of hepatitis C in Australia are far-reaching, but they don't need to be. Hepatitis C is treatable and curable. It's therefore essential that we test and treat as many at-risk people as we can. It's simple and cheap to be tested, and curative treatments are now listed on Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). HRVic is committed to working with the rest of Australia towards the World Health Organisation's goal of eliminating hepatitis C by 2030. HRVic have joined forces with the Burnet Institute and EC Australia. We have developed an approach that involves peer specialists working at strategic clinical services to assist our community to navigate and overcome the barriers to treatment and to access services. Introducing the PATH program- Peer Assisted Treatment for Hepatitis. and now the PATH-Ex program- an extension of the PATH program. The aim of PATH-Ex is to ensure that People Who Use Drugs are empowered, informed and supplied with the tools needed to access information, testing and treatment for hep C. We seek to take advantage of the unique empathy and support that comes only from the peer-to-peer relationship to encourage engagement with health services and ongoing support to jump through the hoops that life can put in our way when undertaking any longer term treatment course. You can read more about these principles here . Our PATH workers are outposted in St Kilda, the city and Footscray and the west. During COVID lockdown they are only able to undertake outreach, but as the lockdown end we are hoping to be back to more hours at Access Health, Living Room and cohealth West.

NOW OPEN! The Victorian Pill Testing service at 95 Brunswick St, Fitzroy. - Opening hours, and all other features of the service, will be up for continuous review and improvement based on need and feedback (see below for ways to feed in). - You can come in and get any pills, powders, crystals, gels, or liquids tested on a range of fancy new technology (FTIR and GCMS instruments, as well as reagents and nitazine and fentanyl test strips). - In the coming weeks, our Paper-Spray Mass Spectrometer (PCMS) will be coming on line to assist further quantification and strength testing. This is the first of its kind in Australia! - You are covered from prosecution for possession of small amounts of drugs (personal use amounts) inside 95 Brunswick St, Fitzroy. This is the legislated "drug checking place". You aren't covered for trafficable quantities, and it's important to avoid bringing any large amount of drugs into the service. Please spread this important message far and wide throughout the community. We are still working on how best to give clear, simple key messages around this, without going into the weeds of grams and milligrams and different substances. Again, this is a key area for feedback and comms advice from our community! - Yarra Area Command of Victoria Police, have been instructed by the Chief Commissioner of Police to show "discretion in the vicinity" for possession of small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use, and not to discourage people accessing the drug checking place. Any issues with safely accessing the service should be communicated to service providers and to HRVic specifically. - Harm Reduction Victoria are employing harm reduction peer workers with living experience of drug use on every shift. 2 peer workers will be available each shift to provide you your drug checking results, who will be working alongside 2 Health and Harm reduction Workers with healthcare training, who are from our partners at The Loop Australia. We will also be employing an Operations Lead for the fixed-site, which is a designated peer leadership role within the service. - Harm Reduction Victoria will also be setting up a Service User Reference Group in September, to inform service improvement and service evaluation throughout the rest of the trial. Make sure you're signed up for updates at: www.hrvic.org.au/dcsignupdates - There are QR codes up at the service that link to an anonymous feedback and complaints form for all service users to access, as well. And we encourage any and all feedback, always! This is just the beginning of drug checking in Victoria, and we need your input. - We are also working on ways to further include more members of our community in the rest of the trial, and in Harm Reduction Victoria's work preparing for the end of the trial come August 2026. You can email: policy@hrvic.org.au to inquire further about this, ask questions, or share your feedback and ideas. And again, make sure you're signed up for updates at: hrvic.org.au/dcsignupdates Come and say hey any Thursday, Friday or Saturday arvo, and get your drugs checked Free, legal, and anonymous! And join in with this exciting new investment into harm reduction in Victoria 🙂

Northern Suburbs The Northern Suburbs area covers Maribyrnong & Essendon to Taylors Lakes & Tullamarine up to Craigieburn to Bundoora and back to Reservoir, Thornbury and Northcote. This list consists of the clinic names and their locations. If you click on their address you will open the google maps page for that location. To book at any of these locations, you will still need to call 1800 675 398 or through the online booking system (you need an email address to sign up) unless it states otherwise. Broadmeadows Town Hall 10 Dimboola Road Broadmeadows VIC Open Monday to Friday 9.30am-5.30pm Closed on weekends and public holidays Bookings accepted, check the online booking system or call 1800 675 398 for availability. Walk ins are accepted at this vaccination centre for Pfizer and AstraZeneca. Campbellfield Ford Complex Drive-Through Vaccination Clinic 358 Barry Road, Campbellfield VIC 3061 Open every day, 8am-8pm Bookings accepted, check the online booking system or call 1800 675 398 for availability. Walk ins are not accepted at this vaccination centre. COMING SOON Stay tuned for more locations. Latrobe University - Bundoora campus Car park 6, 45 Ring Road Bundoora VIC 3083 Open every day 8am-3pm Bookings accepted, check the online booking system or call 1800 675 398 for availability. Walk-ins are accepted at this vaccination centre, for Moderna only. Campbellfield Ford Complex In-person Vaccination Clinic 358 Barry Road, Campbellfield VIC 3061 Friday to Wednesday 8am-4.30pm, Thursday 11am-7.30pm Bookings accepted, check the online booking system or call 1800 675 398 for availability. Walk ins are accepted at this vaccination centre. COMING SOON Stay tuned for more locations. FIND A PHARMACY NORTHERN

South East & Mornington Peninsula The huge South East area covers from Dandenong to Warneet to Druin to Narre Warren and back to Emerald. Until there are more to post we have added the Mornington Peninsula to this list also. This list consists of the clinic names and their locations. If you click on their address you will open the google maps page for that location. To book at any of these locations, you will still need to call 1800 675 398 or through the online booking system (you need an email address to sign up) unless it states otherwise. Dandenong pop-up clinic Palm Plaza (off Clow Street) Dandenong The Dandenong pop-up clinic will be open from 9am to 5pm daily, 7 days per week. No appointment is necessary, just turn up. Call beforehand to see if still open. Frankston Community Vaccination Hub Level 1, Balmoral Building, Shannon Mall, Bayside Shopping Centre Call for opening hours. Free parking is available for people getting vaccinated. Our staff will give you an exit pass to use as you leave. Please park in one of the Bayside Centre car parks. The closest parking is the undercover car park which can be accessed via Olsen Street St (off Beach St) or Balmoral St (off Young St). Coming Soon Stay tuned for more locations. Springvale City Hall 18 Grace Park Ave, Springvale. The clinic has been specially set up to cater to members of Springvale’s diverse communities, particularly those from South East Asia and Buddhist communities. Interpreters will be available, to assist people who speak Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Punjabi and Khmer. Call to see if still operating. Peninsula Health – Point Nepean Road Suite 5 – 1533 Point Nepean Road Capel Sound Walk-in capacity is available, however bookings are encouraged to ensure we are able to accommodate you on the day. Coming Soon Stay tuned for more locations. FIND A PHARMACY SOUTH EAST & MORNINGTON PENINSULA

Getting On, Getting Older (GoGo) is a new project in development: Targeting the health and social needs of us oldies who inject/use drugs – now and into the future. GOGO Project The Getting On - Getting Older Our Story Getting On, Getting Older (GoGo) is a new project in development: Targeting the health and social needs of us oldies who inject/use drugs – now and into the future. GoGo is where the elders of our community can gather to discuss our needs as older community members and more importantly, to communicate those needs in ways that effect the change that has to happen to be sure we are all looked after appropriately as we get older. What are you experiencing as an older person who uses drugs? What are your concerns for your future? How can services work with older drug users to maintain a certain standard or to improve their quality of care? If you consider yourself an ‘older’ drug user, we need your input. We want to know what YOU want. We want to know what your needs are or what you think you may need as you continue to age, while being a person who uses drugs. "Services for 'ageing drug users' simply do not exist. Why? -because until recently, we didn't get older. It's about figuring out what we need and want and then creating those services for ourselves and ensuring they're available in the future- for all people who enjoy substances" - Sam "I want to be taken seriously when I say I feel pain..and I want to be treated for that pain. I had to take and give my dying friend illicit drugs because their pain was not being managed appropriately while in palliative care-it was devastating." - Anonymous "I want to go to the doctor to and have my health issues and pain taken seriously- not just assume it's the result of my using." - Anonymous Let's Talk About it: Would you like to talk to another older person who is in the same situation First Name Last Name Email Message Thanks for submitting! Send

In 2016, DW expanded its services in response to a need and partnered with a range of collaborators to provide support and infrastructure to festivals to respond to Sexual and Gender Based Violence (GB,) other onsite traumas and psychological distress. DanceWize's NEW Gender Based Violence and Mental Health Services In November 2016, DW expanded its services in response to a need and partnered with a range of collaborators to provide support and infrastructure to festivals to respond to Gender Based Violence (GBV,) other onsite traumas and mental health/psychological distress.  The service acknowledges that there are often disclosures of GBV in the DW space due to the reputation of DW as a safe and non judgmental place where patrons can discuss any issues relating to their drug use and wellbeing. The service also supports the psychological wellbeing of patrons, event staff and volunteers. DW acknowledges that responding to GBV, trauma and psychological distress at music festivals is unique and requires specialist knowledge about responding to AOD, trauma and mental health presentations and the service is provided by peers with appropriate qualifications and extensive experience in the fields of sexual assault, family violence, AOD, trauma and mental health. The services offered are tailored to the industry and acknowledge the unique social, cultural and individual factors of a festival that may result in GBV and psychological distress, paying particular attention to breaking down the barriers to disclosing in the festival context. The service focuses on primary and secondary prevention – providing consultation to festivals about ways to reduce the risk of GBV that includes training and reviewing of policies and procedures, and offering onsite services that are designed to respond to and lessen the immediate and long term of harm of GBV, respond to more complex mental health presentations or onsite traumas, and provide debriefing to staff and volunteers, The service is trauma-informed, focusing on responding to and supporting people in care through establishing safety and trust, valuing client centred care, upholding victim survivor rights, and is guided by the national standards for the delivery of sexual assault services. Pre-event capacity building and consultation Provision of training on Responding to Disclosures of Sexual Assault at Music festivals (DanceWize and CASA House training) and training booklets Provision of training on Bystander Intervention and Understanding trauma A library of resources available to festivals – brochures for appropriate mental health, sexual assault and family violence services from all across Australia A library of posters available to festivals on consent, supporting survivor’s, responding to disclosures of sexual assault and bystander intervention -developed in collaboration with WestCASA and designed for the music industry Expert consultation on festival sexual assault and harassment policies and procedures, including the provision of templates Festival social media/public messaging advice about consent, GBV and harassment Ability to foster a festivals relationship with local SOCIT’s and CASA’s to ensure that local services are aware of the festival operating Advise event staff of risk factors of GBV at festivals at pre-event planning meetings; Expert advice about the development of processes and procedures relating to the removal of alleged perpetrators Development of flow charts, cheat sheets on responding to sexual assault for event staff Onsite Service Delivery Provision of a separate safe space behind the DW Chill Area Provision of qualified counsellors who work collaboratively with EMT’s to manage risk of wider festival safety Provision of temporary accommodation Resources, and counselling and support provided to people in care Ability to engage with the event’s local CASA, to ensure that local area SOCIT teams are aware of the event and DW counsellors. Local CASA’s have at times been present onsite with a resource table and as part of the DW team. Ability for counsellors to provide secondary consultation and debriefing to all event staff and volunteers who may have witnessed GBV, other traumas or have been a first responder Ability for counsellors to respond to other festival incidents at request of EMT/ECC Provision of active bystander rovers, who role model bystander intervention and provide education about consent Let's Work Together DW’s GBV and Mental Health Service is offered as an additional fee for service to festivals and events and is meant to complement and enhance DanceWize core operations. When the service is requested, the DW GBV and Mental Health service works in collaboration with core operations staff and volunteers to enhance the overall well-being of patrons and staff at festivals and events. The GBV and Mental Health Service offers a comprehensive suite of services, and festivals can choose which activities they would like to engage with. The service is focused on interventions that target the whole festival community.   More information about the service can be requested by emailing  info@dancewize.org.au

This project is integral to building a strong and resilient living experience workforce and discipline and aligning the sector to better understand peer engagement and in turn offer the best possible service delivery to benefit the health and wellbeing of all PWUD PWUD accessing services fuse initiatives Harm Reduction Victoria (HRVic) and the Association of Participating Service Users (APSU) have worked in partnership to support Harm Reduction Peer Workers (HRPW’s) working in mainstream harm reduction services for the last 4 years. We have been able to build on this network and increase the regularity, length, depth and frequency of meetings and support interventions. The partnership will continue to support, mentor, and build on the skills of HRPW’s funded through Reducing Harmful Drug Use Through Peer-led Network (RHDUPLN). We have secured funding to build this living experience workforce and have now become Fuse Initiatives, which includes the very important Fuse Networks (the Victorian living experience community of practice) that offers peer to peer support for this workforce. Fuse Initiatives incorporates greater “meaningful involvement of people who use drugs” and “Nothing about us without us” as core principles and practices, in the development of Fuse Initiatives. This project is integral to building a strong and resilient living experience workforce and discipline and aligning the sector to better understand peer engagement and in turn offer the best possible service delivery to benefit the health and wellbeing of all PWUD accessing services Read Fuse Strategy READ HRPW WHACK 48 Issue Harm Reduction Living and Lived Experience Workforce Discipline Framework Created by Harm Reduction Victoria (HRVic), in collaboration with the Victorian Department of Health and the organisations of the Lived and Living Experience Development Project Read HRPW Framework Definitions Victoria has fantastic peer workforces with a range of goals and communities and experiences. We all utilize our experiences to work with our communities. These are some definitions of the specific workforce that Fuse is supporting: • Harm Reduction Peer Worker- someone who is in a defined peer role that brings living experience to their role. They are affected by similar issues – ie. health issues, such as overdose or blood borne virus transmission - as the community they work with and support • Living Experience -Is someone who is accepted by the community of people who use drugs (PWUD) as being part of that community. Their experience of issues related to illicit drug use is current. • PWUD – People who use and or inject drugs. The Primary Aims Provide a support function for HRPW’s through Fuse Networks ( the Victorian living experience community of practice ) Coordinate, convene and co-chair the Fuse Initiatives Advisory Group (FIAG) . FIAG has been developed and will help HRVIC and APSU engage with the funders, PLN stakeholders and HRPWs and encourage transparent information flow between all the key stakeholders Coordinate a Harm Reduction Peer Workforce strategic approach across Victoria Engage with all stakeholders, and enhance their understanding of the principle of meaningful involvement of people who use drugs, and ensure that it is a practice at the centre any work being delivered and asked of the living experience workforce and the programs they work in Key Focus Areas Of Fuse Initiatives Fuse Networks Offer support, mentoring, peer supervision to all HRPWs working in designated roles in AOD and Harm Reduction Affirm that support strategies meet the needs of the HRPWs, use yearly HRPW consultation outcomes to inform our strategies Develop support & supervision frameworks to outline pathways between support intervention to One-on-One peer supervision Develop confidential, non – identifiable means for capturing themes for support interventions Offer support to workers with living experience in non-designated roles, where possible and appropriate Fuse Training • Provide workforce development opportunities • Provide training opportunities for all HRPW’s via different platforms and meet individual skill development needs • Undertake ongoing training needs analysis development through consultation and feedback from HRPWs Fuse Development • Develop organisational readiness training, audits, and stigma and discrimination training for all staff that may work with HRPW’s with a living experience lens • Sector development and training to support a greater understanding of the benefits of the living experience peer workforce • Develop strategic framework to guide the strengthening of the living experience workforce in Victoria Harm Reduction Peer Workers are people with lived or living experience of drug use & overdose risk who are employed in harm reduction roles which promote the health & well being of people who use drugs. Key reflections • HRPW’s have access to community members that do not access mainstream health services, through connections that workers with living experience can best access • HRPW’s are a value add to the services they work in, and can act as a bridge between the service and their service users for better health outcomes • Having a network of HRPWs coming together monthly has been beneficial for all HRPWs, increased regularity and duration has been well received (Key reflections current and from HRPW Consultation, 2020)

IT'S AGM TIME! 2025 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Harm Reduction Victoria invites it's members: Wednesday, the 10th of December at 3-5pm at Harm Reduction Victoria’s office at: 299-305 Victoria Street, Brunswick VIC 3056. We are also able to offer online access to the AGM via Teams. If a vote is needed for Board positions, we will arrange a process and let online attendees know on the day. We are a community, peer organisation and as such it is important that all members get a chance to be involved in our future, so please do join us if you can. One of the purposes of the AGM is to elect our Board. As a member, you can vote in Board elections. You can also nominate to join the Board. *IMPORTANT: Nominations for the Board must be made on the attached form and posted or emailed to the CEO. These need to arrive before midnight on Wednesday, 3rd of December 2025. If you are thinking about nominating to join the Board, HRVic asks that you meet with the CEO and a member of the Board Executive before submitting your nomination form. It's not an interview or interrogation and isnt as scary as it sounds - This is just to let you know what being on the Board is like and what is expected of Board members. Please get in touch with Snowy on admin@hrvic.org.au to arrange a time before this date. If you are unable to attend at all you may wish to vote by proxy which means getting someone who is attending to vote on your behalf. An “Appointment of Proxy” form is also attached with clear instructions on its use. Please call the office and ask if you have any questions & we look forward to seeing all of you in a few weeks. AGM Minutes 2024 (link to view 2024 HRVic AGM Minutes is below) If you attended in 2024, please check them over as we will need to approve them during this meeting. 2025 AGM Forms Download or Print your own AGM 2025 forms below. INVITE AGENDA HOW TO VOTE FORM & PROXY INFO MINUTES 2024 AGM 2023-24 ANNUAL REPORT ABOUT NOMINATING NOMINATION FORM