LDAT program FAQs

The Local Drug Action Team (LDAT) Program empowers community organisations to prevent and minimise harms from alcohol and other drugs. This happens through developing evidence-informed initiatives at a grassroots level.

The Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF) works with LDATs to ensure their work is regularly monitored, reviewed and committed to actively including the community.

The program recognises that no community is the same as the next and that locally-led responses are vital when it comes to preventing and minimising harms caused by alcohol and other drugs.

A Local Drug Action Team is a partnership that includes several community organisations, who are committed to working together to develop evidence informed activities to prevent harms from alcohol and other drugs in their local area.

Primary prevention is about creating healthy environments to prevent future drug harms.

The LDAT Program aims to address the causes of alcohol and other drug issues and protect people from developing a dependency in the first place. This involves helping to remove the risk factors and increase the protective factors that can lead to alcohol and drug-related harm.

Risk factors include social disconnectedness, lack of skills, lack of strong role models/mentoring and not feeling positive about the future. Protective factors include having a sense of connection and belonging, skill development and employment opportunities, early engagement into support services when required, and resilience in individuals and communities.

The types of organisations that can be part of a LDAT include (but are not limited to); schools, local businesses, sport and recreational groups, local government, police, local health services, alcohol and other drug prevention services and youth services.

Local Drug Action Teams work on the ground in their communities, using local knowledge to implement evidence-informed harm prevention and minimisation projects that are tailored to the needs of their local area.

Once Local Drug Action Teams have selected the most appropriate activities to address local issues, teams develop a Community Action Plan to guide them through planning, development and delivery of their activities.

Activities delivered by LDATs create stronger and healthier communities by increasing protective factors such as:

- connection to community, school and local sport/recreational clubs;

- creating a sense of belonging

- skills and employment opportunities

- enabling early engagement into support services when required

- building resilience in individuals and communities.

The Alcohol and Drug Foundation provides project toolkits on many areas in which LDATs are taking action. This includes toolkits to deliver evidence-informed projects in relation to mentoring, providing peer support, around positive parenting, in relation to education in schools and on alcohol and pregnancy. New project toolkits (and associated webinars) are regularly being added to the suite of information now available to LDATs.

Many LDATs are being led by, and working in partnership with, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Many of these have an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander organisation as the lead partner.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have been encouraged to apply to join the LDAT Program and inclusion of these communities has been a priority for the ADF.

The ADF is committed to the ongoing development of our cultural competency and to continue to develop our understanding of what this means for the way that we engage with and work alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

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