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Until 31 December, you have the opportunity to add your voice to the Federal Government’s Inquiry on the health impacts of alcohol and other drugs.
Pen a letter, type an email, submit a piece of research – any correspondence is encouraged to contribute to the Federal Inquiry on the health impacts of alcohol and other drugs across Australia.
We hear about the negative impact that alcohol has on people’s lives, including homelessness, family and domestic violence, disability and chronic disease.
Right now, there’s an opportunity to share those experiences directly with decision-makers.
Every story is valuable. Whether your experience is about seeking support, helping a loved one, advertising and delivery, gendered violence or one of the many other harms from alcohol.
Sharing your thoughts with the Inquiry is an opportunity to tell our government what isn’t working, what you want to see change or highlight the things that are working well.
The Inquiry Committee will consider every submission when developing its report and recommendations to the government about how to reduce and prevent harm from alcohol.
There is a need to immediately action reforms in this space, and this Inquiry is a long-awaited opportunity to have the government listening directly to communities.
The Federal Inquiry is taking submissions until 31 December 2024.
We encourage anyone who has a personal experience with alcohol-related harm and/or related expertise to write into this Inquiry.
You only need to spend 15 minutes to contribute to this defining moment that can help improve how Australia reduces and prevents alcohol-related harms.
If you already feel comfortable making a submission, head to the Federal Government’s Inquiry page using the button below.
Or check out our guide to learn how to craft a submission that leaves a lasting impact for all Australians now and into the future.
A submission is any new piece of writing you would like to be read by the Committee.
Your submission must respond to at least one of the Terms of Reference, but there are no strict rules as far as how you want to share your thoughts.
The structure of your submission can follow the recommended approach below:
Start with a very brief introduction, who you are and why you are writing in to the Federal Inquiry.
Explain your personal experience with alcohol harm and/or related expertise, and what you want to see change
Provide your thoughts on one or more of the Terms of Reference (ToR).
Answering some of the following questions in your submission will ensure you address the ToR:
To lodge your submission, go to the Inquiry webpage and click ‘upload submission’ on the right. You’ll need to log in or create a My Parliament account.
Once logged in follow the steps to fill out your details and upload your submission.
If you’re unable to access this through the Parliament website, you can email your submission to health.reps@aph.gov.au.
If you require any assistance while completing your submission, please reach out to us at campaigns@fare.org.au.
Alternatively, you can download and fill out this submission template.
What is the deadline for submissions?
The Committee would be grateful to receive submissions by Monday, 30 September 2024, but will accept submissions until Tuesday, 31 December 2024.
What does this process look like?
As soon as a Committee announces an Inquiry, they call for submissions. Submissions can be from anyone, individuals or organisations. They usually give a deadline for these submissions.
After this deadline, the Committee and the Committee Secretariat read through every submission. The committee secretariat proposes a list of submissions that they would like to appear in a public hearing.
After the public hearings are completed, the Committee will then start working on a report, this report will contain recommendations for the parliament to consider.
What’s the timeline?
Here’s a rough idea of when this process will unfold:
26 August 2024 – Inquiry announced and submissions open
30 September 2024 – First submissions received
31 December 2024 – Submissions close
February 2025 – Public hearings start
April 2025 – Public hearings conclude
August 2025 – Interim report released
October 2025 – February 2026 – Final report released
Who is the audience?
The audience of this Inquiry is the Committee members as well as the Committee Secretariat. Please note that whilst this is the direct audience, Inquiry submissions can be viewed by the public and may appear on the Inquiry website unless confidentiality is requested.
The committee Secretariat is responsible for managing the Committee’s work. This includes scheduling the meetings, briefing the Committee members and answering questions from the public regarding current inquiries. You can contact them at health.reps@aph.gov.au.
The Committee Chair is Dr Mike Freelander, he is a Labor Party member for the House of Representatives, committee chairs for the House of Representatives are appointed by the Prime Minister. It is the Chair’s responsibility to lead committee meetings, whilst they have procedural responsibilities in the Committee, they will still contribute to the Committee in the same way as the other members. Dr Mike Freelander can be contacted at Mike.Freelander.MP@aph.gov.au
The Deputy Chair of the Committee is Mr Julian Leeser, a Liberal Party member for the House of Representatives. The role is to act as the chair when the Chair is unavailable to do so. Julian Leeser can be contacted at Julian.Leeser.MP@aph.gov.au.
I want my submission to be confidential. Is this possible?
You can request for your submission to be confidential, confidential submissions do not appear on the website or in the Committee Report. The Committee has requested people provide a reason for their submission to remain confidential.
If you do wish for your submission to be confidential, you should write to the Committee Secretariat in the first instance to give them notice.
Your involvement with this Inquiry is covered under parliamentary privilege. This means that you are immune from legal action in respect of lodging the submission or any statements contained in it. What you put in your submission cannot be legally used against you.
Should my submission be written a certain way and how long should it be?
There are no set rules for how submissions are to be written.
As long as the submission touches on one or more of the terms of reference, it can be accepted.
A submission can simply be a paragraph if that is all you have to say on the topic.
Your submission must follow certain guidelines:
It is recommended (but not essential) that the contents of your submission contain:
What are public hearings and how do they work?
Public hearings are an opportunity for Committee members to ask questions about the contents of the submission or anything else related to the Inquiry.
It is good practice to indicate in your submission if you’d be open to appearing at a public hearing. If you change your mind, that is okay.
The Committee Secretariat will contact you if they’d like you to appear and you can at any time decline.
What comes as a result of this inquiry?
As a final step of the Inquiry, the Committee Secretariat has to formulate a report, which gets approved by all members of the committee.
Inquiry reports are used as a tool by decision makers to better inform their policies.
The Committee Chair will table the report in Parliament.
Inquiry reports have been previously used to support legislation, private members motions and petitions.
When writing about your own, or someone else’s, experiences with alcohol in your submission to the Federal Inquiry, it’s important to make sure you are always looking after yourself.
Sharing your concerns and feelings with a friend or a family member, or a trusted person in your support network – such as a GP or a counsellor – can help.
There are also many online, over the phone and face-to-face support services available and several operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
FARE acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands and waters on which we operate throughout Australia. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and recognise the continuing connection to country of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
©2024 FARE
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FARE acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands and waters on which we operate throughout Australia. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and recognise the continuing connection to country of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
©2024 FARE
Privacy Statement
T&C
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