Australian government steps up efforts to fight Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Talking points

• New funding includes:
  $1.47 million for prevention
• $1.2 million for screening and diagnosis
• $1.2 million to inform schools and workplaces and support the justice and policing sectors

The Federal Government says it is intensifying efforts to address Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, announcing a new national approach and more than $7 million in new funding.

The disorder describes severe neurodevelopmental impairments resulting from brain damage caused by alcohol exposure before birth.

People with FASD can have difficulties with physical activities, language, memory, learning and behaviour.

Minister for Indigenous Health Ken Wyatt said the government was investing in activities proven to be effective.

“Success is underpinned by a team effort, with collaboration between families, communities, service providers and governments,” Minister Wyatt said.

“FASD requires a national approach, linking in closely with local solutions. We are acknowledging the scale of the issue in Australia and intensifying efforts to address it.”

The new FASD plan will focus on education and screening. Credit:Stanislav Popov/Snapvillage

More than 350 delegates have attended the Second Australasian FASD Conference 2018, which has been held over two days in Perth this week.

Telethon Kids Institute Professor Carol Bower, who is co-director of the FASD Research Australia Centre of Excellence led a recent groundbreaking study that found 36 per cent of juvenile prisoners in Western Australia had FASD.

"The action plan includes an emphasis on prevention, so over time we expect there to be lower levels of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, which should reduce the rates," she said.

"However that will take a while to be seen – in the meantime a boost in diagnostic services will mean we are able to diagnose more cases of FASD, so we’d expect to see an increase in rates in the interim simply because we’ll be better at identifying existing cases."

It was the first time there was national funding for FASD in the legal system.

"It’s important that justice professionals understand that people with FASD are likely to come before them, and how important it is to be able to take into account their disabilities in assessing the case and making a determination – including whether they should be sentenced or whether there may be alternatives to sentencing," she said.

"Our research shows there is a likelihood, for example, that 50 per cent of these kids are likely to have some sort of language impairment and we know the legal system is a highly verbal, language-based process.

"This new funding could assist greatly in educating the legal profession on those and other impairments, and in providing appropriate support for young people who come into contact with the justice system."

Professor Bower said while there had been great leaps forward in FASD diagnosis, prevention and support in recent years in Australia – including the recent decision to develop and implement mandatory labelling of all packaged alcoholic drinks in Australia and New Zealand – there was still a long way to go.

FASD Research Australia CRE co-director Liz Elliott said Australia had pioneered a national approach to FASD.

“We are unique among other countries in that we now have a national register, a national clinical group, a national hub for research, and a national advocacy group in NoFASD,” she said.

Professor Elliott said the action plan would guide efforts to address FASD, but it would be important to evaluate new programs and monitor outcomes that were important for people living with FASD and their families.

“Important outcomes include decreasing the number of women drinking in pregnancy; ensuring that health professionals ask about alcohol use in pregnancy and give consistent advice regarding the harms as well as providing the treatment needed to help them stop drinking; and improving not just the rate of diagnosis but also how well people are able to access support and therapy," she said."

“There are still complaints about access to diagnosis – we really do need to increase capacity among health professionals across the board, not just paediatricians, so they are in a position to think about this diagnosis and know how to address it.”

Minister for Health Greg Hunt said the funding would help protect future generations.

“This plan will show us the way forward to tackle the tragic problem of FASD – guiding future actions for governments, service providers and communities in the priority areas of prevention, screening and diagnosis, support and management, and tailoring needs to communities," he said.

“Alongside the plan’s release, I am pleased to announce a new investment of $7.2 million to support activities that align with these priority areas."

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