NACCHO Antimicrobial Stewardship Academy
6-month Program
Applications for the 2026 program have now closed.
If you have any questions about the AMS Academy, please email medicines@naccho.org.au.
Antimicrobial Resistance
Antibiotics are the most commonly prescribed medications in remote Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, essential for treating the prevalent and serious infections reported in these areas. However, frequent antibiotic use can lead to bacteria developing mechanisms that stop the antibiotics from working. This issue, known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR), is a significant problem both in Australia and globally.
AMR affects Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at some of the highest reported rates in the country. The World Health Organization has identified AMR as one of the greatest health threats, predicting up to 10 million deaths by 2050, extreme poverty for 24 million people by 2030, and billions of dollars in healthcare costs and lost productivity globally.
The NACCHO Antimicrobial Stewardship Academy
The NACCHO Antimicrobial Stewardship Academy is a free six-month program aimed at health workers or health professionals working in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector who are interested in upskilling in antibiotic use, audit, stewardship, surveillance, and resistance.
The program aims to enhance knowledge, develop skills, and implement changes within the participant’s organization. Equipping colleagues with these skills is vital for safe prescribing, improved antibiotic stewardship and advocacy to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are included in national efforts to address antimicrobial use and resistance.
Candidates are required to obtain approval from their managers to attend the online lectures during work hours. This support is crucial for candidates to fully participate in the Academy program.
The Antimicrobial Academy provides a valuable opportunity to convey essential skills and knowledge about AMS and AMR to health professionals in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector. This initiative aims to create a group of antimicrobial stewards, advocates, and spokespeople who can collaborate to enhance healthcare delivery, research platforms, and advocacy efforts within the sector.
Why
Skills transfer for health care workers and health professionals to lead and advocate on safe prescribing of antimicrobials, improved stewardship and advocacy to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are included in national efforts to address antimicrobial use and resistance.
The NACCHO Antimicrobial Stewardship Academy is a six-month program which we are planning to run from April until October 2026.
The fortnightly hour-long sessions are held online during the working day, as best fits in with the academy team, advisory group and external lecturers.
How to apply?
Applications for the 2026 program have now closed.
Important Links and Publications
The National Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy 2020 and beyond
Capacity building to address antimicrobial resistance in remote Australia: The inaugural HOT NORTH Antimicrobial Academy – 2024, Inf Dis Health
National Centre for Antimicrobial Stewardship (NCAS)
Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Australia Surveillance System: AURA
Antibiotic resistance is an even greater challenge in remote Indigenous communities – 2019, The Conversation
An urgent need for antimicrobial stewardship in Indigenous rural and remote primary health care – 2019, MJA
Antimicrobial stewardship in remote primary healthcare across northern Australia – 2020, PeerJ
2026 AMS Academy Team/Advisory Group
Professor Asha Bowen, Paediatric Infectious Disease Specialist, Perth Children’s Hospital and Head, Healthy Skin and ARF Prevention Team, The Kids Research Institute Australia
Dr Trent Yarwood, Senior Staff Specialist Infectious Diseases Physician, Cairns Hospital & Cairns Sexual Health
Professor Steven Tong, Infectious Diseases Physician and Clinician Scientist, Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity at the University of Melbourne and the Royal Melbourne Hospital
James Harris, Executive Director Professional Development, National Association of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners (NAATSIHWP)
Dr Thomas Mylne, BPharm MD MPH, Ophthalmology Registrar, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital
A/ Prof Teresa Wozniak, Principal Research Scientist, Australian e-Health Research Centre, CSIRO
Hannah Mann, Founder and Director, Kimberley Pharmacy Services Group, SPIRA Services
Mike Stephens, Director, Medicines Policy and Programs, NACCHO
Alex Whelan, Senior Project Officer, Medicines Policy and Programs, NACCHO
Thomas Ewin, Antimicrobial Stewardship Pharmacist, Top End Health Service, Department of Health
Dr Sophie Moustaka, Public Health Registrar, NACCHO.
Topics which will be covered in the 2026 AMS Academy Program
- Introduction to drug resistance
- Common infections in Aboriginal communities- skin and soft tissue infections and sexual health
- What is antimicrobial stewardship?
- Antimicrobial resistance in Aboriginal Health Services
- Using disease surveillance skills to collect, understand and use resistance data
- Standard drug lists and other tools, standing orders, Setting up an AMR committee in an AMS, drug shortages
- AMS in the hospital setting
- Spectrum of Antimicrobials
- National surveillance of AMR coordination and activities
- International perspectives on surveillance and antimicrobial resistance
- ONE health and AMS in animals
- Communicating drug resistance
- Point of care testing as a useful adjunct to AMR
- Traditional Medicine and antimicrobial stewardship
- National Antimicrobial Prescribing Survey, Audits and Quality Improvement examples
ACCHO locations
NACCHO oversees a network of 148 members, each running Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) across urban, regional, and remote Australia. These ACCHOs range from large facilities with multiple healthcare professionals providing comprehensive services to smaller centres focused on preventive care and health education, primarily delivered by Aboriginal Health Workers and nurses.
Contact
For any inquiries or further information about the Medicines and Pharmacy team at: medicines@naccho.org.au.
