This paper, produced by ACON, combines the expertise from staff who operate ACON’s needle and syringe programs (NSP) with current research to provide seven policy recommendations that will innovate needle and syringe programs, and continue their success as a core component of NSW’s efforts to end blood borne virus transmission and reduce the harms of alcohol and other drugs.

ACON uses this paper to celebrate the success of the NSP service model in NSW and commend its ongoing place in HIV and Hepatitis C prevention efforts, as indicated by the NSW HIV Strategy 2021-2025 and the forthcoming NSW Hepatitis C Strategy.  

In this paper, the authors build on the recommendations from ACON's 2020 position paper, Drug harm reduction and treatment: opportunities to improve outcomes for our communities, and call for further innovation to capitalise on this success and align NSW’s policy goals with national ones.