This page is designed to support individual advocacy for people who are engaged with the Early Drug Diversion Initiative (EDDI), and advocacy for organisations seeking to improve and enhance EDDI.
What is EDDI?
The Early Drug Diversion Initiative (EDDI) is a NSW scheme intended to keep people out of the criminal justice system, reduce harm and stigma, and connect them with health-based support instead.
EDDI allows police to divert eligible adults away from charges for simple drug possession and instead issue a diversion notice. This notice gives you the option to complete a short health focused intervention, or pay a fine, rather than go to court.
How to take action
Write to the Police Minister
Use the BOCSAR release as a reason to write to the minister. Call on the Minister to make changes to EDDI so it works as a genuine health response, by sharing why this matters to you, your organisation, or your community. Read the above guide for tips on key talking points and our 5 proposed solutions.
Speak up on social media
Help shift the narrative. Share the facts about EDDI, highlight why reform is needed, and call for a system that treats drug use as a health issue.
Contact us to collaborate
If you have a story to tell about the EDDI scheme, want more detailed stats and talking points, contact us!
Where EDDI is falling short
While EDDI was introduced with the right intentions, the way it operates in practice has shown some serious gaps. This includes:
- The issue of police discretion creating space for conscious or unconscious bias in who is offered the scheme- this particularly affects First nations people, unhoused people, and people with prior contact with police.
- A limited awareness from both police and community of the scheme
- The restrictive eligibility criteria that means people who would most benefit from a health response miss out.
What a better EDDI could look like
A fairer, more effective version of the scheme would be health lead, consultative with the community and sector, consistent, and accessible. That would mean:
- Removal or restriction of police discretion to make diversion as the default, not the exception for personal possession charges.
- Amending eligibility criteria to allow for more people to be diverted using the scheme (i.e those found with multiple drugs, those with previous charges, etc)
- Transparency from police on diversion rates.
- More diversity of intervention options that people can complete in ways that fit around their lives.
Advocating for a better EDDI Scheme:
Consistency as a movement is important. When decision makers here from diverse orgs calling for similar solutions, they are more likely to act. Here is what we are calling for:
- Remove concurrent offenses from the eligibility criteria
- Abolish the strike system
- Lower the fine
- Make diversion the default.
- Ensure consistent, state-wide application of the scheme
Suggested talking points you can use in your advocacy
- Highlight how the scheme disproportionately impacts people who are already experiencing disadvantage, and favours those with privilege – e.g. “The BOCSAR evaluation highlights how these laws are exacerbating disadvantage for those who can least afford it.”
- Remind decision makers of the overwhelming consensus for decriminalisation/better EDDI at the Drug Summit
- Emphasise the urgent need for a better EDDI in NSW
- Offer solutions – highlight the 5 points above on what would make a better EDDI.
- Lean into shared, universal values
Links:
Here is our media release on the release of the BOCSAR Evaluation
Here is our drug stigma messaging guide for more in depth messaging frameworks.
For a downloadable version of this document, please check out below.
