NOFASD Australia and the FASD Hub Australia are proud to announce The Honourable Dr Sharman Stone AM as the 2025 recipient of the prestigious Sue Miers Lifetime Achievement Award, recognising her pioneering and sustained contributions to awareness, prevention, and support for those impacted by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).
Dr Stone’s unwavering commitment to social justice and public health spans more than 4 decades and NOFASD Australia and the FASD Hub Australia celebrate her pivotal role as a trailblazer in addressing FASD in Australia.
In her citation nominating Dr Stone for this award Professor Elizabeth Elliott, Chair of the FASD Hub Australia, noted, “No parliamentarian has had as much impact as Dr Stone in furthering understanding of FASD in Australia and advocating for action.”
“Amongst many other achievements, she established a group for parliamentarians to garner bipartisan support for the prevention of FASD, she initiated Australia’s first national government Inquiry into FASD, advocated for clinical services in Shepparton, and fought hard for a national awareness campaign on alcohol harms in pregnancy, which recently came to fruition.”
Sue Miers AM, the visionary founder of NOFASD Australia proudly presented the award. “Dr Stone’s early understanding of the gravity of the issues and her willingness to take action have resulted in meaningful support, for both individuals with lived experience of FASD and clinicians and researchers in their quest for better outcomes for those affected by FASD. Her dedication is truly admirable,” Ms Miers said.
During her tenure in Federal Parliament as Federal Member for the Victorian seat of Murray, Dr Stone spearheaded key initiatives that formed the foundation for Australia’s national response to FASD, shining a light on what was once considered the ‘hidden harm of FASD’ and bringing the topic to the attention of the wider community.
Her leadership included introducing a Private Member’s motion on FASD in 2011, which gained bipartisan support. She chaired the House of Representatives Indigenous Affairs Committee, where she led an inquiry into alcohol’s impact on Indigenous communities, with a focus on FASD. Additionally, she established and co-chaired the bipartisan group Parliamentarians for the Prevention of FASD, which facilitated direct engagement between policymakers and experts, families, and researchers.
Dr Stone’s advocacy culminated in her landmark 2012 report, ‘FASD: The Hidden Harm: Inquiry into the prevention, diagnosis and management of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders’, which highlighted the urgent need for action and provided recommendations that led to Australia’s first National Strategy on FASD and significant government funding for prevention, education, and clinical services.
“Without Dr Stone’s unwavering commitment to advocating for FASD, her Private Member’s motion in Parliament in 2011 and her work to ensure majority bi-partisan support, the nationwide “Every Moment Matters” campaign – launched in 2022 to raise awareness of the dangers of alcohol consumption during pregnancy – would not have come to fruition,” Ms Miers said.
Dr Stone shared she was honoured to receive this award. “I was humbled to find NOFASD and the FASD Hub passing me the Sue Miers Lifetime Achievement Award related to FASD for 2025,” Dr Stone said.
“While speaking to my acceptance presentation, I recalled how the Federal Government had come to agree to FASD research and some family support, but there were long delays in enforcing labels to warn about alcohol consumption and pregnancy, and the funding of communication awareness programs. Since those early times so much has been achieved.
“Not only has NOFASD’s support for families been so critical, combined with the FASD Hub the research and community communication is now occurring. So many have done so much. I am humbled to have been added to the recognition award.”
The Sue Miers Lifetime Achievement Award was established by the FASD Research Australia NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence and was first presented in 2018. It recognises and celebrates a person who has made an outstanding and sustained contribution to the field of FASD and/or alcohol use in pregnancy on a local, national and international level. The previous recipients of this prestigious award were Sue Miers AM, Professor Carol Bower and Professor Elizabeth Elliott AM.
NOFASD Australia and the FASD Hub Australia congratulate Dr Stone on this well-deserved recognition. A NOFASD Australia Ambassador, Dr Stone’s vision and dedication has transformed lives and inspired a nation to confront the challenges of FASD with compassion and action.
About the Sue Miers Lifetime Achievement Award
The Sue Miers Lifetime Achievement Award was established by the FASD Research Australia NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence and was first presented in 2018.
It was intended to recognise and celebrate a person who has made an outstanding and sustained contribution to the field of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and/or alcohol use in pregnancy at a local, national or international level. This might include members of the community, clinicians, researchers and advocates. It was named after the inaugural winner Ms Sue Miers AM.
The previous recipients of this prestigious award were Sue Miers AM: Professor Carol Bower and Professor Elizabeth Elliott AM.
About NOFASD
NOFASD is the pre-eminent body in its field. As the Australian peak body, it is effective and influential in the development of policy, and action plans to improve the lives of those affected by FASD. This family-focused organisation is the essential bridge linking those with living and lived experience with researchers and clinicians. Its mission is to be a strong and effective voice for individuals and families living with FASD, while supporting initiatives across Australia to promote prevention, diagnosis, intervention and management. Primarily funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, NOFASD is managed by dedicated and passionate Board and staff members. NOFASD was incorporated in South Australia in 1999 and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2024.
FASD describes the lifelong physical and/or neurodevelopmental impairments that can result from fetal alcohol exposure. FASD is a condition that is an outcome of parents not being aware of the dangers of alcohol use when pregnant or planning a pregnancy.
About the FASD Hub
Launched in September 2017 to mark FASD Awareness Month, the FASD Hub was created in recognition of the need for a unique resource to provide locally relevant Australian information about alcohol and pregnancy and FASD and is funded by the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care. Intended primarily for health professionals, researchers, policymakers and educators, the FASD Hub also provides content relevant for people living with FASD and their families, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and women who are pregnant, planning pregnancy or breastfeeding. The University of Sydney and The Kids Research Institute Australia (formerly Telethon Kids Institute) lead a consortium of partners (Menzies School of Health Research, the National Organisation for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Australia (NOFASD) and the Australian and New Zealand FASD Clinical Network) to oversee management of the FASD Hub.