The Senate Community Affairs References Committee report into Effective Approaches to Prevention and Diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and strategies for optimising life outcomes for people with FASD. Released: 17th March 2021.
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Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is an entirely preventable permanent disability. FASD includes a range of physical and neurological impairments, occurring due to brain damage caused by exposing a fetus to alcohol during pregnancy. As a spectrum disorder, FASD manifests in a range of ways, and conditions can range from very mild to severe.
An invisible epidemic The committee found that FASD is still not well understood or recognised in Australia and has been called an ‘invisible epidemic’. Although there is an absence of reliable prevalence figures and the social and economic costs remain unknown, the evidence indicates that the human, social and economic costs are immense. The committee considers there is a critical need for prevalence data and a robust study of the economic and social impact of FASD to ensure budgetary measures and policy efforts are appropriate and effective.