Dr Shaman Stone, AM (holding the award) was congratulated by the past recipients of the Sue Miers Lifetime Achievement Award, from left: Professor Carol Bower AC, Sue Miers AM and Professor Elizabeth Elliott AM.
The FASD Hub Australia and National Organisation for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (NOFASD) 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 four decades, with Professor Elizabeth Elliott, Chair of the FASD Hub Australia, noting that,
“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 Shepperton, 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, and chairing 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.”
