The FASD Awards 2024

The FASD Hub Australia and NOFASD Australia proudly present the Sue Miers Lifetime Achievement Award and Heather Jones Community Award, which will be announced at the FASD Forum '24 in May 2024. 

About the Sue Miers Lifetime Achievement Award 

This prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award was established by the FASD Research Australia NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence and was first presented at the second Australasian FASD Conference 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 on a local, national or international level. This might include members of the community, clinicians, researchers and advocates. 

In 2018, the inaugural recipient, Sue Miers, was presented with the prestigious award in recognition of her over 20 years of work supporting families and driving recognition of FASD in Australia. Inspired by her own personal experience caring for a child with FASD and struggling to find information, resources and services in Australia, Sue founded NOFASD Australia in 1999. Sue continues to demonstrate tireless dedication and effort on behalf of the FASD community, still volunteering regularly to support families and increase awareness and understanding of the lifelong, preventable condition.

In 2020, the award was given to Emeritus Professor Carol Bower, Co-founder of the FASD Hub and an internationally recognised public health researcher who has dedicated her career to working in birth defects and aiming to improve maternal and child health.

About the Heather Jones Community Award

The Heather Jones Community Award celebrates the otherwise unsung heroes of the FASD community - advocates, carers, people with FASD, and others whose passion and dedication lead to improved awareness and understanding of FASD, and positive impacts to those with this lifelong disability. 

This Award is named for its inaugural recipient, Heather Jones, former Senior Manager of the FASD Hub, and reflects her unerring dedication towards leading positive change, mentoring others, raising awareness and improving understanding of FASD.

Heather began working at the Telethon Kids Institute from 2010 as a member of the project team undertaking development work on the diagnostic instrument for FASD. She was appointed as the FASD Hub’s Senior Program Manager in 2016. Under Heather’s stewardship, the FASD Hub website officially launched on FASD Awareness Day in 2017. Through her sustained efforts over the years, the Hub has continued to grow to become one of the leading sources for FASD information nationally. Above all, Heather was an advocate for and a friend to many with lived experience of FASD.

Heather was the inaugural recipient of the FASD Hub Award for Contribution to Awareness and Understanding of FASD in 2022. Henceforth, this Award is named in her memory as the Heather Jones Community Award.

Nomination process

An independent panel from across Australia will review nominations and select the recipient by majority vote. Nominees will not be approached for information and will not be advised of their nomination. Finalists will be notified in advance of the presentation at the virtual FASD Forum ‘24. 

Key dates