Liz Barrett

Liz Barrett is a Research Officer at the Drug Policy Modelling Program in the Social Policy Research Centre. Her work spans a broad variety of drugs and critical drugs policy including participation, cannabis markets, drug decriminalisation and health and human rights approaches to drug use. She is a qualitative researcher with experience conducting semi-structured interviews, focus groups and photo elicitation methodologies with people with lived and living experience of drug use.

Liz is currently Project Manager of an evaluation of drug law reform in the ACT, and conducting research on black-market tobacco, experiences of the NSW Drug Summit and prison harm reduction interventions. Liz has previously contributed to and managed government-commissioned projects and competitive research grants, and co-authored a number of reports and evidence reviews on areas such as vaping, patterns and drivers of youth AOD use, mandatory treatment, AOD prevention, stigma and cannabis clubs.

Prior to joining UNSW, Liz was a Senior Policy Officer at Uniting where she was instrumental in developing the Fair Treatment campaign for the decriminalisation of drugs in Australia.  Liz has experience leading policy and advocacy projects for NGOs and trade unions on a range of issues relating to social disadvantage including alcohol and drugs, youth homelessness, early years education and low-waged, highly feminised industries.