Our movement
Together, let’s create a new common sense on drugs
We are a diverse movement of people taking action to make drug use legal and safe.
History of Unharm
The organisation behind the movement
Unharm is a registered charity based in Sydney, Australia. Established in 2014, Unharm has a track record of community engagement and campaign success.
Let’s get drugs right, for health and happiness.
Our plan to win
Learn about our plan to make drug use legal and safe
Australia can be a country that gets drugs right, but we can’t just leave it to the politicians. We are building a public groundswell for change. That starts with a new, honest conversation about drugs.
The Unharm team
Will Tregoning
Unharm CEO
Will Tregoning came to drug law reform from a background in social policy research, communications consultancy and health equity program management. He completed a Bachelor of Arts and a PhD in Cultural Studies at the University of Sydney before beginning a career as a research and evaluation consultant to Australian government departments and agencies, focussing on alcohol and other drugs. He co-founded Unharm and is also co-founder of drug checking organisation The Loop Australia.
Sam Kidd
Campaigns Director
Sam Kidd is an experienced political campaigner who specialises in digital communications, audience analytics and supporter engagement. He has worked at GetUp! and the United Workers Union across a wide range of campaigns and issue areas. He is responsible for the development and implementation of Unharm’s campaign strategies.
Catharine Lumby
Board chairperson
Catharine Lumby is a Professor of Media at Sydney University who has worked with organisations as diverse as Google Australia, the National Rugby League, Channel 10, the Australian Communication and Media Authority and the Australian Sports Commission. She advises the public and private sector on cultural diversity and schools and universities on preventing bullying, harassment and managing social media. Catharine is the author and co-author of six books and writes a regular column for The Guardian.
Kathirithamby Sivasankar
Non-executive director
Kathirithamby Sivasankar is a Chartered Accountant and CPA with global finance and risk management experience. In addition to volunteer work supporting disadvantaged youth to reach their potential, Siva is a social justice advocate and activist in progressive politics.
Gideon Warhaft
Non-executive director
Gideon Warhaft has been involved in drug law reform for over 20 years. Formerly editor of the NSW Users & AIDS Association’s (NUAA) quarterly magazine User’s News, he has sat on numerous boards and committees dealing with drug issues, including the Medically Supervised Injecting Centre and NSW Justice Health. Gideon remains an active member of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation. He is the co-founder of online consultation platform Sage.fm, as well as a co-founder of Unharm.
Peter Wilson
Non-executive director
Peter Wilson is an investment banker and philanthropist from Sydney. He advises Australian corporations and governments on governance and oversight, mergers and acquisitions and key strategic initiatives, particularly in financial services. His current and former not-for-profit board roles span the arts, law reform and social justice, health and education over more than two decades. He believes passionately that the sensible reforms Unharm advocates in relation to recreational drugs will improve outcomes, reduce harm, improve fairness and lower costs across all stakeholders.
Rebecca Lang
Non-executive director
Rebecca Lang is a systems advocate, focussed on improving system responses to the potential harms associated with alcohol and other drug use across health, community welfare, justice and child safety systems. She has been CEO of the Queensland Network of Alcohol and Other Drug Agencies (QNADA) since 2012. Rebecca is also a member of the Australian National Advisory Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ANACAD) and the Australian Alcohol and Other Drugs Council (AADC).
Mark Hancock
Non-executive director
Mark Hancock has served as CEO of several successful Australian companies and a General Manager of the NSW Legal Aid Commission. He has also worked for various NSW Government Departments, including the Department of Corrective Services. Mark is a member of The Australian Institute of Company Directors and was, until December 2021, a Fellow of the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants. Having experienced the criminal justice system from both sides as a result of his own drug dependence, Mark has seen the harm that the current laws, policies and systems do to people, especially those in the greatest need.
Sarah Maddison
Non-executive director
Sarah is an academic at the University of Melbourne with a PhD in government and international relations. She is the Director of The Australian Centre, Professor of Politics in the School of Social and Political Sciences and the Co-Director of the Indigenous-Settler Relations Collaboration. Sarah has extensive not-for-profit governance experience, including as past chair of the boards of the Australia Institute and of GetUp. She is interested in the role of civil society in political discourse, and brings expertise in democracy, human rights and the study of social movements. Before her university career she worked in the community sector as a welfare and youth worker in inner Sydney.
Natalie Ironfield
Non-executive director
Natalie (she/her) is a Dharug person living on unceded Wurundjeri land. Natalie is an educator and researcher, and is currently doing her PhD at the University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on the limitations and consequences of carceral reformism for Indigenous people, whilst also exploring the role of criminology in armouring the Australian state in the prison industrial complex. Natalie has a background in public health, and in 2021 she was involved in the #BanSpitsHoods campaign in South Australia.
Media enquiries
Unharm connects journalists with people who bring new perspectives to media reporting, including lived experience of drugs.
For media enquiries, contact:
Sam Kidd – Campaigns Director
[email protected]
0435 509 441
Unharm partners
Unharm has received sponsorship and support from many people and organisations including:
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We are building a movement to make drug use legal and safe in Australia so that everyone has a better chance to lead a healthy and happy life.