Co-design of the Australian Prompt Response Network for a public-health focused intersectoral approach to information sharing on emerging drugs of concern

Siefried, K. J., Hill, P., Clifford, B., Brown, J., Camilleri, A., Crawford, S., Dessauer, P., Dilkes-Frayne, E., Freestone, J., Gobeil, J., Harrod, M. E., Hudson, S., Hull, P., Lenton, S., Lyons, T., Oh, G., Peacock, A., Pierce, A., Sidaway, P., … Ezard, N. (2025). Co-design of the Australian Prompt Response Network for a public-health focused intersectoral approach to information sharing on emerging drugs of concern. Frontiers in Public Health, 13, 1521911. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1521911

The rapid emergence of new psychoactive substances (NPS) and other emerging drugs of concern presents a significant global public health challenge, necessitating agile and interconnected drug information systems to identify and communicate risks.

In Australia, responses have traditionally been localised, lacking a nationally coordinated system to rapidly share information about emerging drug threats. The National Centre for Clinical Research on Emerging Drugs (NCCRED) – which is based at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) at UNSW Sydney – collaborated with jurisdictional networks, clinicians, scientists, policy-makers, and peer organisations to co-design and co-produce the national Prompt Response Network (“PRN”).

The PRN is the first Australian national public-health-focused mechanism for information exchange on new and emerging drugs and drug trends of concern. It provides the means for timely and responsive sharing of localised data, better informing risk assessment and facilitating a coordinated approach to public health responses and local and national preparation for emerging risks. Achieving this required mobilising diverse disciplinary and community stakeholders toward a unified and collaborative response to preventing drug related harms.

Read the full paper in Frontiers in Public Health.

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