Strategic Statements
Our Vision
SMART Recovery is accessible and relevant to all.
Our Purpose
Provide accessible evidence-based tools to help people manage addictive behaviours.
Our Social Impact
SRAU empowers people to help themselves and each other manage addictive behaviours for the improvement of the health and social well being of the community.
Our Values
Acceptance
We engage inclusively with the unique circumstances of each individual
Empowerment
People are the expert in their own recovery and have the power to choose to change.
Integrity
We honour our values and principles
Respect
We acknowledge people’s thoughts, feelings, choices, experiences, beliefs and privacy.
Our Principles
Self-Management
People can manage their own behaviours
Mutual Aid
People learn best from each other
Choice
People choose their own goals, skills and tools.
Evidence Led
All our programs are based on scientific evidence and we encourage their on-going evaluation
Innovation
We encourage creative development of our programs in line with new evidence
Collaboration
We welcome opportunities to work with others to achieve common goals
Person Centred
People with a lived experienced are central in guiding what we do.
Harm Minimisation
SMART Recovery Australia supports harm minimisation. Read our position statement here.
Strategic Directions 2019 - 2022
History
The first SMART Recovery group started in the USA in 1994. SMART Recovery commenced in Australia in 2004. It was piloted and trialled at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital to offer the community another recovery treatment option.
The pilot program’s success allowed SMART Recovery Australia to become an independent non-profit organisation in 2007. It also enabled SMART Recovery Australia to expand the scope of the program to all addictions, not just alcohol and other drugs. SMART Recovery Australia expanded nationwide at that time.