Assessing the early impact of the change in the kava importation policy in Australia

Winifred Asare-Doku; Amy Peacock; Stella Settumba; Tammy Abbott; Kate Wilson; Adam Craig; Jioji Ravulo; George Economidis; Litea Meo-Sewabu; Catherine D'Este; Poshan Thapa; Christopher Doran; Sally Nathan; Emily Waller; Trevor Satour; Lorraine Tulele; Michael Farrell; Anthony Shakeshaft

doi:10.1111/dar.70039

Assessing the early impact of the change in the kava importation policy in Australia

Winifred Asare-Doku, Amy Peacock, Stella Settumba, Tammy Abbott, Kate Wilson, Adam Craig, Jioji Ravulo, George Economidis, Litea Meo-Sewabu, Catherine D'Este, Poshan Thapa, Christopher Doran, Sally Nathan, Emily Waller, Trevor Satour, Lorraine Tulele, Michael Farrell, Anthony Shakeshaft

School of Social Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Abstract

The Australian Government launched the kava pilot program to ease import regulations on kava, aiming to strengthen cultural and economic ties between Australia and Pacific Island countries. Implemented in two phases, personal importation in 2019 and commercial importation in 2021, the program was accompanied by a concurrent evaluation. The evaluation examined the health, social, cultural and economic impacts of the pilot program on the Australian community. Findings indicate support for the program; however, ongoing monitoring is necessary, especially among groups at risk of harm.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1827-1830
Number of pages	4
Journal	Drug and Alcohol Review
Volume	44
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.70039
Publication status	Published - Nov 2025

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10.1111/dar.70039

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Asare-Doku, W., Peacock, A., Settumba, S., Abbott, T., Wilson, K., Craig, A., Ravulo, J., Economidis, G., Meo-Sewabu, L., D'Este, C., Thapa, P., Doran, C., Nathan, S., Waller, E., Satour, T., Tulele, L., Farrell, M., & Shakeshaft, A. (2025). Assessing the early impact of the change in the kava importation policy in Australia. Drug and Alcohol Review, 44(7), 1827-1830. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.70039

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abstract = "The Australian Government launched the kava pilot program to ease import regulations on kava, aiming to strengthen cultural and economic ties between Australia and Pacific Island countries. Implemented in two phases, personal importation in 2019 and commercial importation in 2021, the program was accompanied by a concurrent evaluation. The evaluation examined the health, social, cultural and economic impacts of the pilot program on the Australian community. Findings indicate support for the program; however, ongoing monitoring is necessary, especially among groups at risk of harm.",

author = "Winifred Asare-Doku and Amy Peacock and Stella Settumba and Tammy Abbott and Kate Wilson and Adam Craig and Jioji Ravulo and George Economidis and Litea Meo-Sewabu and Catherine D'Este and Poshan Thapa and Christopher Doran and Sally Nathan and Emily Waller and Trevor Satour and Lorraine Tulele and Michael Farrell and Anthony Shakeshaft",

year = "2025",

month = nov,

doi = "10.1111/dar.70039",

language = "English",

volume = "44",

pages = "1827--1830",

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Asare-Doku, W, Peacock, A, Settumba, S, Abbott, T, Wilson, K, Craig, A, Ravulo, J, Economidis, G, Meo-Sewabu, L, D'Este, C, Thapa, P, Doran, C, Nathan, S, Waller, E, Satour, T, Tulele, L, Farrell, M & Shakeshaft, A 2025, 'Assessing the early impact of the change in the kava importation policy in Australia', Drug and Alcohol Review, vol. 44, no. 7, pp. 1827-1830. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.70039

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T1 - Assessing the early impact of the change in the kava importation policy in Australia

AU - Asare-Doku, Winifred

AU - Peacock, Amy

AU - Settumba, Stella

AU - Abbott, Tammy

AU - Wilson, Kate

AU - Craig, Adam

AU - Ravulo, Jioji

AU - Economidis, George

AU - Meo-Sewabu, Litea

AU - D'Este, Catherine

AU - Thapa, Poshan

AU - Doran, Christopher

AU - Nathan, Sally

AU - Waller, Emily

AU - Satour, Trevor

AU - Tulele, Lorraine

AU - Farrell, Michael

AU - Shakeshaft, Anthony

PY - 2025/11

Y1 - 2025/11

N2 - The Australian Government launched the kava pilot program to ease import regulations on kava, aiming to strengthen cultural and economic ties between Australia and Pacific Island countries. Implemented in two phases, personal importation in 2019 and commercial importation in 2021, the program was accompanied by a concurrent evaluation. The evaluation examined the health, social, cultural and economic impacts of the pilot program on the Australian community. Findings indicate support for the program; however, ongoing monitoring is necessary, especially among groups at risk of harm.

AB - The Australian Government launched the kava pilot program to ease import regulations on kava, aiming to strengthen cultural and economic ties between Australia and Pacific Island countries. Implemented in two phases, personal importation in 2019 and commercial importation in 2021, the program was accompanied by a concurrent evaluation. The evaluation examined the health, social, cultural and economic impacts of the pilot program on the Australian community. Findings indicate support for the program; however, ongoing monitoring is necessary, especially among groups at risk of harm.

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JO - Drug and Alcohol Review

JF - Drug and Alcohol Review

IS - 7

ER -

Assessing the early impact of the change in the kava importation policy in Australia

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