About the peak bodies
The 2 national mental health lived experience peak bodies will each represent the following groups:
- consumers
- families, carers and kin.
These peak bodies will ensure people with lived and living experience of mental ill-health can help improve the mental health system and services.
We selected 2 organisations from a competitive grand round:
- National Mental Health Consumer Alliance will establish the new consumer peak body
- Mental Health Carers Australia will establish the carers, family and kin peak body.
Contact each organisation to explore memberships and partnerships.
Designing the peak bodies
We partnered with The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI) on the co-design process to create the peak bodies.
The co-design process built on extensive work from the mental health sector. This includes years of advocacy efforts from mental health consumers, families, carers and kin. The process also invited new and diverse views to inform how to create the 2 new peaks.
Co-design process
The co-design process involved 3 main streams:
- TACSI ran workshops with a small group of consumers and a small group of families, carers and kin. TACSI chose participants through an expression of interest process, which received over 300 nominations.
- TACSI also held ‘Additional Voices’ discussions with representatives from specific groups. These supported the group discussions and tested important themes emerging from the workshops.
- We held an open submission process for each peak body to invite feedback from the public using online surveys. Discussion papers outlining priority next steps for creating the peak bodies informed the surveys.
Using First Nations wisdom
The co-design process prioritised active collaboration and partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. We used Indigenous ways of being, knowing and doing to be part of the foundations of this project.
Throughout the process, we committed to a do-no-harm and listen-first approach to working with First Nations Peoples and communities. We made sure we heard all voices equally as much as possible through using equity principles.
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