The department partners with agencies that employ Lived and Living Experience Workforces (LLEWs) and/or have LLEW expertise.
Together we develop and act on the priorities of LLEWs in the mental health, Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) and harm reduction sectors.
See below for:
- more information about advisory structures, partnerships and key roles supporting lived and living experience workforces
- information about what you can do to stay informed about upcoming work and engagement opportunities.
The Lived and Living Experience Workforce Advisory Group (LLEWAG)
LLEWAG gives guidance on reform activity and new investments related to lived and living experience workforce that are managed by the Mental health and wellbeing division of our department.
The group includes lived and living experience workers from various roles across community and clinical mental health, AOD and harm reduction services.
It also includes agencies that have a role in lived experience workforce supports and development, including the Health and Community Services .
The purpose of the group is to:
- provide advice for lived experience workforce initiatives funded by department
- identify opportunities and risks for implementation of lived experience workforce initiatives brought to the group
- advise on how to achieve the visions set out in the lived experience workforce strategies to identify existing work and opportunities to progress actions from the lived experience workforce strategies
- create partnerships and share knowledge and resources to benefit lived experience workforces and support culture change in services
- generate knowledge to evolve the lived experience workforce strategy’s content, including new actions
- promote strengths of lived experience workforce and support communication about initiatives and available resources.
Lived experience workforce coordinators
Lived experience workforce coordinators are employed at Centre for Mental Health (consumer and family/carer), Harm Reduction and the Self Help Addiction Resource to provide coordination, support and connection for lived and living experience workforces and their employing services.
Lived experience workforce – senior project officers
Dedicated senior project officers with both lived experience and living experience workforce expertise are employed in the workforce development team (Mental health and wellbeing division) to manage lived and living experience workforce initiatives.
Workforce leads – lived experience
is the peak Victorian organisation for people with a lived experience of mental health problems or emotional distress. Tandem is the Victorian peak body representing family and friends supporting people living with mental health challenges.
Workforce leads employed at the Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council and Tandem Carers provide and connect consumer and carer perspectives to workforce unit initiatives, ensuring the needs of consumers, families, carers and supporters are met.
The VMIAC and Tandem roles aim to strengthen consumer and family-carer perspectives on workforce policy and reform recommended by the Royal Commission.
Stay up-to-date and get involved
We have developed a calendar of engagement opportunities that includes upcoming workshops, expressions of interest, tender processes and other chances to contribute to the mental health and wellbeing system reforms.
Check this calendar for any engagement opportunities for lived and living experience workforces. You can also stay up to date by subscribing to the department’s Mental health reform twitter
Join the following participation registers to share your lived experience and play an active role in shaping the direction of Victoria’s mental health reforms:
New participation registers are planned to enable LLEWs in the AOD and Harm Reduction sectors to be involved in LLEW development projects.
Reviewed 20 December 2022