The lived and living experience workforces (LLEWs) is a collective term for individuals who draw on their personal experience, as well as lived and living experience principles and community perspectives, to inform their work.
The LLEWs encompass a broad range of roles that fall within two broad categories. These roles can provide support directly to consumers, families, carers and supporters through peer work or advocacy, or indirectly through leadership, consultation, system advocacy, training or research.
Victoria has a small but growing number of lived and living experience workers in the mental health, alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment, and harm reduction sectors. While these workforces support each other and share common values, each discipline also has its own unique history and traditions.
A central role in mental health reform
The Royal Commission made it clear that people with lived and living experience should play a central role in designing and delivering the new system. Nobody knows the mental health and wellbeing system better than the people who have experienced it firsthand.
LLEWs are not only needed to provide more safe and appropriate services. They also drive system change. For example, LLEWs can shift the culture of service delivery to be more person-centred and recovery oriented. A critical mass of empowered lived and living experience workers is needed to achieve this cultural change.
Growing and supporting the lived and living experience workforces
The Royal Commission's Interim Report (Recommendation 6) called for more lived and living experience workers across all levels of the mental health and wellbeing system. We are currently working to support LLEWs and to enable services to better understand and value the work of LLEWs.
The department works with different organisations in Victoria to provide development opportunities for LLEWs in the mental health, AOD treatment and harm reduction sectors. More than $51 million has been invested since 2020 to build the supports, structures and career pathways needed to ensure a solid foundation for growth.
Ten priority actions for LLEWs were identified in Victoria’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Strategy 2021-2024. The department has also partnered with LLEW experts to co-produce separate strategies for Victoria's consumer and family carer mental health , AOD peer , and harm reduction peer , because each workforce has its own unique needs. These strategies are intended to guide workforce development over the coming years.
If you have any questions about LLEW initiatives in Victorian state-funded mental health, alcohol and other drug and harm reduction services, please email livedexperienceworkforce@health.vic.gov.au.
For more information on our engagement with LLEWs, see Engaging with lived and living experience workforces.
Development opportunities for lived and living experience workforces
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Lived Experience Peer Cadet Program in community mental health services – underway
The Lived Experience Peer Cadet Program provides people with lived experience with an opportunity to engage in paid work experience while completing the Certificate IV qualification in Mental Health Peer Work.
The program first launched in 2022 in six mental health community support services: Neami , Mind , , Uniting Victoria , and .
The program expanded in 2023 to add an additional three services –Ballarat Community , Eating Disorders and . The program has one intake per year and applications will open for the next cohort in mid-2025.
Read more about the Lived Experience Peer Cadet Program.
Lived and Living Experience Workforce and Educator Grants
The Lived and Living Experience Workforce and Educator Grants support current lived and living experience workers in state-funded mental health, AOD, and harm reduction services to develop their leadership skills, education and training capabilities.
Lived and Living Experience Workforces University Scholarship Program – underway
The Lived and Living Experience Workforce University Scholarship program, part of the broader Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Scholarship program, offers scholarships of up to $13,000 to support university level qualifications to develop emerging and established leaders in the lived and living experience workforces.
These scholarships are administered by the Australian College of Nursing on behalf of the Victorian Department of Health. Read more about the Lived and Living Experience Workforce University Scholarship Program.
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Standardised training for lived and living experience workforces – in planning
As recommended by the Royal Commission’s interim report, the department has commissioned a standardised training package to support all lived and living experience (LLE) workers and those working alongside them. The 2021 Our Future was co-produced and delivered in partnership by Victorian LLE-led organisations to identify the required training content. Introductory training for each of the LLE workforces, and for non-LLE workers in mental health services to better understand and support lived experience roles, is currently being piloted and/or in development.
Additional training for lived and living experience workforces
The department also funds training for current LLE workers, delivered by established LLE training providers. Training offerings include:
- Intentional Peer
- Single Session Framework for the Carer Lived Experience
- The Hearing Voices
- Mind’s Peer Work
- Alternatives to
- Emotional
Lived and living experience workers in state-funded mental health, AOD and harm reduction services can access this training for free. Places are allocated via employers of LLEWs. For more information, please contact livedexperienceworkforce@health.vic.gov.au.
The Centre for Mental Health Learning also promotes training opportunities for LLEWs. Registration is now open to staff employed at:
- Area Mental Health and Wellbeing Services
- Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals
- Lived experience workforces working in either public clinical or community mental health state-funded roles.
Growing lived experience educator capacity – underway
Lived and living experience educators ensure that lived experience perspectives are integrated into all aspects of education and training provided in mental health, AOD, and harm reduction services. The department has established educator roles at partner agencies delivering lived and living experience workforce initiatives. In April 2024, an LLE Educator Community of Practice was held to define the roles of educators and identify their needs.
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Access to Supervision project
Discipline-specific supervision provides a formal structure for consumer and family/carer workers to reflect upon their practice and strengthen connection to lived experience values and principles. This is separate from line management or clinical supervision.
The Access to Supervision project aims to increase access to discipline-specific supervision, as part of the Royal Commission's recommendation to expand the capacity of Victoria’s lived and living experience workforces. Since 2021, the project has matched consumer and family/carer lived experience workers from mental health services with external discipline-specific supervisors.
Find out how to apply to receive supervision or provide supervision by visiting the Consumer and Family/Carer Perspective Supervision , hosted by the Centre for Mental Health Learning.
Consumer and Family/Carer Perspective Supervision training – underway
Consumer and Family/Carer Perspective Supervision Training was created to assist those who provide or plan to provide discipline-specific supervision to the consumer or family/carer lived experience workforces employed in mental health settings. These courses were developed by and for the consumer and family/carer workforces in Victoria.
Consumer
Training for consumer perspective supervisors is delivered by Inside Out and Associates. For more information or to express your interest in upcoming courses, visit the Inside Out .
Family/carer
Training for family/carer perspective supervisors was piloted in 2023 and delivered by the /Carer Lived Experience Workforce network partnership. For more information, or to join the CLEW Basecamp (online community of practice), email Jennifer.bite@tandemcarers.org.au.
Introduction to Consumer and Family/Carer Perspective Supervision - training for (non-LLEW) managers
Developed by the Centre for Mental Health Learning, this e-learning module provides an introduction to consumer and family/carer perspective supervision for non-LLEW managers, coordinators, and team leaders who manage and support the lived experience workforces. The course may also be helpful to those who are new to the workforce or who work alongside LLEWs.
To register for the training, visit Centre for Mental Health Learning .
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LLEW discipline frameworks and position descriptions – in planning
To guide future training and development for the lived and living experience workforces, the department has commissioned four lived and living experience-led agencies to develop discipline frameworks that articulate the values, principles and scope of practice of each of the workforces. All discipline frameworks are due to be launched in 2025. Banks of example position descriptions covering the broad range of LLE roles in each discipline are also in development to create consistency throughout the sector.
Communities of practice for consumer and carer consultants in mental health services
To support consumer and carer consultants working in Victorian public specialist mental health services, the department funds statewide coordinator positions at Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council and to support communities of practice. These meetings bring consumer and carer consultants together for practice development, co-reflection, and ensuring connection with the department.
Contact for further information.
Practice supports for AOD and harm reduction peer workers – underway
The department will continue to provide funding for positions at Harm Reduction Victoria and Self Help Addiction Resource Centre that provide comprehensive practice supports (such as supervision and access to communities of practice) for harm reduction and AOD peer workers.
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The Mental Health Workforce Wellbeing Committee has been established to identify, monitor and address health, safety and wellbeing needs of staff in the mental health and wellbeing workforce.
The Centre for Mental Health is currently exploring options for a sustainable model for a lived experience-led Employee Assistance Program.
Big Feels At Work
Big Feels At is a podcast and audio resource for workers with lived experience, produced by The Big Feels , an online peer support community. The podcast was designed especially for those in non-designated lived and living experience roles, including clinicians, who face the unique demands of working in mental health or addictions while facing their own challenges.
Lived and living experience leadership development
Lived and Living Experience Leadership Strategy – in planning
A Lived and Living Experience Leadership Strategy is currently in development in partnership with lived and living experience experts from across the sector. It is intended to provide a shared roadmap to elevate and embed lived and living experience across the mental health, AOD and harm reduction workforces. A draft strategy is planned for release for sector consultation in late 2024/early 2025. Lived and living experience leadership outcomes will be specified in the strategy and subject to implementation.
Consumers Leading in Governance (CLIG) program
The CLIG training program aims to develop consumers for future roles in governance across the mental health sector, as recommended by the Royal Commission's final report. It is the first governance training program for consumers in Australia. successfully piloted the training in 2022 and delivered a further two rounds of training in 2024.
Organisational readiness
Guidance and assessment tool for employers of LLEWs
Organisational readiness initiatives are critical to create safe and sustainable employment conditions for the lived and living experience workforces. In a new program informed by the National Lived Experience (Peer) Workforce Development Guidelines and led by Dr Louise Byrne, lived and living experience technical experts will support LLEW employers to undertake a guided assessment of their current conditions for LLEWs and subsequently implement improvement strategies. The tools are currently being tested and the program is planned to launch in early 2025.
Lived and Living Experience Workforce Learning Collaborative
A new collaborative model co-delivered by the Program for Recovery and Community Health at Yale University and aims to build networks and mentoring between organisations who employ LLEWs to better understand and enable authentic lived experience work.
The first Australian pilot program runs for 12 months, commencing in November 2024. A second cohort will commence in 2025. Organisations that employ lived and living experience workforces within the Victorian mental health and drug and alcohol sectors are eligible to apply.
For more information about the Lived Experience Workforce Learning Collaborative and other organisational readiness initiatives, email livedexperienceworkforce@health.vic.gov.au.
Evidence base
Evidence, evaluation and expert advice is needed to ensure LLEWs are supported, valued and sustained. To do this, the department supports a number of projects (see below) and funds both the Consumer Academic Program at the Centre for Mental Health Nursing and a carer academic position at The Bouverie .
Lived Experience Workforce Positions Report 2019-20 – complete
This report updates data collected by the department and reported in 2017 about LLEW positions in state-funded mental health services. Additional 2019-20 data includes AOD workforce in treatment and harm reduction services. Future datae will be collected through the broader mental health and wellbeing workforce census with reports published annually.
Lived and Living Experience Workforces Data Project Report
The Lived and Living Experience Workforces Data Project aims to create a baseline of the experiences of Victoria’s LLEW to help inform the development of new accountability processes.
As part of the project, 2 surveys were conducted in 2022:
- a survey for mental health, alcohol and other drugs, and harm reduction service delivery organisations
- a survey for lived and living experience workers.
The key findings from the surveys highlighted in the report establish a baseline against which the department and organisations that employ LLEW can measure change over time.
Lived and living experience workforce research grants – in planning
The Our Future highlights the importance of growing the evidence base for LLEW development. The department will be working with , the , , the and on research grants programs to achieve this.
Reviewed 23 December 2024