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We connect Lived and Living Experience leadership, innovative service delivery and cutting-edge research to drive ground-breaking change to Victoria’s mental health and wellbeing system

About the Collaborative  Centre

The Collaborative Centre was established to lead genuine and lasting transformation across the mental health and wellbeing system.

Meet the Team

Meet our new Senior Workforce Development Facilitator, Consumer Perspective.

We're delighted to welcome Erin Hill to the Collaborative Centre as our new Senior Workforce Development Facilitator, Consumer Perspective.

Meet our new Senior Workforce Development Facilitator, Lived Experience -Family/Carer Perspective

We're delighted to welcome Karen McKnight to the Collaborative Centre as our new Senior Workforce Development Facilitator, Lived Experience -Family/Carer Perspective

Masthead - 1920x1080 - Dumplings Against Depression

Spotlight on multicultural mental health: Sharing dumplings, sharing ideas

How can Victoria’s mental health system become more culturally responsive, psychologically safe and inclusive of the diverse communities it serves?
Through our shared love of food, connection and conversation is certainly one way!

Meet our new Lived Experience Sector Partnerships Officer

We're delighted to welcome Melissa Mendoza to the Collaborative Centre as our new Lived Experience Sector Partnerships Officer

Meet our new Manager, Lived Experience Sector Partnerships.

We're delighted to welcome Leanne Burn to the Collaborative Centre as our new Manager, Lived Experience Sector Partnerships.

Spotlight on multicultural communities

This Spotlight focuses on an important section of Capability Three – Working with diverse consumers, families and communities - multicultural communities.

Inside the Lived and Living Experience Governance Committee

Dr Robyn Callaghan and Sam Hayward lead the Lived and Living Experience Governance Committee, guiding reform through shared leadership and humanity.

The Power and Privilege of Psychiatric Leadership

Podcast - Leadership in mental health isn’t just about expertise — it’s about how power and privilege shape the spaces we share.

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Update from the Co-CEO, Professor Sarah Wilson

An update from the Collaborative Centre from the Co-CEO, Professor Sarah Wilson.

Victoria's First Peer-led Mental Health Service

The Collaborative Centre welcomes the announcement of Victoria’s first peer-led mental health service based in Greater Geelong.

Access To Supervision Project Funding - APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN

The Access to Supervision Project (ASP) 2025/2026 provides funding for discipline-specific supervision to the consumer and family/carer lived experience workforces in Mental Health Services in Victoria. Funding is provided by The Victorian Department of Health, managed by The Collective, with support from VMIAC and Tandem.

Public Consultation: Clinical Practice Guideline for the Appropriate Use of MDMA-assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD

The consultation on the guidelines will run until 31 August 2025 for anyone who is interested in providing their input via the feedback form.

Meet our new Manager, Sector Capability (Lived Experience)

We're delighted to welcome Leanna Azoury to the Collaborative Centre as our new Manager, Sector Capability (Lived Experience)

Welcoming the secondees from CMHL

This week, the Collaborative Centre has been delighted to welcome a wonderful team of statewide workforce educators from the Centre for Mental Health Learning (CMHL).

New toolkit will help drive lived experience-led research

Welcome Andrew O’Sullivan & Jasmine Routley

Andrew O’Sullivan as our new Manager, Sector Capability and Jasmine Routley as our Events Lead.

The Collaborative Centre funds a range of translational research projects.

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The Open Dialogue Research Project

Lived Experience Leadership & Engagement

Common Ground: The Lived & Living Experience Research Toolkit Project

Social Network Analysis Pilot Project

Community-based models of care facilitating the recovery of people living with persistent and complex mental health needs: a systematic review and narrative synthesis

This systematic review examined community-based mental health models supporting recovery for people with persistent, complex mental health needs. Analysing 59 studies across eight model types, researchers found promising evidence for intensive case management and integrated community treatment, but noted limited focus on personal recovery outcomes and insufficient consumer involvement in research design.

Victorian Suicide Prevention and Response Strategy 2024-2034

The Victorian suicide prevention and response strategy 2024-2034 outlines a 10-year whole-of-government approach to reduce suicide across all Victorian communities. Developed through extensive co-design with people with lived experience, it focuses on six priority areas: connected systems, strengthened supports, capable workforces, community action, government collaboration, and evidence-based delivery.

Mental Health and Wellbeing Act

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 (Vic) is the primary piece of legislation with respect to mental health in Victoria and is the backbone of the regulatory framework for mental health. It is intended to ensure that Victorians obtain the highest standard of mental health and wellbeing and to reform the mental health system in accordance with the vision and recommendations of the 2021 Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System.

Elimination of restrictive practices from acute adult mental health care services: A qualitative evidence synthesis of the lived experience literature.

This qualitative evidence synthesis explores the perceptions and experiences of mental health service users and practitioners regarding the use and proposed elimination of restrictive practices, such as seclusion and physical/mechanical restraint, in acute adult mental health care services.

The appropriateness of DUNDRUM-3 and DUNDRUM-4 for Maori in forensic mental health services in New Zealand: participatory action research

The Auckland Regional Forensic Psychiatry Services (ARFPS) in New Zealand has introduced structured clinical judgment instruments developed in Ireland (DUNDRUM-3 and DUNDRUM-4) to assist staff decision-making regarding service users’ clinical pathways. In New Zealand, Māori (the indigenous people) constitute 43% of the in-patient forensic mental health population. The aim of this study was to determine the face validity of the measures for Māori.