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What we are learning from the Lived and Living Experience workforce development program

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This update shares key achievements from the Lived and Living Experience Workforce Development Program to June 2025.

 

Oversight of the program has now transitioned from the Department of Health to the Collaborative Centre. We are honoured to be supporting program partners to continue delivering valued initiatives for the Lived and Living Experience workforce.

 

This work reflects what we are learning together about how to grow, support and sustain the Lived and Living Experience workforce, and how this contributes to a more connected and responsive mental health system. It is part of building a learning mental health system, where experience, evidence and practice come together to inform what happens next.

 

A report on the first three years of the program is currently in development for publication in mid-2026.

 

Early highlights include:

  • Workforce and educator development grants awarded to 92 LLEW to support development in areas of their choice (up to $5k). 

  • Launched The Collective, introducing a new cross-disciplinary LLE-led entity to deliver LLEW development.  

  • Delivered five discipline frameworks, strengthening clarity and consistency across LLE roles 

  • AOD family carer peer workforce 

  • AOD peer workforce 

  • Consumer mental health lived experience workforce 

  • Family carer mental health lived experience workforce 

  • Harm reduction peer workforce 

  • Came together for a sector-wide LLEW Forum, creating space for connection, learning, and shared reflection – approximately 250 attendees 

 

Achievements across core workstreams include: 

Qualifications and Career Pathways 

  • 83 cadets have graduated from the Peer Cadet Program since 2022, providing entry to peer support work for students of the Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work, with a further 34 graduating in 2026. 

  • Established the LLE Career Compass, strengthening navigation and visibility of workforce pathways– coordination and support for DH funded early career programs 

  • Commenced a pilot placement program to ensure all students completing the Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work get access to a placement.  

  • Awarded 67 LLEW scholarships of up to $13k for LLEW to complete tertiary studies to end June 2025. 

 

Supervision 

  • Delivered supervision training for consumer and carer workforces, resulting in an increase in approved supervisors: 

  • 114 consumers trained in Consumer Perspective Supervision 

  • 44 family carers trained in Carer Perspective Supervision 

  • Since 2022 discipline specific supervision has been supported with DH funding of up to $1500 per annum for: 

  • 202 family carer workers 

  • 321 consumer workers  

 

Training provided to participants across the following LLE-led training  (to 30 June 2025) 

  • 173 participants in Peer Work Program 

  • 489 participants trained in Intentional Peer Support (IPS) 

  • 62 participants in emotional CPR (eCPR),  

  • 61 participants in Alternatives to Suicide training (Alt2Su)  

  • 258 participants in Hearing Voices  

 

Leadership and Organisational Readiness 

  • Commenced delivery of two programs providing support to employers of LLEW – including the Learning Collaborative, a 12-month program of learning and technical expertise provided by Yale University & SHARC