Consumer participation - an action plan for consumer involvement

Consumer participation in Victoria’s public mental health services is fundamental to ensuring an effective and responsive system.

The action plan emerged from over a decade of dedicated and planned effort by consumers, mental health services and the Victorian government, to improve consumer participation across all dimensions of the public mental health system. The plan and its strategies seek to unite stakeholder expectations and aspirations for consumer participation. It recognises that the consumer `lived experience’ is needed to inform and shape practice across policy and service delivery, planning, development and evaluation.

The action plan provides opportunity for the enhancement of public mental health services by validating and facilitating greater consumer input across services.

Strengthening Consumer Participation in Victoria’s Public Mental Health Services Action Plan (PDF file 4.46mb) - May 2009