Recommendation 30

What the Royal Commission said

The Royal Commission recommended the Victorian Government develop key roles across the mental health and wellbeing system for people with lived experience as family members and carers.

This includes enabling the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission to:

• elevate the leadership and promote the valued role of family members and carers of people living with mental illness or psychological distress throughout the mental health and wellbeing system
• develop and support the leadership and governance capabilities of families and carers of people living with mental illness or psychological distress through learning and development opportunities.

The Royal Commission also called on the Victorian Government to ensure that:

• in commissioning mental health and wellbeing services, expectations are set for working with families, carers and supporters;
• families, carers and supporters are included in a range of therapeutic interventions in each Area Mental Health and Wellbeing Service; and
• working with families, carers and supporters is part of system-wide workforce training.

The Royal Commission also recommended the Victorian Government develop standards for services and practitioners to guide the sharing of appropriate information with families, carers and supporters.

What we've achieved

We have:

• Established eight new Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect centres, which are now operational across Victoria. As first-of their kind, they provide free services to those who are supporting people living with mental health and substance use challenges or psychological distress. There is a significant peer workforce comprised of nearly 90 per cent designated lived and living experience roles delivering a peer-led service model.
• Created 246 designated roles for people with lived experience in both clinical and community settings across Victoria to advise and lead in the design and implementation of the reform agenda.
• Funded the Family and Carer Research Advocacy Network report, Changing Lives: The Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect centre family carer lived experience workforce story, to provide evidence-based advice for improving how family carer lived and living experience is recognised, supported and embedded across the Connect centres.

What we're doing

• We continue to progress embedding lived experience in the leadership, design and delivery of Area Mental Health and Wellbeing Services, Local Mental Health and Wellbeing Services, Non-Governmental Organisations and Forensicare.
• Work is also underway on an inaugural Lived and Living Experience Leadership Framework. Read more on the Recommendation 28 page .
• Recommendation 31 has more information about reforms to support families, carers and supporters.