Wellways is proud to announce the opportunity for two Lived and Living Experience Co-Chairs to join the brand-new Lived and Living Experience Authority in an industry-first initiative.

The Board of Wellways has undertaken an extensive codesign process over the last 12 months, with consumers, carers, and service users to create a Lived and Living Experience Authority to sit alongside the Board as a key and critical adviser, to examine every level of the organisation with the lens of lived and living experience expertise.

This initiative seeks to break through traditional power structures to create something new and contemporary, consistent both with the vision of the Royal Commission and with the vision, purpose, and values of Wellways.

Wellways CEO, Laura Collister with Wellways Board Chair, Michael Gorton

“We as an executive team and as an organisation are ready to embrace the new Authority, we are ready to support the new Authority, and be made accountable to the new Authority to ensure that lived and living experience is central in all we do.”

Laura Collister, CEO

The Royal Commission’s findings of systemic failure in the mental health system to meet peoples’ needs, and the failure to listen to the voices of people with lived and living experience is something Wellways take seriously. And we do not consider ourselves immune from this finding.

Wellways, as a grassroots organisation, has long held a commitment to the development of lived and living experience participation and leadership. We were a pioneer in the development of peer work and peer education and have had lived and living experience represented at policy, operational and governance levels in various forms over many years.

As an organisation we have embarked on a reflective and courageous journey to bring lived and living experience, the centrepiece of systems transformation, to life and we are thrilled to now be recruiting for two Board Chair roles for the LLE Authority.

After these roles have been appointed, Wellways will work closely with the Authority to establish its official identity and formally launch this new level of governance to consumers and partners.

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More information

For more information on the advertised positions or the LLE Authority development, please contact [email protected]

For Media enquiries: Sophia Capek, [email protected]