Lived Experience - Consumer Consultant ICYMHS

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• Fixed term, parental leave cover until October 2026
• Part time, 22.8 hours per week
• Austin Hospital location with multiple public transport options

Austin Health is the major provider of tertiary health services, health professional education and research across three campuses in the north-east of Melbourne and statewide. We have a highly engaged, diverse and collaborative workforce that is unified by our goal to help people live healthy and fulfilled lives. 

About the Department

The Mental Health Division provides care and services through a comprehensive range of teams to meet the needs of mental health consumers and carers throughout Victoria. Services are across Adult and Older Adult, Infant, Child and Youth as well as Speciality Services and can be bed based or located in the community.  

The Child and Youth Mental Health Service (ICYMHS) sits within the Mental Health Division and provides tertiary mental health services to the north-eastern catchment of Melbourne (currently the local government areas of Banyule, Boroondara, Darebin, Nillumbik, Whittlesea, and Yarra). Young people eligible for the service are aged 0-25.  

About the role 

ICYMHS is seeking an experienced Lived and Living Experience Consultant to join our team and help shape the future of consumer and carer engagement.

We are currently redefining our feedback, participation, and engagement framework to ensure meaningful involvement from consumers and carers in all aspects of service design and delivery.

This role offers the chance to be part of a transformative approach to mental health care—where lived experience is not only valued but central to how we improve services. You will work collaboratively to connect consumers and carers with initiatives that enhance the quality, responsiveness, and inclusivity of our care.

A regular day in this role will see you:

• Be a driving force in embedding lived experience into service improvement.

• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to ensure consumer and carer voices are heard and acted upon.
• Support the development of innovative engagement strategies and feedback mechanisms.
• Help build a culture of co-design and partnership across ICYMHS.

About you

To be successful in this role, you'll bring with you:

• Experience in the consumer lived and living experience space in a public mental health service. 
• Relevant training for this emerging profession group- i.e.: Intentional Peer Support Training and/or Certificate 4 in Mental Health.  
• Past experience as a consumer of an ICYMHS. 

Our benefits 

Working at Austin Health means enjoying a strong sense of purpose, engaging in meaningful work every day. Our people also receive a variety of rewarding benefits, including: 

• Greater take-home pay through generous salary packaging, for living expenses, meals, and holiday accommodation. 
• A suite of wellness initiatives designed to support you, including discounted fitness memberships and special offers on health insurance, and a comprehensive wellbeing program. 
• Onsite childcare at Austin Hospital, easy access via public transport and car parking options. 
• Mentoring and career development opportunities. 

Work with us! 

We are committed to cultural safety and health equity for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander People. We celebrate, value, and include people of all backgrounds, genders, identities, cultures, bodies, and abilities. We welcome and support applications from talented people identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, people with disability, neurodiverse people, LGBTQIA+ and people of all ages and cultures. 

If you feel this role is right for you, we encourage your early application. Even if you don’t meet every single requirement, we encourage you to apply. What matters most is your passion, your drive and your willingness to learn and contribute. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and interviews may take place prior to the closing date. This means we reserve the right to close a job ad prior to the advertised closing date. 

All appointments are made subject to a satisfactory National Police Check and if required, a Working with Children Check. If you require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, you are welcome to reach out to the hiring manager: Sue Wells, Divisional Director Mental Health at Sue.Wells@austin.org.au

Interested in finding out more about this opportunity? Read the position description for further details. 

Application closing date: Monday 13 October 2025