Peer Worker

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• Permanent part time Peer Worker – Adolescent Inpatient Unit 
• Make a lasting impact on the lives of patients, their families and carers in this lived experience role
• Connect, learn and collaborate with our multidisciplinary team

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 Adolescent Inpatient Unit

The Adolescent Inpatient Unit (AIPU) is a small 11-bed inpatient unit located at the Austin Hospital in Heidelberg, that works closely with young people and their carers to achieve positive outcomes in all areas of functioning. The unit is part of the broader Infant Child Youth Mental Health Service (ICYMHS).  

Adolescents who have turned 13 (but are not yet 18 years of age) are admitted for mental health assessment and treatment when their presentation presents high levels of risk, or when a more specialised service is required for assessment and treatment. These young people may be experiencing significant acute and complex emotional, behavioural and/or social difficulties and have usually had some outpatient treatment.  

The team is well supported by the Austin School teaching staff who work to keep young people connected to their home schools or help them reconnect to appropriate educational pathways. 

About the role 

The Lived Experience – Consumer Peer Worker will provide one-on-one peer support and will help facilitate consumer groups as part of the LEW for the broader ICYMH Service. They will be a valuable member of the AIPU multi-disciplinary team, contributing to the maintenance of a positive, inclusive, and responsive therapeutic milieu, through supporting consumers who come to the AIPU and clinical colleagues, leading to improved experiences of therapeutic care and outcomes. 

About you 

We are seeking a compassionate and recovery-focused Lived Experience Consumer Peer Worker to join the team. Drawing on your own lived experience, you will walk along side young people through their recovery journeys and contribute to a positive, inclusive, and trauma-informed therapeutic environment. Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, you will support recovery-oriented care through one-on-one peer support, group facilitation, advocacy, collaboration, and service improvement, while helping amplify the voice and experiences of consumers within the broader mental health service

To be successful in this role you’ll bring with you:

• Lived experience of Cert IV in Mental Health Peer Work or 12 months prior experience in a peer role
• Strong interpersonal skills, empathy, and cultural sensitivity 
• Commitment to maintaining wellbeing and professional boundaries 

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. Austin Health is a child safe organisation, committed to upholding the rights, safety, and wellbeing of children and young people in line with Child Safe Standards. If you require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, you are welcome to reach out to the hiring manager: Whitney Cornell, Nurse Unit Manager at Whitney.Cornell@austin.org.au

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

Application closing date: Thursday 25 June 2026