PROPOSED NEW NATIONAL

MENTAL HEALTH CONSUMER

BODY
Summary of discussion paper
prepared by Craze Lateral
Solutions

A Way Ahead Queensland

 ROLE OF NEW BODY
• Advocate for change through provision of
advice to Government
• Provide national leadership on consumer
engagement and participation
• Provide national leadership on consumer
organisation and service development
• Engage the community in promoting a
positive understanding of people with
mental illness and their lived experience
A Way Ahead Queensland
 KEY AREAS OF WORK
• Policy development, lobbying & systemic
advocacy
• Research & information development &
dissemination
• Resource development & dissemination
• Engagement with community & media
• Membership development & services
• National projects & collaborations
A Way Ahead Queensland
 PEAK BODIES
• Association established to act on behalf of
members when lobbying government or
promoting the interests of the members.
• Examples of Australian national peaks:
– Athletics Australia
– ACTU
– Australian Youth Affairs Coalition
– ACOSS
– AFDO

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 POSSIBLE MODELS FOR NEW
BODY
1. Peak of individuals
2. Peak of peaks
3. Peak of organisations
4. Hybrid peak

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 1. PEAK OF PEAKS
• Peak body of peak mental health
consumer organisations
It is difficult to find enough genuine
consumer bodies in Australia for there
to be a need for a peak to represent
them

A Way Ahead Queensland

 Australian Examples of Peaks of
Peaks
• Athletics Australia
• ACTU
• Australian Youth Affairs Coalition
• ACOSS
• AFDO

A Way Ahead Queensland

 International Mental Health Consumer
Example—
US NCMHCSO
Members
• Groups whose members are consumers and which are
governed by consumers, and
• Regularly communicate with networks to ensure they are
inclusive & representative
• Boards endorse in writing mission & purpose
• Collaboratively work out of differences
• Advocate that the voice of consumers be central to
decision making at all levels

A Way Ahead Queensland

 Suggestions in Discussion Paper
CONSUMER NOT CONSUMER or
• CAN (Mental Health) CONSUMER/CARER
• Multi-cultural MHN • GROW
• PANDA • Hearing Voices
• VMIAC • Blue Voices
• ACT MHCN • Private MH Consumer Carer
Network
Maybe
• Inspire Foundation
• NSW CAG (members don’t
• NMHCCF
have to be consumers; 50% of
Board does) • Queensland Voice
• Top End MHCN (no info on • Butterfly Foundation
net) • Mental Health Association of
• Health Consumers Alliance of Central Australia
SA

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 2. Peak of Individuals
• Diverse individual membership

Needs a way to ensure effective two-way

communication between grass roots and
decision makers

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 Australian Examples of Peaks of
Individuals
• AMA
• Australian Conservation Foundation
• Political parties (except ALP)
• Australian Union of Students
• Medical Colleges
• Australian Psychological Association

A Way Ahead Queensland

 International Mental Health Consumer
Example—
VOX Scotland

Members must be over 16 years and have,

or have had, personal experience of
mental health problems and live, work or
study in Scotland.

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 Peak of Organisations
Similar to Peak of Peaks, except that any
consumer organisation can be a member.

Similar problem to the first model—there are

very few consumer organisations

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 Australian Examples of Peaks of
Organisations
• Homelessness Australia

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 Hybrid Model
Membership comprising individuals, national
and state consumer organisations and
other consumer organisations

Probably the most feasible model right now,

owing to the lack of genuine, independent
consumer organisations in Australia at this
time.

A Way Ahead Queensland

 International Mental Health Consumer
Example—
NSUN
Individual users and user groups as well as
allies, both individuals and groups, can
join.

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Why do we need a peak consumer
body
• To provide an organised way of informing
government, services, professions and
other organisations about mental health
from a consumer perspective
• To provide an avenue for consumers to be
informed about developments in mental
health locally, regionally, nationally and
internationally

A Way Ahead Queensland

Why is it important that the body be
a consumer body
• Consumers are the people most directly affected
by the way mental health services are delivered
• Consumers interests are not identical with those
of any other participants in the mental health
sector, although they might be aligned with them
at times
• Consumer leadership is a necessity for the
health and well-being of people who have lived
experience of mental illness

A Way Ahead Queensland

What underpins recovery

• Hope
• Connectedness
• Self-determination

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 Individual autonomy,
self esteem, and health
are linked together
(Michael Marmot, 2003

A Way Ahead Queensland