The Royal Commission recommends that the Victorian Government, through the Mental Health Implementation Office, expands the consumer and family-carer lived experience workforces and enhances workplace supports for their practice. This program of work should be co-produced with people with lived experience and representatives of lived experience workforces and be implemented across area mental health services and identified nongovernment organisations comprising:
- the development and implementation of continuing learning and development pathways, educational and training opportunities and optional qualifications for lived experience workers, including adding the Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work to the free TAFE course list • new organisational structures, capability and programs within services to enable practice supports, including coaching and supervision for lived experience workers
- delivery of a mandatory, organisational readiness and training program for senior leaders, and induction materials for new staff, that focus on building shared understanding of the value and expertise of lived experience workers
- implementation of ongoing accountability mechanisms for measuring organisational attitudes and the experiences of lived experience workers, including establishing a benchmark in 2020 of the experience of lived experience workers.