Behind the line: Poverty and disadvantage in Australia 2022

The guide published by the National Mental Health Commission sets out both the why and the how of consumer and carer engagement in mental health services. It argues that involving people with lived experience is not a token gesture, but central to designing safe, effective and person-centred care. 

It presents a clear framework of best-practice principles, including:

⦁ Recognising consumers and carers as equal partners with expertise derived from lived experience. 
⦁ Ensuring organisational culture, resources (time, money, support) and leadership commit to engagement being routine, not exceptional. 
⦁ Matching the level of engagement to the task at hand—ranging from consultation through to citizen-led initiatives. 
⦁ Planning and delivering engagement activities thoughtfully, with clarity of roles, expectations, support and feedback. 
⦁ Evaluating engagement, learning from experience, and improving over time. 

The guide includes practical case-examples of engagements, helps organisations map existing practice onto the engagement spectrum, and encourages adaptation to local contexts. 

For community-work professionals, mental-health services or policy roles, this resource provides:
⦁ A robust foundation for designing engagement strategies that genuinely involve consumers and carers rather than simply informing them.
⦁ Practical tools to embed lived-experience perspectives into governance, program design, evaluation and service improvement.
⦁ A structured approach to move from rhetoric to meaningful participation—ensuring your service or program can demonstrate how consumers/carers contribute and influence outcomes.