Organisational Readiness and Culture

People with lived and living experience of mental health and/or alcohol and other drug use may experience barriers that affect their entry to, or continued participation in, both paid and voluntary employment.
As the Lived Experience (Peer) Workforce continues to grow, demand for qualified candidates has increased. This has created a shortage of suitably trained applicants and highlights the need for strategies that can strengthen pathways into, and within, the workforce. Across the sector, organisations are working together to build the conditions that enable this workforce to thrive.

Lived experience is the essential foundation for designated Peer roles; however, it must be accompanied by the development of lived expertise through training, professional development, and ongoing reflective practice.^[2] Lived expertise is the purposeful application of knowledge, insights, and skills gained through lived experience, and is a prerequisite for a wide range of volunteer and paid Peer roles. This expertise is grounded not only in individual experiences but also in broader social justice and rights-based movements that inform the discipline.^[3]

To support ongoing growth and sustainability, strategies should create flexible and inclusive pathways for people to enter and progress within the Lived Experience (Peer) Workforce.

• Entry-level roles can provide opportunities to develop foundational skills and confidence while working towards formal training where appropriate.
• Structured professional development should be accessible for those seeking to move into specialised, senior or leadership roles, where qualifications such as the Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work, Intentional Peer Support training or equivalent may be relevant.[^[2]
• Foundational competencies can include knowledge of service systems, system navigation, harm reduction and abstinence-based recovery pathways, trauma-informed practice and advocacy skills.[ ^[2]Continuous learning, engagement with discipline-specific supports, and connection with the broader Peer community are critical for professional growth.
• Ongoing learning and connection with discipline-specific supports and the broader Peer community help maintain professional growth and strengthen workforce sustainability.

When employers recognise and respond to the barriers that people with lived experience may encounter such as through mentoring, supervision, flexible work arrangements and accessible entry points, they can help build a thriving, inclusive and sustainable workforce for both Peer and non-peer employees.

The Understanding Alcohol and Other Drug Lived and Living Experience Leadership report expands on the barriers faced specifically by the alcohol and other drug Lived and Living Experience (LLE) workforce. ^[4] It highlights several systemic, structural, and cultural challenges that impact both workforce participation and leadership opportunities:

• Stigma and Discrimination: Persistent stigma surrounding alcohol and other drug use is reinforced by criminalisation and societal attitudes. This extends into health systems, where LLE workers may experience discrimination from colleagues, harassment, or marginalisation within organisational hierarchies, particularly when LLE roles are undervalued compared to clinically trained roles.
• Role Ambiguity and Inadequate Training: Designated LLE roles in alcohol and other drug services often lack clear definitions, contributing to role confusion, conflicting expectations, and tokenism. Inadequate access to tailored training, supervision, and professional development further limits the effectiveness and professional identity of LLE workers.
• Career Advancement: The LLE label, while offering initial entry points into the workforce, can restrict long-term career progression. Worker’s report being confined to entry-level positions without clear pathways into leadership roles. Additionally, concerns remain that the stigma associated with LLE labels can limit opportunities outside of the alcohol and other drug sector.
• Leadership: Cultural resistance to LLE leadership, coupled with systemic preferences for formal qualifications over experiential knowledge, limits the establishment of LLE leaders across governance and decision-making bodies. The report also highlights the need for diverse and representative leadership structures, moving beyond tokenistic inclusion of single LLE representatives.

These insights underscore the importance of tailored strategies for the alcohol and other drug LLE workforce that address stigma, clarify roles, enhance training, ensure equitable career pathways, and embed LLE leadership at all levels of the system.

Depending on the size of your organisation, creating designated Lived Experience (Peer) leadership and management positions might be a viable option.

This could range from creating a designated Lived Experience line manager role that provides peer-centred operational support to the team of Lived Experience workers and/or supports education to other workforces regarding the Lived Experience workforces, through to designated Lived Experience directors, managers, and advisors who co-design and implement programs and provide strategic advice to the organisation.

As specialty areas grow within your organisation, an opportunity exists to create multiple designated Lived Experience (Peer) roles at all levels of service delivery, each bringing a Peer lens, filtered through the knowledge and expertise of their specialty area (e.g./ LGBTIQA+SB Senior Peer Educator, Director of First Nations Mental Health Services, Rural and Remote Alcohol and Other Drug Strategic Advisor etc.).

The unique discipline of the Lived Experience (Peer) Workforces is grounded in shared understandings and experiential knowledge. When recruiting, diversity should reflect not only cultural backgrounds but also the broad spectrum of lived experiences.

Lived Experience (Peer) work incorporates awareness of intersectionality and diversity across identities, communities (and within communities), life stages, and experiences of distress and service use. Building a workforce with a wide range of experiences and areas of focus increases both choice for consumers/clients and the likelihood of meaningful connection through shared experience.

The Lived Experience (Peer) Workforces Framework recognises three distinct workforces:

• Aboriginal Lived Experience (Peer) Workforce

• Consumer Lived Experience (Peer) Workforce

• Family/Significant Other/Carer Lived Experience (Peer) Workforce

For more information visit the Lived Experience (Peer) Work section of this website.

Further specialisations exist within each of these, shaped by shared lived experiences. For example, the work of a Consumer Lived Experience (Peer) worker in a rural context may differ significantly from that of an LGBTIQA+SB peer working in an urban emergency department. Despite these differences, all roles share a consistent foundation of values and peer-informed practice. For more information see page 18 of the Western Australian Lived Experience (Peer) Workforces Framework.

Your organisation may also like to consider using Sections 51 and 66R of the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (WA)^[5] to actively encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members and people with disability.

A supportive workplace contributes to increased skills, knowledge, and resilience, and to increased job engagement, decreased turnover and burnout.

Organisations should also have a range of mechanisms in place for all staff to ensure they can work effectively in what can be at times challenging environments. A positive work environment will position an organisation to be more likely to value lived experience and learn how to become recovery-oriented. For example, it will have clear polices and fair processes, training and development opportunities, strong supervision and reflective practice mechanisms for individuals and teams, flexible work arrangements and hours, access to Employee Assistance Programs (EAP).

Organisations are increasingly being prompted to bring on board HR, Marketing, Finance and Procurement teams to learn from lived experience and have opportunities to engage in reflective practice as related to their work and its intersection with lived experience engagement and participation. Working in this way enables organisational policies, practice, job adverts, websites, brochures, and other elements to be informed by lived experience perspectives. Thus, reflective practice can be useful for all teams, as well as frontline staff.

A Lived Experience (Peer) worker must have some experience and a contemporary understanding of recovery, healing and wellbeing and come into the role with their own wellbeing strategies and personal support networks as well as deep and rich connections to the consumer and/or significant other/carer movement/relevant communities and social justice aims. These strategies, as well as explaining organisational support, may form part of the selection criteria and recruitment processes.

Essentially, Lived Experience (Peer) workers, like the rest of the workforce, are expected to be able to self-manage their workloads and should not be ‘over supervised’. Trust goes a long way when it comes to best practice Lived Experience (Peer) work. Many Lived Experience (Peer) workers have found it unhelpful and paternalistic when a manager, or others in the organisation, make assumptions or express concerns about their wellbeing outside matters usually considered in relation to the rest of the workforce.

Treating all members of the organisational workforce equally works to ensure non-discriminatory responses. Creating a safe and inclusive workplace environments will support the entire workforce, including Lived Experience (Peer) workers, to discuss their individual preferences as well as explore flexibility as, and if, life crises, problems, or tragedy hits. These approaches, as well as organisational policies that provide for flexible work arrangements and reasonable adjustments are well regarded by all staff.

The National Mental Health Guidelines provide a range of resources and toolkits for employers to undertake organisational readiness actions to create conditions for Lived Experience (Peer) workforces to thrive.

In addition, the Mental Health Commission funded a webinar course which is aimed at Lived Experience (Peer) Workforces (including those entering the workforce) and allies to increase knowledge of the foundational principles of Lived Experience (Peer) work and its history in various settings. It will showcase insights from industry leaders who have diverse expertise in the area and be inclusive of the mental health, alcohol and other drugs and suicide prevention sectors. This series provides local Western Australian information on Lived Experience (Peer) Workforces.

Find the full YouTube series here. 

Further recommendations on training for organisational readiness are available on the Training & Development page.