Dr Michael Gardner, Head of the NSPO, said the LEPG has been established to ensure that people with a lived experience of suicide are partners in the work of the organisation, a requirement of lasting reform as outlined in the Final Advice and the Productivity Commission of Inquiry into Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.
“Today’s announcement is foundational for the NSPO. The Lived Experience Partnership Group will play a critical role in helping deliver lasting reform of the national suicide prevention system.”
The LEPG was recruited for purpose. It will act, alongside the NSPO Advisory Board, as a key source of guidance for the NSPO on the direction and development of national suicide prevention policy. As part of this role, the LEPG will, in the first instance, assist the NSPO in the development of Australia’s National Suicide Prevention Strategy and guide the development of a National Suicide Prevention Outcomes Framework.
Ina Mullin, Director of Partnerships and Engagement at the NSPO, said that the 14 members of the LEPG were selected from 182 expressions of interest received.
“The NSPO team was humbled by the incredible generosity of all the members of the community who submitted expressions of interest and were willing to utilise their own lived experience to contribute to developing a more compassionate and effective suicide prevention system. It takes tremendous courage to revisit some of your darkest and most challenging moments, and we are profoundly grateful to every person who put themselves forward to work for the benefit of the broader Australian community.”
The LEPG encompasses an exceptional breadth and depth of lived experience of suicide and lived experience leadership from a diverse range of perspectives.
“The LEPG brings together new, emerging, and established leaders from across all states and territories. It includes individuals identifying as young Australians, older Australians, and people living with neurodiversity. There are representatives from Aboriginal, LGBTIQA+ and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities, as well as people living with disability and chronic health challenges. This diversity of insights will be invaluable in informing every aspect of the work of the NSPO, and the team looks forward to working in partnership with, and learning from, the LEPG members.”
To view the complete list of LEPG members and their diversity of expertise, please click here.
The Lived Experience Partnership Group will provide expert advice to the Head of the National Suicide Prevention Office to support the work and development of suicide prevention system reform. It will help progress the work of the NSPO by:
- Ensuring lived experience insights and knowledge are incorporated into the operations and work of the NSPO, including the development of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy and National Suicide Prevention Outcomes Framework.
- Providing subject matter expertise to the NSPO on current and emerging issues
- Advising on current and emerging policy based on the expertise of members
- Advising the NSPO on effective and inclusive ways of meaningfully partnering with people with lived experience of suicide in the performance of its duties
- Providing advice on engagement activities, such as targeted advisory groups, to ensure inclusive and equitable opportunities for influence
- Identifying any potential barriers to the success of the work of the NSPO and opportunities to address these.
The NSPO is committed to ensuring our work is guided and informed by partnerships with people with lived experience of suicide and draws on the rich combined knowledge and expertise of individuals, communities, service providers, advocates, researchers and government agencies.
To register to be informed of future consultation opportunities with the NSPO, please click here.