Fund Our Agency

Fund Our Agency

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What is Recommendation 29? What is Our Agency?

Recommendation 29 of the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System called for a new agency led by people with lived experience of mental illness or psychological distress - we call it Our Agency.

Why do we need our agency? Why it’s important?

There is a long history of lived experience consumers leading the charge for the rights of people with mental health challenges and emotional distress. But the mental health sector has been slow to acknowledge and value the voices and contributions of lived experience consumers.

Consumer-led services and organisations ...

What is Recommendation 29? What is Our Agency?

Recommendation 29 of the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System called for a new agency led by people with lived experience of mental illness or psychological distress - we call it Our Agency.

Why do we need our agency? Why it’s important?

There is a long history of lived experience consumers leading the charge for the rights of people with mental health challenges and emotional distress. But the mental health sector has been slow to acknowledge and value the voices and contributions of lived experience consumers.

Consumer-led services and organisations are few and far between. Lived experience leadership progression and pathways within organisations and services are often unclear or just don't exist. And without connection and support, consumer lived experience leaders can become isolated.

Our Agency aims to address these issues. The purpose of Our Agency will be to help to connect and grow consumer-led initiatives, provide training and resources for consumer-leadership, develop consumer-led healing and support services, and embed consumer-led approaches across the mental health sector.

Why are VMIAC and SHARC campaigning about this? 

Although progress is being made on many Royal Commission recommendations, Recommendation 29 has not been implemented.

The board of Our Agency is yet to be established and no funding for Our Agency has been allocated.

Meanwhile, other new agencies and services are building and growing the foundations of our future system without reference to, connections with, or the benefit of input from Our Agency.

Consumer-led learning, innovation, leadership, and systemic involvement is at risk of being side-lined. We can’t afford the long history of marginalisation and disempowerment of consumers to continue.

How you can help:

We are calling on Premier, the Hon. Jacinta Allan MP; Treasurer, Mr Tim Pallas; and Minister for Mental Health, the Hon. Ingrid Stitt MLC to fund Our Agency and establish its board immediately.

You can help by adding your name to our open letter and by letting us know why consumer lived experience leadership is important to you.

 

Approved by Craig Wallace - Level 2, 211 Chapel St, Prahran VIC 3121

 

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Let the Premier, Treasurer, and Mental Health Minister know that you want Our Agency to be funded now:

Sign our open letter to let the Victorian Mental Health Minister, Treasurer, and Premier Jacinta Allan know you want Our Agency to be funded now.

Premier, the Hon. Jacinta Allan MP
Treasurer, Mr Tim Pallas
Minister for Mental Health, the Hon. Ingrid Stitt MLC

The people most affected by mental health services need to be leading transformation of Victoria’s mental health system. The Mental Health Royal Commission’s report was loud and clear about this.

The Victorian Government has committed to implementing all the Royal Commission recommendations in full. Recommendation 29 called for a new agency led by people with lived experience of mental ill health or psychological distress – we call it Our Agency.

Our Agency is set to foster development of consumer-led initiatives, provide training and resourcing for lived experience leadership and develop consumer-led healing and support services.

While welcoming the progress being made on many of the recommendations, we are increasingly concerned that Our Agency has not yet been funded, and its board has not been established.

Meanwhile, other new agencies and services are building and growing the foundations of our future system without reference to, connections with, or the benefit of input from Our Agency.

Instead of being at the centre of the mental health transformation, consumer-led learning, innovation, leadership, and systemic involvement are at risk of being sidelined. We can’t afford the long history of marginalisation and disempowerment of consumers to continue. Our Agency needs to be urgently established.

We call on the Victorian Government to fund Our Agency and work with the consumer movement to immediately appoint its board.

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