Mental Health Lived Experience Peak Queensland

19/08/2026

MHLEPQ stands with the National Mental Health Consumer Alliance, the Indigenous Australian Lived Experience Centre, and our fellow state and territory lived experience peak bodies in responding to the passage of the NDIS Reform Bill.

This is not reform — it is a step backwards from the NDIS’s rights-based promise of dignity, autonomy and equal participation for people with disability.

We are deeply concerned that the legislation places short-term savings ahead of people’s rights and wellbeing. Sustainability must not be achieved by weakening rights or shifting further pressure onto people with disability, families, communities, and already overstretched systems.

What is at stake:
- Cuts to social and community participation supports that help people stay connected.
- Greater risk of isolation, crisis, hospitalisation and worsening mental health.
- Stricter “permanence” requirements that may exclude people who do not wish to undertake treatments they consider harmful, including electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
- Disproportionate impacts on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, families and communities.

Read our joint tatement in full here: chrome-extensio://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://static-gcs.edit.site/users-files/jdj5jdewjfjvn0ribe9rdxj5vef1yth4/20260819-ndis-joint-media-release.pdf

19/08/2026

📣 Rockhampton, we want to hear from you!

Do you have experience accessing peer or psychosocial supports, or local knowledge to share? Join MHLEPQ for a focus group on Thursday 3 September and help shape better support in your community.

📍 Rockhampton | 🗓️ 3 September
💰 Paid participation applies

*Register your interest by 31 August.

07/08/2026

📢Are you a peer worker with experience delivering psychosocial support? We'd love to hear from you.

MHLEPQ is seeking Expressions of Interest from peer workers to take part in an online focus group for the A Brighter Future Project.

This important project will contribute to a landmark report exploring the evidence and value of lived experience-led psychosocial supports.

We're looking to hear from people with experience delivering psychosocial services, including:

- Partners in Recovery / PHaMs
- Commonwealth Psychosocial Support Program (CPS)
- NDIS Psychosocial Recovery Coaching
- Non-clinical supports in homelessness, alcohol and other drugs, su***de prevention, employment services, or similar settings

📅 The focus group will be held online in September.

Places are limited, and Expressions of Interest may close early if we receive a high level of interest. Successful applicants will be contacted following a selection process.

💬 Participants will attend as individuals, sharing their own lived experience and professional insights—not representing their employer.

💰 Paid participation is available for individuals who are not otherwise compensated by their organisation.

If you're passionate about strengthening the evidence for lived experience-led psychosocial supports, we'd love to hear from you.

Submit your Expression of Interest today via the link in our bio.

06/08/2026

This week, members of the MHLEPQ team were proud to attend TheMHS Conference in Sydney, connecting with colleagues, peers and leaders from across Australia who are working to improve mental health outcomes.

It was inspiring to hear innovative ideas, celebrate the achievements of the sector, and connect with so many people who are passionate about creating a more inclusive, recovery-oriented mental health system.

Thank you to everyone we met and connected with throughout the conference. We look forward to continuing to work together to advance lived experience leadership and meaningful systems change.💙

31/07/2026

📢We're teaming up with QCOSS to deliver a Research and Evaluation Network webinar on human rights, lived experience and evaluation.

We’ll explore how human rights and lived experience can shape more ethical, impactful evaluation practice across the mental health system.

Head to QCOSS for more info!

29/07/2026

🌟Arafmi Mental Health Carer Forum

We’re deeply grateful for the opportunity to keep learning from each other, share insights, and strengthen the ways we show up in support of mental health carers across Queensland.

26/07/2026

📢Non-government mental health and wellbeing services in Queensland are facing a serious funding gap, putting vital community supports, including psychosocial services, at risk of cuts, longer waits, and reduced access for the people who need them most.

Read the full article below!
🔗https://www.croakey.org/mental-health-and-wellbeing-services-are-at-risk-in-queensland-from-a-funding-gap/

Non-government organisations providing mental health and wellbeing services in Queensland are caught in a funding crunch as the Queensland Government is indexing their funding at a lower rate than their wages costs are increasing.

24/07/2026

💡 MHLEPQ is delighted to be part of TheMHS 2026 Conference!

TheMHS Conference is one of Australia's leading mental health forums, bringing together people with lived and living experience, families, carers, practitioners, researchers, policymakers and leaders from across the sector.

This year’s theme, Illuminating Hope, Inclusion & Connection, speaks directly to the importance of lived experience leadership in shaping a more inclusive and responsive mental health system.

Be sure to catch our CEO Simon Katterl and wonderful, dedicated member Brody Hayes at the conference!

These conversations are critical to making sure the voices of consumers remain central to policy, service design, evaluation, and system improvement.💙

17/07/2026

📢MHLEPQ is developing a Social Contract: a shared agreement about how we work together, respect lived expertise and maintain safety in our community.

This survey asks how you think MHLEPQ and our members should follow the 5 Pacts of the Social Contract. Your feedback will directly shape our future advocacy, policy reform and organisational decisions.

Watch the video for more info! Then tap the link🔗in our bio to complete the survey and help us build a stronger, safer lived experience community in Queensland.

17/07/2026

📢Join us for our next MHLEPQ Members' Meet-Up on 29th July - you can come along in person or join us online.

Please RSVP via the link 🔗in bio!

We look forward to seeing you there!💙