Get Involved
Open Opportunities
Surveys, Consultations and Representative roles – your voice makes a difference!
By speaking up about your experiences, you can inform decision making and service design, and create positive change for you, other carers and the whole community.
Carers ACT and our mental health peak body MHCV invite you to have your say in the following open opportunities. If you wish to raise a specific issue, you can email the Advocacy team below.
The ACT Government has identified a large block of land in Curtin suitable to build into a village style dementia care facility. Carers of people with dementia and other stakeholders are being invited to provide their feedback on the various design features of the proposed dementia care facility. Focus Group sessions will be held in November and December, and a survey is available until 7 February 2024. Visit Curtin Dementia Village Site | YourSay ACT for more information.
The Mental Health, Justice Health, and Alcohol & Drug Services (MHJHADS) division of Canberra Health Services has revised the Dhulwa Forensic Mental Health Inpatient Service Model of Care and is now welcoming your feedback. If you wish to contribute to the feedback please email mhcarers@carersact.org.au for details or provide direct feedback via Dhulwa Forensic Mental Health Inpatient Service – Model of Care – Feedback Form or emailing chs.mhjhadsserviceandtransformation@act.gov.au
Quality, Safety, Innovation, and Improvement division of Canberra Health Services are currently reviewing this guideline and invite you to provide feedback on this guideline.
Please email mhcarers@carersact.org.au for details if you wish to participate in this.
As a carer representative, you will play a vital role in providing oversight and leadership in the design, development, and implementation of the project. Your expertise and experience will contribute to establishing the Canberra Hospital Safe Haven and assessing the need for future expansions.
If you’re interested in this work, we would love to hear from you. Please reach out to us at mhcarers@carersact.org.au by Friday, December 8th. Applicants with experience of the Safe Haven in Belconnen are particularly welcome.
The Reference Group is seeking a lived experience carer to contribute to the Review of the mental health needs of the ACT multicultural community (the Project).
If you are interested, please contact mhcarers@carersact.org.au for further details.
Australian research company Catalyst recently conducted a large-scale consumer study on home care. Over 5,000 Australians gave their views, including 200 carers. However Catalyst is seeking more carers to be involved in its annual home care, retirement living and aged care surveys. If you’re interested in being part of this data collection, you can register to receive the surveys.
ReachOut are conducting an online research survey for parents/carers in Australia to tell us (confidentially) about the key issues you are concerned about, how they might impact the health and wellbeing of your child/ren, and how you might like to be supported to tackle these issues.
ADACAS and Advocacy for Inclusion have started a project to find the best ways to support parents with disabilities. The project will also look at the things that make it harder to be a parent with a disability.
The Australian Government is creating a Disability Employment Centre of Excellence to improve employment outcomes for people with disability. A number of options for how the centre will operate have been developed and feedback is being sought from the community, including people with disability and carers.
The ACT Government is seeking input into the types of services that should be included in the new South Tuggeranong Health Centre to be built near Lanyon Marketplace in Conder. You can provide your feedback by attending one of the pop-ups in November or completing the YourSay survey.
A committee is examining the proposed Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2023 and is welcoming feedback via submissions until December 8th.
The Bill will regulate voluntary assisted dying (also known as VAD) in Canberra. VAD refers to a medical process that gives an eligible person the option to end their own suffering by choosing to administer a medication that causes death.
Carers are welcome to review the proposed legislation and share their views on how this may impact carers with our Policy and Advocacy Team, who will be lodging a submission representing collective carer voices. Please email carer.advocacy@carersact.org.au or phone 02 6296 9900 to share your feedback with the team before November 27th 2023.
Carers can also make their own submission directly to the committee before December 8th by visiting The ACT Legislative Assembly website.
The Office for Mental Health and Wellbeing is seeking a Lived Experience carer expert for mental health and support needs of people from multicultural communities reference group: The reference group will provide oversight and leadership in this area.For further information please reach out to mhcarers@carersact.org.au by Monday 13th November 2023
Representative position open: Safe Haven Expansion Steering Group. Are you a mental health carer looking for an opportunity to get involved in service planning? ACT Health currently has an open position for a lived experience carer representative on the ACT Safe Haven Expansion Project. For further information please reach out to mhcarers@carersact.org.au by Monday 13th November 2023
For comment: Canberra Health Services Guidelines: Forensic Consultation and Intervention Service. If you wish to comment on this guideline, please reach out to mhcarers@carersact.org.au by Monday 13th November 2023
The Department of Social Services is inviting people with autism, and their carers, to help develop a National Autism Strategy. The Strategy will be for all Autistic Australians. It will cover key reform areas including access to services, healthcare, education and employment. It will help to guide a more coordinated, national approach supporting Autistic people at each stage of life.
There are a variety of ways for people to participate, including submissions and in person forums, with one taking place in Canberra on October 10.
The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI) has been commissioned to support the shaping of the National Mental Health Lived Experience Consumer and Carers, Families, and Kin Peak Bodies. The purpose of these peak bodies is to involve those with lived experience in shaping policies and programs that impact them.
The ACT Health Directorate is currently calling for people to assist them with the Healthy Canberra: ACT Preventive Health Plan 2020-2025. The Plan aims to prevent chronic diseases by supporting people to choose lifestyle behaviours that reduce their risk of developing preventable diseases.
They want to hear about what action you think government can take to reduce chronic disease in the ACT and get your input on the second ACT Preventive Health Action Plan 2023-2025.
You can find out more HERE.
Are you a young Canberran who needs some extra support? Maybe you have used services such as youth drop-in centres, mentoring, counselling or family therapy?
Or are you a parent or carer of a young person in need of support? Or a frontline worker providing family or youth support?
Tell us about your experience of services and programs in the ACT in a short survey.
Join Carers ACT new consultation group and attend when it suits you.
Come along to our first Carers Collective! A chance to bring your caring experiences, ideas, and opinions on a range of topics. Cake and Coffee will be supplied to keep the ideas flowing.
Register by June 12 for our first Carer Collective on Friday 16 June 2023. Read more.
Canberra Health Services (CHS) are seeking carers in the ACT and surrounding region to preview draft creative concepts and share their thoughts through a 1-on-1 interview.
The individual interviews will be conducted over video conference (Zoom) and will be up to 45 mins. You will be paid $80 each for your time and effort. The interview slots will be between between Monday 29 May to Friday 23 June 2023, conducted by CHS’s research agency Bastion Insights.
To register your interest or get more information, please contact Paula.Lang@act.gov.au by Monday 12 June 2023.
Ministerial Advisory Council for Multiculturalism are now open, closing at midnight on 29 May 2023.
The Council will advise the ACT Minister for Multicultural Affairs on the aspirations, needs and concerns and linguistically diverse backgrounds. People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds with a deep and active connection to community are encouraged to nominate.
Volunteers are an important part of the aged care system freely giving their time, companionship, care, and support.
In 2021 the ACT Government introduced three new laws to make it an offence to:
- abuse a vulnerable person
- fail to protect a vulnerable person from a criminal offence
- neglect a vulnerable person.
To ensure these new laws are effective, the ACT Government is consulting with the Canberra community and key stakeholders on the three offences against vulnerable people to see if the offences are effective and if they can be improved.
Are you interested in changing the Mental Health Act 2015 (ACT)?
Join our consultation forum on April 13th, 2023 from 10:30am-12:30pm in meeting room 2 at 80 Beaurepaire Crescent Holt ACT or online via Teams.
Meet Chief Psychiatrist Dinesh Arya and his team, who will discuss the Act and answer questions.
A discussion paper with proposed amendments to the Act will also be available. These changes include Mental Health Act Order contraventions, transportation assistance for assessments, initial assessments after detention, and conditional release orders by ACAT. Contact mhcarers@carersact.org.au for a copy.
The Multiculturalism Act 2023 was recently established to support the Territory’s continuous growth and improvement as an inclusive city, celebrating our multiculturalism and diversity. Part of the Act enshrines a new Ministerial Advisory Council for Multiculturalism in law. Terms of Reference are now being developed.
The ACT Government believes all Canberrans should have end of life choices that align with their rights, preferences and values.
Consultation is now open to inform the development of a voluntary assisted dying model for the ACT.
Each year, the Carer Wellbeing Survey calls on current and past carers across Australia to tell us about their experiences of being a carer.
Systemic advocacy aims to make positive, long-lasting change for a whole group of people or a community.
Carers ACT undertakes systemic advocacy in all areas that impact a carers life. We work with government, committees, industry groups to make changes across a whole system.
Some examples of our recent advocacy work include;
- Successfully lobbied for and receiving funding for the ACT Carers Strategy
- Working with Access Canberra to make services more accessible to carers and the people they care for
- Worked actively with government and working groups to ensure carers were considered during the Covid-19 response and recovery effort, and advocate for clear advice, support and vaccines for carers
- Developed a mental health respite policy using carer feedback which is now being used to scope a pilot respite service
- Conducted a workshop highlighting the impact of caring and the needs of carers with the policy officers in Health and Community Services Directorates who are involved in commissioning processes. In this way we have been able to have input into the 16 sub-sectors being commissioned to ensure that carers needs are considered in all.
- Actively supporting the participation of carers in the formation of the ACT Disability Strategy.
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Raise An Issue |
Caring for a person with a mental illness can vary from day to day and from person to person. People living with a mental illness can experience periods of wellness and periods of illness, so the caring role can vary greatly.
This can make caring for someone with a mental illness more difficult because it is hard to predict and plan.
As the peak body for mental health carers in the ACT, Mental Health Carers Voice work closely with carers to help make positive changes to the mental health service system ensuring that the perspectives, concerns and ideas voiced by mental health carers and their families are heard by decision-makers.
We support mental health carers to participate in creating positive change in mental health and facilitate their involvement in consultations, media engagement and other advocacy efforts.
Visit MHCV
Caring for someone with a disability is a unique challenge. Carers ACT works with you to make this challenge easier through systemic and individual advocacy, service and supports for you as a carer, and services for the person you care for.
Representing Your Voice – Individual Advocacy
Through our Carers Advocacy program, we can help you negotiate complex bureaucracy, provide links into financial or legal service supports and access services such as the Human Rights Commission and Ombudsman.
Even if you are unsure whether you need advocacy support or if you would just like some advice to tackle a situation for yourself please feel free to contact the service on (02) 6296 9900.
Changing disability systems for the better – Systemic Advocacy
We work with government, the community and health sectors and induvial to make sure your voice as a disability carer is heard and contributes to change.
To get involved in systemic advocacy and have your say, see our open opportunities or contact us carer.advocacy@carersact.org.au.
Have your SayOur Foster and Kinship Carer advocacy team provide free and independent advocacy support to foster and kinship carers experiencing difficulty, and empower carers to navigate systems and resolve issues related to their caring role.
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