The Australian Consumers and Carers Mental Health Forum (The Forum) is a national initiative that brings together consumer and carer perspectives to develop shared positions on mental health, suicide prevention and psychosocial disability reform. The Forum supports stronger connections between mental health and disability policy and promotes collaboration across a diversity of lived experience communities.
The Forum provides a space to engage with people whose voices are not always reflected through formal mechanisms. In doing so, it draws on more than 20 years of experience and contribution from consumer and carer communities, supporting broader and more inclusive lived experience input into national policy and reform.
The Forum is designed to complement the work of national mental health consumer and carer peak bodies and other lived experience organisations. It provides a joint consumer and carer platform and a cross-system policy development space, including engagement across disability and mental health policy processes and with relevant Australian Government departments and agencies.
The Forum is supported by the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO), which provides administrative, coordination and organisational support. This includes managing funding, coordination and meeting support so Forum participants can focus on contributing their perspectives and experience.
The Forum builds on the experience and work of the former National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum (NMHCCF). AFDO held contractual responsibilities connected to this work through NDIA Disability Representative & Carer Organisations co-design arrangements. Following the conclusion of previous auspicing arrangements, AFDO worked with participants to support continuity of this engagement function. The current Forum reflects this continuity of function alongside an updated structure and governance arrangements.
Our new name
To reflect its role and position within the evolving mental health lived experience landscape, the Forum has adopted the name the Australian Consumers and Carers Mental Health Forum.
This name distinguishes the current Forum as a contemporary, independent initiative while acknowledging the history and contribution of earlier work in this space. It reinforces the Forum’s role as a joint platform bringing together consumer and carer perspectives to develop shared views on key policy and reform issues.
The Forum will continue to be referred to as “The Forum” in communications, meetings and documents.
Steering Committee
The Forum is guided by a Steering Committee appointed by AFDO, bringing together people with lived experience and relevant expertise to support its direction and work.
Current members are Eileen McDonald (Chair, 2026), Peter Hunt, Lyn English, Helen Day and Ross Joyce (CEO, AFDO). The Committee is focused on ensuring the Forum reflects a broad range of perspectives.
We will shortly be inviting expressions of interest to join a Forum Advisory Network to support broader engagement with individuals and communities.