Presents
Unleashing Lived Experience Forum
Real voices shaping real change — ensuring those responsible for systems put the power of lived experience at the heart of service design.
Welcome from your Hosts
We are delighted to welcome you to Sydney. Together, alongside more than 25 cross-sector organisations representing people with lived and living experience across Australia, we invite you to be part of this inaugural gathering dedicated to unleashing the inherent power and potential of lived experience.
This forum brings together leaders, executives, and practitioners from across Australia, to better understand how to embed lived experience into policy, design and delivery. With 90% of participating speakers having lived experience, we aim to bring together decision makers responsible for systems right across Australia to realise the simple but transformative truth: systems work best when they are shaped by the people they serve.
This event is designed for those responsible for delivering services, supports and systems throughout Australia. Across a range of systems such as health, housing, disability, ageing, and social services, there is undeniable momentum to embed lived experience. Yet too often, this occurs inconsistently, and without truly shifting power. This forum exists to challenge that and move the conversation toward shifting power through genuine co-design, lived experience leadership, and accountability.
This event is designed for senior leaders, programme managers, people in service delivery and anyone working at an organisation that delivers critical social services. The registration rates reflect that many attendees will be supported by their employer in attending.
For others with lived experience, including independent peer workers, consumers, advocates, and representatives from small, underfunded organisations, applications are invited for bursary scholarships.
Click here to find out moreTop Speakers
The Honourable David Hurley AC CVO DSC
Former Governor-General of Australia
Read more →Giancarlo de Vera
Chief Executive Officer
BEING – Mental Health Consumer
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Rosemary Kayess
Disability Discrimination Commissioner
Australian Human Rights Commission
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Prudence Walker
Disability Rights Commissioner
NZ Te Kahui Tangata Human Rights Commission
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Taimi Allan
Mental Health Commissioner
Mental Health Commission of South Australia
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Cassandra Goldie
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Council of Social Service
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Priscilla Brice
Chief Executive Officer
National Mental Health Consumer Alliance
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Megan Spindler-Smith
A/Chief Executive Officer
People with Disability Australia
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Ruby Riethmuller
Deputy Commissioner (Lived Experience)
NSW Mental Health Commission
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Leilani Darwin
Founder
First Nations Co
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Tim Heffernan
Chair
BEING – Mental Health Consumer
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Akii Ngo
DEIB Practitioner, Co-Designer & Lived Experience Expert
Independent
Read more →In partnership with leading peak bodies
Support for those in financial hardship
Lived experience is incredibly diverse, and there is a strong appetite for systems, services and supports to do better at reflecting and embedding lived experience. That’s why it’s so important we have as many voices in the room at the Unleashing Lived Experience Forum.
Thanks to the forum’s equity sponsorship partners, we are able to fund dedicated bursary scholarships to ensure the forum is for all and enable people with lived experience to participate and contribute their expertise at the forum.
Applications will be considered with strict confidentiality, prioritising regional, remote, and marginalised communities.
Position your brand at the vanguard of co-design.
Partnering with the Unleashing Lived Experience Forum positions your organisation at the absolute vanguard of embedding lived experience in what you do.
As social service sectors face strict regulatory updates requiring proof of consumer-led governance, executives, decision-makers, and service providers are actively hunting for modern tools, advisory partners, and peer workforce models.
All sponsorship packages include direct support for lived experience bursary scholarships, helping key voices attend this forum.
Sponsoring this high-impact gathering demonstrates your visible commitment to human rights-led service reform, diversity, and systemic equity — building meaningful pipelines with over 25+ organisations representing people with lived and living experience, 130 paying delegates, and senior policymakers across the entire care economy and social services sector.
Northside Conference Centre
Corner Oxley Street and Pole Lane, Crows Nest, Sydney, NSW 2065
A modern, fully accessible venue in Crows Nest on Sydney's lower north shore, chosen so every delegate can arrive, move and participate with ease.
- Just 150m from Crows Nest Metro, which is fully accessible with level-access boarding between platforms and trains for all passengers.
- A multi-level car park with disability parking directly across the street.
- Step-free entry, accessible restrooms and hearing assist technology throughout.
- Two reserved tables at the front of the room for anyone who needs to sit nearer the stage.
- A separate quiet break room for a calm space away from the event.
Tuesday 17 – Wednesday 18 November