Welcome From Your Hosts

Welcome to the Unleashing Lived Experience Forum

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 conversation could not come at a more crucial time. From recent changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, to the lack of action from the Aged Care Royal Commission, the Disability Royal Commission and others, now more than ever we need systems to be shaped by the people they serve.

Over two days, we will explore critical themes including inclusion and equity in practice, building sustainable careers within the peer workforce, measuring impact that matters to the people being supported, creating new knowledge for new ways of doing, and creating lasting systemic change. We will also confront the realities of trust and safety, turning the lessons learned of the past into practical solutions for the future.

Importantly, this is not just a forum for discussion; it is a space for action. There will be decision-makers in the room talking alongside those with lived experience. But because action requires reflection and connection. Whether we are examining data and evidence, rethinking service design, or strengthening the peer workforce, our focus remains the same: to build systems that are more responsive and effective because they serve people.

At its core, this forum is about seeing the whole person and ensuring systems honour that. We need systems to respect the dignity and voice of the people they serve, so services and systems that impact our lives support us to live self-directed lives.

Thank you for being part of this important conversation. I look forward to the insights, ideas, and collaborations that will emerge.

Warm regards,

Giancarlo de Vera

Chief Executive Officer, BEING