Peer Practitioner (YPARC)

Mind Australia Limited; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 42,000 - 62,000; Part time

Job summary

Mind Australia is seeking a self-motivated Peer Practitioner for a permanent part-time role (30.4 hours per week) in Heidelberg. You will use your lived experience to engage with young clients aged 16-25 in the YPARC program, delivering empathetic support within a recovery-oriented framework and family-inclusive practice.

The role requires collaboration with Austin Health and Mind Australia teams, night shifts on a 24/7 roster, and a commitment to trauma-informed, anti-oppressive approaches.

Qualifications

• Lived experience and willingness to support clients through sharing your own learnings.
• Experience with people with complex mental health issues and their families.
• Ability to implement a recovery-oriented framework.
• Skilled in building connections with clients, colleagues and stakeholders.
• Understanding of community services and the NDIS.
• Experience or ability to plan wellbeing supports using evidence-informed approaches.

Responsibilities

• Draw on lived experience to inform practice.
• Provide direct support and facilitate positive educational and social experiences.
• Collaborate with services to coordinate recovery goals.
• Work within a recovery-oriented framework with families and carers.
• Plan and deliver group programs to build skills.
• Help clients build networks with families and community services.

Skills

Lived experience

Recovery-oriented practice

Client engagement

Building connections

NDIS knowledge

Education

Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work

Job description

Mind strongly encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, people with a lived and living experience of mental distress and recovery, and applicants from all cultures, genders, sexualities, bodies, abilities, spiritualities, ages and backgrounds.

Mind Australia is one of the country’s leading community-managed specialist mental health service providers with a range of residential, mobile outreach, centre based and online services. We have been supporting people living with the day-to-day impacts of mental illness, as well as their families, friends and carers for over 45 years.

We provide practical and motivational support that helps people to develop the skills they need to move on, thrive and improve the quality of their lives. It’s an approach to mental health and wellbeing that looks at the whole person in the context of their daily life. Mind is committed to diversity and social inclusion.

About the service

The Sub-Acute short stay ‘step up, step down’ Youth Prevention and Recovery Care (YPARC) service, delivered in partnership with Austin Health and Mind Australia, supports young people with psychosocial disability to transition from an acute hospital setting (Step-down) or to prevent hospital admissions by providing extra support to those entering directly from the community (step-up).

The Youth Prevention and Recovery Care (YPARC) service is a residential program providing short-term, intensive treatment for up to 28 days to young people aged between 16-25 years living with mental health challenges.

About the role

We are seeking a self-motivated Peer Practitioner for a Permanent, Part Time (30.4 hours per week) opportunity to work alongside a caring team in the Heidelberg area. With 24/7 rotating roster plus active night shifts, the Part Time renumeration and potential penalty rates of this position can be comparable to Full-Time earnings. This role will see you utilising your lived and living experience of mental ill health to engage directly with clients through providing empathetic and positive support. You will champion the voice of lived experience whilst practicing in alignment with family-inclusive principles, recovery-oriented approaches, trauma-informed theories, and anti-oppressive frameworks.

Key responsibilities

• Draw on the broader lived and living Experience knowledge base to inform your practice.
• Provide direct support to individual clients, delivering high quality service and facilitating positive educational and social experiences.
• Work collaboratively with a broad range of services as they relate to clients’ needs to ensure a co-ordinated and integrated response to the client’s recovery goals.
• Work within a recovery-oriented framework to support individuals, families and carers.
• Planning and delivering group work programs that will assist customers to build their skills, focus on their recovery.
• Assist clients in building networks with their families and community services.

What you’ll bring

• Completion of Intentional Peer Support Core and/ or Advanced Training, or Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work, is desirable but not required.
• Lived/living experience and willingness to support clients through sharing your own learnings and recovery orientated practice
• Experience working with people with complex mental health issues, as well as their families, support networks and carers.
• Demonstrated ability to implement a recovery-oriented framework.
• Skilled in building solid connections with clients, colleagues and stakeholders.
• Demonstrated understanding of available community services, supports and the NDIS.
• Experience or ability to acquire skills in understanding needs and working collaboratively to plan wellbeing supports using evidence informed approaches and tools, for example in challenging situations.

Benefits

• Salary packaging up to $15,899 p.a. allows you to allocate a portion of your pre-tax income to cover living expenses (e.g. rent, mortgage, childcare, car leasing expenses etc.)
• Option to access Meal and Entertainment allowance up to $2,650 p.a. via Salary Packaging.
• Generous leave entitlements including 8 weeks paid parental leave, 17.5% annual leave loading.
• Access to our Employee Assistance Program (EAP), provided by Converge International,for you and your immediate family members.
• Fitness Passport - Access to our corporate health and fitness program, providing you and family with access to a wide choice of fitness facilities.
• Workplace Banking Portal that provides convenient access to a range of banking and lifestyle benefits offered through Mind’s CommBank programs.
• Professional development through regular Practice Development sessions and coaching with your supervisor.

Position Description

PD Peer Practitioner (YPARC - Austin) 20260306.pdf

The successful applicant is required to complete comprehensive reference and background checking prior to employment, including a Working with Children Check, NDIS Workers Screening Check.

We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to provide a positive, barrier-free recruitment process. If you require any support or reasonable adjustments to complete your application, please contact us at [e-mail]