Peer Worker

Neami National; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 80,000 - 86,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Gratis Leave

Wellness Leave

Parental Leave

Accrued Day Off (ADO)

Annual Leave Loading 17.5%

Flexible work arrangements

Professional development

Fitness Passport

EAP

Job summary

Neami National is seeking a Peer Worker in Melbourne (South Morang) to support people facing mental health and wellbeing challenges. The role involves peer-led emotional support, group facilitation, and collaboration within multidisciplinary teams to promote recovery and meaningful outcomes.

You will draw on your lived experience to inspire hope and connection, across a rotating roster. This permanent, full-time position offers salary packaging, generous leave entitlements, and development

Qualifications

• Lived experience of recovery from mental health challenges or related experience.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work autonomously and maintain confidentiality.

Responsibilities

• Provide peer-led emotional and social support to consumers.
• Facilitate peer-led groups and participate in transdisciplinary teams.
• Support service improvement by incorporating lived experience perspectives.

Skills

Lived experience

Emotional resilience

Strong communication

Autonomy

Job description

For all people in Australia living with mental health and wellbeing challenges to live a life that is meaningful to them.

Position Details

• Full time, Permanent Position
• Hours of work across rotating roster, Monday-Saturday, 8.30-5pm or 10-6.30pm shifts
• Classification:SCHADSLevel 3 with a salary range of $80,087 - $85,877 per annum + Superannuation
• Salary packaging arrangements providing tax benefits available for living and entertainment expenses increasing your take home income where part of your wage is paid tax free each pay, savings thousands in tax each year
• Location: South Morang, City of Whittlesea

About your new role

Peer Workers (PWs) draw on their own life-changing lived experience of distress, trauma and/or substance use, and their journey of recovery and healing, to support consumers who face similar challenges to their health and wellbeing.

Guided by Intentional Peer Support (IPS) and the National Lived Experience Workforce Guidelines, PWs provide consumer-led emotional, social, and service support through one-on-one peer support, facilitating peer-led groups, and transdisciplinary teamwork. In their work, they emphasise connection, mutuality and support consumers to explore worldviews and move toward what is meaningful to the consumer.

As well as purposeful use of personal lived experience, PWs draw on the broader collective Lived Experience history and social movements to explore and understand the impacts of stigma, discrimination and systemic harm. PWs play a vital role in continuous service improvement by integrating and elevating lived experience perspectives.

About Neami National

We’re Neami. We’re big believers in everyone having the opportunity to live a full life. We support people to achieve wellbeing and mental health outcomes that matter to them. We provide services across Australia for mental health and wellbeing, housing and homelessness, and suicide prevention.

For some people, this means having a stronger sense of self. For others, it may mean nurturing relationships or building the confidence to tackle tomorrow. We support people to improve their quality of life in a way that suits them.

We’re proud to support 34,000+ people living with mental health challenges each year across Australia and offer services over 40 different Indigenous lands.

Values

Together with our vision and purpose, our values define who we are and guide the way we operate. They are fundamental to our identity, and we align all our actions with them.

• Connecting
• Learning
• Belonging

What will Neami offer

• Generous leave entitlements including Gratis Leave, Wellness Leave and Parental Leave (pro-rata if part-time)
• Optional monthly Accrued Day Off (ADO) for full‑time staff
• 17.5% Annual Leave Loading
• Flexible work arrangements areavailable for maintaining your work-life balance
• Professional development through regular practice development sessions and coaching with your supervisor
• Ongoing extensive in-house Learning and Development programs to encourage learning and skill-building
• Fitness Passport membership to support your health and wellbeing (available in most States/Territories and subject to minimum working hours and/or length of service)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) through TELUS -providingholistic health and wellness supports and resources to Neami staff and their immediate family

What you will bring to the role

• Personal lived/living experience of recovery as a family, friend or carer. Your recovery experience may be related to mental health, suicidal crisis, drugs and alcohol use or trauma
• Willingness to identify or be identified by others as a professional withlived experience of recovery
• Willingness to share and draw on lived experience purposefully in the role to instil confidence and hope in others about the journey of recovery
• Strong emotional resilience including the ability to sit with discomfort, distress and people in crisis.
• Ability to work autonomously, adapt communication to diverse need and maintain confidentiality.
• Ability to self-reflect, take on feedback to grow practice skills and engage in personal and professional development.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills plus computer literacy

What the role requires

• National Criminal History Check (police check) – disclosable outcomes considered
• Current Working with Children Check
• Australian working rights
• A valid driver’s licence

Applications Close: 11th November 2026

Be Yourself - Neami values and celebrates diversity including multidisciplinary teams and the unique backgrounds, experiences and contributions that each person brings to our community. First Nations people, those identifying as LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities and culturally and linguistically diverse people are encouraged to apply. Our aim is to create a workforce that is accessible, inclusive and reflects the community in which we live.

Neami is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. We commit to providing accessible and safe physical and online environments for all children and young people. Click here for the full statement.