Youth Peer Support Workers (Lived Experience) TIDES ACT

Uniting; North Canberra; On-site; AUD 50,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Tax-free salary packaging up to $18,55

Referral bonus

Job summary

Uniting is seeking a Peer Support Worker to join the TIDES team in Turner, ACT. This role supports young people aged 13 to 17 through a non-clinical, peer-based approach, drawing on lived experience to provide hope, guidance and encouragement in one-on-one and group settings.

You will work within an interdisciplinary team, receive regular supervision, and have opportunities to influence a newly established trauma service.

Qualifications

• Personal lived experience that can be used intentionally, safely and ethically to support young people.
• Demonstrated understanding of trauma, trauma recovery and trauma-informed approaches to service delivery.
• A current Australian driver’s licence.
• Working towards Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work or a willingness to obtain the qualification with support from Uniting.

Responsibilities

• Provide peer-based support to young people aged 13 to 17 in one-on-one and group settings.
• Advocate, engage and support recovery within a youth-friendly, trauma-informed framework.
• Collaborate with an interdisciplinary team and participate in supervision and reflective practice.

Skills

Lived experience utilization

Trauma-informed care

Education

Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work

Tools

Australian driver's licence

Job description

About the Role

• Full-Time or Part-Time | Permanent Position
• Monday to Friday
• HPA Support Stream Level 3 $35.64 per hour plus Salary Packaging Benefits upto $18,550 plus Super
• Based in Turner, ACT

TIDES (Trauma Intervention, Development and Emotional Support) is a specialist trauma service for young people with complex trauma, providing stabilisation, therapeutic intervention, and coordinated support to promote recovery, safety and wellbeing.

As a Peer Support Worker with lived experience, you will play a vital role in supporting young people through a non-clinical, peer-based approach. Drawing from your own lived experience, you will provide hope, guidance, and encouragement in both one-on-one and group settings. Your focus will be on advocacy, engagement, and supporting recovery in a youth-friendly and inclusive environment.

Why join Uniting and the TIDES team?

Peer Support Workers are valued members of the interdisciplinary team and bring a unique form of expertise through lived experience. Your voice, insights and leadership will help shape service delivery and improve outcomes for young people.

At Uniting, we recognise lived experience as a valuable source of expertise and are committed to supporting the growth and wellbeing of our peer workforce. This role offers the opportunity to work alongside a team of Peer Support Workers within an interdisciplinary, trauma-responsive service, providing connection, collaboration and opportunities for shared learning. Peer workers are supported through regular supervision, reflective practice, professional development and a team culture that values lived experience leadership. Supervision for lived experience workers is a discipline-specific, structured and accountable process that supports reflection on practice, intentional use of lived experience, boundary negotiation, wellbeing, ethical decision-making and alignment with the values, principles and scope of lived experience work. Supervision is distinct from performance management and may be referred to as co-reflection or reflective supervision.

As TIDES is a newly established service, Peer Support Workers will have the opportunity to influence how the service evolves and contribute to the development of innovative, youth-centred and trauma-informed approaches.

We are committed to creating a safe, inclusive and supportive workplace where peer practitioners can develop their skills, contribute meaningfully to service design and delivery, and make a genuine difference in the lives of young people.

What you’ll bring

• Personal lived experience of mental and/or emotional distress, trauma or adversity, service use or attempts to access services, and personal recovery, together with the ability to use lived experience intentionally, safely and ethically in a consumer peer worker role.
• Demonstrated understanding of trauma, trauma recovery and trauma-informed approaches to service delivery.

Qualifications

• A current Australian driver’s licence

Even Better

• Working towards Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work or a willingness to obtain the qualification with support from Uniting. Placement requirements can be completed within the service under supervision.

About you

• Personal lived experience that can be used intentionally, safely and ethically to support young people.
• A passion for walking alongside young people aged 13 to 17 years who have experienced trauma and adversity.
• Commitment to trauma-informed, youth-centred and recovery-oriented practice.
• We strongly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, LGBTQIA+ communities, and people with diverse lived and living experiences. We are committed to creating a culturally safe, inclusive and supportive workplace where peer practitioners can thrive.

What we offer you

• Tax-free salary packaging entitlements of up to $18,550 per year (visithttps://accesspay.com.au/for more information).
• Generous referral bonus for successfully referring a friend who joins Uniting

• Be part of something new – help establish and shape a specialist trauma service for young people from the ground up.
• Genuine flexibility – work in a way that suits your lifestyle.
• 4 Me Days – extra paid leave each year (pro rata) to rest, recharge, and focus on what matters most
• 4 CPD Days per calendar year (pro-rata part-time employees)
• Access to lived experience workforce connection, peer community of practice, mentoring and reflective spaces, alongside respectful collaboration with the interdisciplinary team.
• Community of practice is a structured forum where lived experience workers come together to share knowledge, reflect on practice, support each other and strengthen lived experience work through collective learning. Lived experience work is a collective practice, and opportunities to connect as a workforce are encouraged and explicitly supported.
• Strong peer support and consultation – collaborate with an interdisciplinary team of experienced professionals with a shared purpose.
• Manageable workload – ensuring sustainable, high-quality service delivery.

• U Rewards – exclusive discounts from leading retailers

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this role further, please contact Talent Acquisition Specialist, Sarah [e-mail]

Employment with Uniting is subject to satisfactory background checks, including National Police Check, paid Working with Children Check and reference checks.

Closing date:

11:55pm, Sunday, 13September 2026

About Uniting

Uniting NSW.ACT contributes to the work and mission of the Uniting Church in NSW and the ACT through social justice advocacy, community services and spiritual care. We provide care and support for people through all ages and stages of life, with a focus on people experiencing disadvantage and vulnerability.

Our purpose is to inspire people, enliven communities and confront injustice.

Uniting is a Child Safe Organisation committed to promoting the safety, well‑being and inclusion of children and young people.

Empowered by diversity

At Uniting, inclusion isn’t just something we value – it’s how we work. Our culture and practice reflect the vibrant diversity of our colleagues, and the clients and communities we serve.