Case study: Victoria’s first residential mental health service designed and delivered by people with lived experience

In 2021, TACSI designed and led a process to recruit, form and support a diverse group to co-design the foundations of a flagship Victorian Mental Health Reform project.

The opportunity

Throughout 2021, TACSI supported stage one of Victoria’s first residential mental health service designed and delivered by people with lived experience. Stage one was focused on the co-planning and co-design of service principles and key model elements.

We designed and led a co-design process to recruit, form and support a diverse group to develop the foundations of the service. This included its vision, philosophy, service principles, service journey, roles and key interactions in its newly defined model of healing. 

This is a flagship Victorian Mental Health Reform project. This project was the first stage leading into other stages underway since 2022. These stages are:

Stage Two: codesign of detailed operating model, governance, and a bed-based facility (co-planning, co-design)

Stage Three: commencement of operations (co-delivery) and ongoing evaluation (co-evaluation)

Through this work, we’ve built an authentic collaborative partnership with the Department of Health Victoria (Mental Health and Wellbeing Division), the Project Control Group and multiple expert stakeholders, and delivered outcomes to the Department’s Stage 2 commissioning deadlines.

Our approach

We conducted desktop research, held co-design discussions, and learned from Victorian mental health context experts to identify the principles, risks and challenges of implementing the service vision in the current Victorian mental health system. 

We worked with experts on the topics of human rights, lived experience workforce, non-coercive practice, service governance, area mental health services, health service insurance and the Mental Health Act.

 
Diagram of the co-design process

Our impact

By co-designing these foundations, we formed an authentic collaborative partnership with the Department, the Project Control Group  and multiple expert stakeholders to deliver outcomes for the Department’s Stage 2 commissioning deadlines.

Interested in co-creating a service or model that supports people through investing in lived experience and peer-to-peer practices? Talk to us about how we can bring co-design to your next project.

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