Governance

The Collaborative Centre is a public sector agency funded by the Victorian Government. We were established under the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 (Vic) and work closely with the Victorian Department of Health towards our shared goal of transforming Victoria’s mental health and wellbeing system.

We are governed by a skills-based Board that is accountable to the Minister for Mental Health. Our team is led by our Chief Executive Officer who is accountable to the Board.

Lived and Living Experience leadership is embedded in our formal governance through designated Board positions and the Lived and Living Experience Governance Committee, a subcommittee of the Board.

Our Board

The Board oversees the Collaborative Centre’s strategic direction, performance, risk and delivery of its legislated functions.

Our Board members bring a diverse range of skills and perspectives, including Lived and Living Experience leadership, research, clinical practice, governance and system leadership. As one of Victoria’s mental health and wellbeing system stewards, the Collaborative Centre supports system-wide reform and the development of a learning mental health and wellbeing system.

Meet our board members

Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon

Chair

Harsh Bansal

Board member, designated Lived and Living Experience carer position

Gill Callister

Board member

Sheree Lowe

Board member, designated First Nations Lived and Living Experience carer position

Heather Pickard OAM

Board member, designated Lived and Living Experience consumer position

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Associate Professor Simon Stafrace

Board member

Lived and Living Experience leadership across our work

Lived and Living Experience knowledge has shaped the Collaborative Centre since its establishment, influencing our strategic direction, research translation, workforce development, approaches to treatment and care, and the design of our online and physical environments.

We embed Lived and Living Experience leadership, expertise and perspectives across our governance, organisational leadership, partnerships, projects and day-to-day work. We also seek the views of consumers, families, carers, supporters and kin whose perspectives are relevant to particular areas of our work.

Embedded across the Collaborative Centre

Designated Board positions and the Lived and Living Experience Governance Committee provide formal and continuing pathways for Lived and Living Experience leadership to inform strategic direction, priorities, risks and decisions.

We are committed to connecting with diverse and marginalised communities and ensuring people are not only heard but have meaningful opportunities to influence and lead change. We acknowledge the deep and lasting effects of systemic harm experienced by many people within the mental health and wellbeing system. We are committed to contributing to a future that is safer, fairer and more compassionate.

By placing Lived and Living Experience at the centre of our work, we contribute to a system that is inclusive, respectful and responsive.

Lived and Living Experience Governance Committee

The Lived and Living Experience Governance Committee is a formal subcommittee of the Board. Its establishment marked an important shift from an advisory model towards formal and continuing Lived and Living Experience leadership within the Collaborative Centre’s governance.

The Committee works alongside the Board to help shape strategic direction and priorities, identify risks and inform decisions. It builds on the substantial contribution of the former Lived Experiences Advisory Panel.

Meet our Committee members

Sam Hayward

Co-Chair, Lived and Living Experience carer

Robyn Callaghan

Co-Chair, Lived and Living Experience consumer

Rohini Krishnapillai

Committee member

Lyanne Morel

Committee member

Puneet Sansanwal

Committee member

Jess McKenzie

Committee member

Two voices, one vision:

Inside the Lived and Living Experience Governance Committee

Robyn Callaghan and Sam Hayward discuss the role of the Lived and Living Experience Governance Committee and how its members bring their expertise and perspectives to the Collaborative Centre’s work.

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