Peer workers are mental health professionals who have lived through their own mental health challenges and now use that experience to support others on the path to recovery.
In Australia, the peer workers are an established part of the mental health system. NSW Health recognises peer workers as a professional discipline in the mental health and suicide prevention workforce, while the federal government in June 2026 launched a new professional association – The Australian Association of Peer Workers – to recognise, support and grow the mental health and suicide prevention peer workforce. The NDIA has also recently listed the Psychosocial Recovery Coach role as one of its 2026 psychosocial disability priorities, including a review of the role to inform future NDIS changes.
About peer workers
According to the Mental Health Commission of NSW, peer workers are able to draw on their own lived and living experience of mental health challenges, suicidal crisis and recovery in order to provide person-centred, recovery-orientated and trauma-informed support. They play an integral role in improving outcomes for consumers, carers, families and kin.
Peer workers can specialise in a range of areas, including suicide prevention, alcohol and other drugs, homelessness, youth, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
The benefits of peer work
Peer work is an evidence-based discipline. Australian and international research indicates that it is as effective as other mental health professions in achieving positive outcomes for people accessing mental health and suicide prevention services.
Benefits of peer work include:
● improved personal recovery outcomes
● enhanced engagement with mental health services
● reduced hospital readmissions
● improved delivery of recovery-oriented care.
Peer work at Flourish Australia
At Flourish Australia, peer work is a cornerstone of our proven, strengths-based approach to bringing about positive and lasting change for all those we support.
We value lived experience and more than 50 per cent of the people we employ have had a lived experience of a mental health issue, while 42 per cent of our frontline positions are peer workers. We believe peer support is a powerful part of the mental health recovery journey. Our Peer Workforce Framework was co-designed with peer workers and grounded in the expertise of lived experience. It reflects who we are and what we stand for: purpose-led, co-created, and committed to advancing peer work as a professional and transformative discipline.
To find out more about Flourish, or how our peer-led support can help you or someone you care for, contact us on 1300 779 270 or here.
Talk to us today
For more information, contact us on 1300 779 270 or make an enquiry now.
