The National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum (NMHCCF) was funded by each State and Territory in Australia.  This partnership includeed the investment in a jurisdictional liaison officer whose role is to recruit and support representatives from that jurisdiction.  It also included the nomination of two members to the NMHCCF, consisting of one carer and one consumer.

Jurisdictional representatives were responsible for alerting the NMHCCF to issues of national importance and/or relate to mental health reform processes.

There was no limitation on the number of years that a representative can serve on the NMHCCF, although most jurisdictions reviewed this every two years.  It is recommended that the opportunity to represent jurisdictions should be by a competitive selection process to ensure a broad representative voice over time and reviewed bi-annually.

The NMHCCF was committed to supporting the work of Liaison Officers and strengthening jurisdictional partnerships by providing regular updates, support from our Secretariat and an onboarding process for new Liaison Officers to clearly outline expectations and establish a strong partnership.