Volunteering Opportunities

The ACT AOD & Mental Health Alliance (ATODA) are undertaking a project to model the journey of consumers who have utilised Alcohol & Other Drug and/or Mental Health Services in the ACT for the purposes of improving the design and delivery of services.  ATODA are looking interview consumers for 60-90m to discuss their experiences.  Participation in this study will be reimbursed per the usual rate. 

To nominate yourself for this opportunity, please contact Tom Urban from ATODA at: alliance@atoda.org.au  

Full details are available in the flyer.

Nominations are due by no later than 5pm Friday, 9 October 2026. 

Recently the National Mental Health Consumer Alliance (the Alliance) launched In Our Words – a new report on what mental health consumers want from the next National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement which is being negotiated right now.

The Alliance has highlighted the urgent need to see mental health consumers embedded throughout the new National Agreement at every stage, from governance and design through to implementation and evaluation.

The next Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement is being negotiated right now.

The Alliance is building a national campaign to change how Australia funds and delivers mental health support. But before we finalise anything, we want to hear from YOU on what you’d like the campaign to do for you and your communities.

The survey takes about 8 minutes and every question is optional — skip anything you’d rather not answer.

Some questions ask about the mental health system and how it has treated people. If anything here brings up something difficult, please take a break.

Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and 13YARN is on 13 92 76, both available 24 hours.

Complete the survey here

An important opportunity is currently being advertised by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia. Applications for appointment to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Accreditation Committee have been re-opened and extended until Sunday, 4 October 2026. Appointments will commence in December 2026.

The Committee is currently seeking to fill two vacancies:

• One Aboriginal Health Practitioner
• One Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community member

The Committee plays a critical role in exercising accreditation functions under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme, including:

•  Developing accreditation standards for Board approval
• Assessing, accrediting, and monitoring education providers and programs of study
• Providing advice and recommendations to the Board

The Board is particularly interested in applications from individuals with current or recent experience in:

• Education, particularly within the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector and the delivery of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care (Practice) training; and/or
• Accreditation, preferably within the health sector.

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) and the National Boards recognise the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices and expertise in supporting culturally safe healthcare and strengthening the health workforce. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are strongly encouraged to apply.

The National Scheme is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds and lived experiences.

For further information, including eligibility requirements and application details, please refer to the Information Guide and Terms of Reference available through the application portal.

🔗 Apply online:
https://statutoryappointments.ahpra.gov.au/nb/en/listing/

🗓 Applications close: Sunday, 4 October 2026 at 11:50pm AEST

For any enquiries, please contact mobvoices@ahpra.gov.au or statutoryappointments@ahpra.gov.au

Advocacy for Inclusion is launching Getting the Full Picture, a project to find out directly from people affected what the current wave of NDIS reform actually means in practice.

The NDIS is undergoing major reforms. The NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Act 2026 is being implemented in stages through to 2030. Some changes are already in effect.

For many Canberrans with disability, this is not abstract policy. It is about whether you can keep going to the activities that matter to you, stay connected to people, manage day-to-day life, and keep the supports that make ordinary life possible. For some families, it also means working out how the NDIS relates to other supports, including Thriving Kids, as they become available.

Advocacy for Inclusion is running this project to hear directly from people affected and document what these changes mean in practice. They will speak with Canberrans with disability, and carers and families, throughout 2026 and 2027.

More information on the project is available here: https://www.advocacyforinclusion.org/getting-the-full-picture/

Get involved – recruiting now

The first panel is recruiting now, focused on the October 2026 cuts to social and community participation and capacity building supports. It takes a before-and-after approach – one session before the cuts land, one after – and runs online at the end of September 2026. Participants are paid for their time.

AFI particularly want to hear from:

• people with psychosocial disability
• people with intellectual disability
• First Nations people
• people from culturally and
• linguistically diverse backgrounds and
• people in regional parts of the ACT.

Participation is entirely voluntary and you can withdraw at any time. AFI willl make it as accessible as possible – if you need a support person, communication support, or anything else, just let them know.

You can also register your interest now in future panels covering changes to how plans are assessed, renewed or refused, and the experience of navigating the NDIS–Thriving Kids interface – even if your situation doesn’t fit the current panel.

To register your interest, head to AFI Listens: https://www.advocacyforinclusion.org/afi-listens/#NDIS

If you’re unsure which panel best suits or have any questions about additional supports you may need, email info@advocacyforinclusion.org and they can talk it through.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has opened a public consultation asking for feedback on proposed changes to the information they share about the safety, quality and performance of medical devices.

The public consultation is open until 11:59pm (AEST) on 2 October 2026.

The TGA welcome your feedback and encourage submissions through the above link.

Background

The intent of the proposed changes is to provide more information to the public after post-market reviews or investigations of medical devices, particularly where review findings relate to the safety, quality, performance or use of a medical device.

The proposed changes align with the intent of An Action Plan for Medical Devices and requirements set out in the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Benchmarking Framework.

The public consultation seeks feedback on:

• if the TGA should share information about medical devices involved in a post-market review or investigation, and
• what types of information should be shared when a post-market review or investigation is being undertaken.

For more information, including the consultation paper, view the public consultation.

The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) is inviting NDIS participants aged 18 years and over, and authorised plan nominees, to help test the New Way of Planning before it begins rolling out from April 2027.

The NDIA is seeking participants from a broad range of disability types, support needs and lived experiences to help ensure the new planning process is designed with participants, not just for them.

Participating in the testing does not mean endorsing the proposed approach. Rather, it provides an opportunity to share your experiences, identify what is working well, highlight areas that need improvement and help shape a planning process that better meets the needs of people with disability. The more diverse the voices involved, the more likely the future planning process will reflect the experiences of all NDIS participants.

Participants may be asked to:

• experience what the proposed new way of planning may be like;
• take part in a simulated support needs assessment;
• help train and accredit future NDIA assessors;
• provide feedback about what works well and what could be improved; and
• help improve planning for future NDIS participants.

Participants will receive $200, paid directly by the NDIA. The NDIA will also arrange and fund any reasonable supports required to enable participation, such as interpreters, live captioning or support workers.

Participation is entirely voluntary and will not:

• affect your current NDIS plan
• affect your future funding or eligibility
• impact your current supports, or
• result in a new plan or budget.

Any information shared during testing will only be used to improve the planning process and cannot be used to make decisions about an individual’s NDIS plan.

To register your interest:

• Read the Participant Information Pack (available in PDF, Word and Easy Read formats) on the NDIS Engage website 
• Select “Express your Interest” and complete the Expression of Interest form.

If you require assistance completing the Expression of Interest, please contact the NDIA on 1300 790 467 and let them know your enquiry relates to participating in the New Way of Planning.

If you know another eligible NDIS participant or authorised plan nominee who may be interested, please feel free to share this opportunity with them.

Roses in the Ocean will be delivering Voices of In-Sight in Canberra on Thursday 29 and Friday 30 October 2026.

This is a two-day, suicide-specific lived experience workshop for people who want to build confidence in how they use their lived experience safely and purposefully in suicide prevention.

The workshop may be relevant for people whose lived experience includes suicidal thoughts, surviving a suicide attempt, supporting someone through suicidal crisis, or being bereaved by suicide.

Click this link to open or download the flyer for registration details.

There are only 10 places available, and participants need to attend both full days. People who register their interest will have a confidential conversation with someone from Roses to talk through the workshop, readiness and whether it feels like the right fit at this time.

Adults aged 45 years and over with schizophrenia are invited to take part in this research project by completing a survey, which is the first stage in developing a new digital tool to improve functional capacity.

If you choose to participate, the survey can be taken online or via a hard/paper-based copy. The latter will need to be returned via a pre-paid envelope, which is supplied.

To participate online visit: https://federation.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7UKPcLhLzu1lNFc?Q_CHL=qr

It is anticipated that the survey will take between 30-40 minutes to complete. The survey consists of questionnaires assessing whether digital health literacy and daily functioning, as well as additional questions such as demographics, digital technology use, and your preferences for digital tools and supports.

Click here to download the flyer.

Click here to download more information about this survey.