Assistant Commissioners
Following the Independent Review of WA Health System Governance (Independent Governance Review) under the Health Services Act 2016, the State Government announced a package of reforms to strengthen leadership, accountability and coordination of the mental health and alcohol and other drugs systems.
As part of this package, the State Government committed to engage Lived Experience, Aboriginal Affairs and Alcohol and Other Drugs leaders within the Commission to provide strategic and expert advice to inform system-wide reform. As a result, the Commission will be engaging four Assistant Commissioners in the following areas of expertise and representation:
- Aboriginal Affairs
- Alcohol and Other Drugs
- Lived Experience (Consumer)
- Lived Experience (Significant Other)
Assistant Commissioner for Aboriginal Affairs
The Assistant Commissioner for Aboriginal Affairs is responsible for providing specialist cultural guidance, strategic advice and influencing strategy and priorities to support the Commission to improve mental health and alcohol and other drug outcomes for Aboriginal peoples and communities. This role will provide advice to improve ways of working, facilitate collaboration across sectors and ensure Aboriginal voices are central to decision making.
The role requires extensive experience in providing cultural expertise to inform the planning, delivery and evaluation of culturally safe mental health and alcohol other drug prevention programs, community supports and treatment services, and systems in the context of the social and emotional wellbeing model across the life course. This may include extensive experience in leading and influencing outcomes for Aboriginal peoples and communities in areas such as strategic policy, service management, advocacy, research and/or academia.
Assistant Commissioner for Alcohol and Other Drugs
The Assistant Commissioner for Alcohol and Other Drugs is responsible for providing strategic, evidence-based advice on new and emerging policies and issues to influence strategy and priorities to support the Commission to prevent and reduce harms from alcohol and other drug use and improve community wellbeing. The Assistant Commissioner for Alcohol and Other Drugs is expected to adopt an approach informed by an understanding of the role of social, structural, environmental and cultural determinants of health and wellbeing and consistent with public health approaches to addressing harms from alcohol and other drugs. This will include an approach consistent with a comprehensive harm minimisation framework.
Assistant Commissioners for Lived Experience (Consumer and Significant Other)
The Assistant Commissioner for Lived Experience (Consumer) and the Assistant Commissioner for Lived Experience (Significant Other) are designated Lived Experience roles, which requires an individual who has had a significant personal life-changing experience of mental health, alcohol and/or other drug challenges, and can demonstrate an ongoing commitment to training and professional development in their practice. The Assistant Commissioners will be required to utilise their expertise to support system-level change and are expected to advise on achievable solutions to system issues through the context of appropriately considering the influence of the broad determinants of health.
The Assistant Commissioners are responsible for facilitating integration of lived experience into the work of the Commission, and ensures it benefits from a diverse range of lived experience perspectives, including those of consumers or those of family members or significant others caring for an individual experiencing mental health and alcohol and other drug issues.
Last updated: 27 March 2024