About us
The National Mental Health Consumer Alliance is Australia’s first national mental health consumer peak body led entirely by people with lived experience. We are active, influential, and united. Together, we’ve built a credible national voice grounded in the lived expertise of mental health consumers across every state and territory.
All references to 'consumer' and 'lived experience' on this website refer to 'mental health consumers' with lived experience of mental health challenges and / or suicidality.
We use the term “lived experience of mental health challenges” as our catchall term as that is what you told us best fit how you identified in our 2025 survey.
A mental health consumer is a person who uses, has used, or may use mental health services or supports for their mental health challenges. This term recognises the individual as an active participant with expertise in their own experiences, rather than a passive recipient of care. It emphasises choice, autonomy, and the value of lived experience in shaping treatment, recovery, and the broader mental health system.
We acknowledge that different people self-identify with many different terms, such as ex-patient, service user, or survivor. As a consumer lived and experience-led organisation, the Alliance values the skill and expertise of all consumers with lived experience.
