FAQs

This Code of Practice is being shaped through co-design. That means the content grows out of what people share, debate, challenge, and agree on together.

Formally, the Code of Practice will be finalised through the project’s governance arrangements, including the Steering Committee and project partners. Practically, it is informed by the voices, experiences, and wisdom of lived and living experience workers across Queensland.

We want to be clear that co-design does not mean every idea can be included, but it does mean every contribution is taken seriously, documented, and reflected on. Where decisions are made, we will be transparent about why.

Yes. A draft version of the Code will be shared before it is finalised.

Two online feedback sessions will be scheduled towards the end of 2026. These sessions are a chance to see how the Code has come together, to sense-check whether it feels right, and to offer final feedback before it is endorsed.

We see this as an important moment of accountability. Not just “here’s what we wrote”, but “does this reflect what you told us, and does it feel usable in real life?”

You are very welcome to reach out directly.

Erin O’Shea, Capability and Development Lead at Brook RED
erino@brookred.org.au

If you are unsure whether a question is “the right one” to ask, that is usually a sign it is exactly the right one.

This is one of the areas where we want to be honest about both our hopes and the limits of the project.

Within scope, we can look at things like uptake, voluntary feedback, how often the Code is referenced in conversations, training, supervision, and workforce development spaces, and whether people tell us it is useful.

Beyond the life of the project, we cannot control how the Code is used or whether it is taken up everywhere. What we can do is design something that feels grounded, respectful, and genuinely helpful, and clearly communicate its intent, so it is less likely to be misused.

Our hope is that the Code becomes something people reach for because it helps, not because they are required to.

We are holding a strong shared hope that lived and living experience workers will choose to engage with both its creation and its use. A common Code can offer clarity, consistency, and protection, not just for individuals in their day-to-day work, but for the workforce as a whole. Our intention is that this becomes something people want to use because it strengthens practice, builds trust, and supports the recognition and integrity of lived and living experience work across Queensland.

That reaction makes a lot of sense, and it is one we have heard often.

Lived and living experience work is not clinical work, and this Code is not about turning it into one. At the same time, LLE workers often navigate complex ethical territory without the shared language, protections, or recognition that other workforces have.

This Code is about:

• Naming what matters to the LLE workforce
• Protecting the integrity of lived and living experience roles
• Offering guidance when things feel messy or unclear
• Strengthening shared identity without medicalising or professionalising experience

It is less about rules, and more about values, care, and collective responsibility.

This project is focused on Queensland. It does not set national policy, and it cannot predict exactly how national structures will develop.

Our intention is to create something that is strong, thoughtful, and grounded enough to contribute to national conversations, rather than compete with them. If a national Code or association emerges, this Code may inform that work, align with it, or need to be translated into a broader context.

Those decisions sit beyond the scope of this project, but we are designing with future connection in mind, not isolation.

The Code is not intended to be a performance management tool, disciplinary framework, or compliance checklist.

We are very aware of the risk of ethical documents being used in ways they were never designed for. Clear guidance will accompany the Code to set expectations about appropriate use and to discourage punitive interpretations.

Ultimately, we cannot control every downstream use. What we can do is be explicit about intent and centre the Code as something that supports LLE workers, rather than surveils them.

Rather than a single launch moment, the Code will be introduced through conversation, learning, and relationship-building.

This includes practical resources, plain-language explanations, and opportunities for people across different sectors and role types to explore how the Code might support their work. The aim is relevance, not uniformity.

We want the benefits to be felt in everyday practice, not just understood in theory.

Diversity is being actively prioritised, not assumed.

This includes attention to geography, cultural background, lived and living experience perspectives, role types, and employment contexts. We are also conscious of barriers such as time, energy, caring responsibilities, and burnout.

Where participation in live sessions is not possible, other ways of contributing are built into the process, so people are not excluded simply because of how the system is set up.

Yes. Workshops are only one way to contribute.

There will be opportunities to provide written feedback, respond to surveys, and engage online. These opportunities will be flagged on this website.  We recognise that not everyone can or wants to participate in group sessions, and that does not make their input any less valuable.

The Code is intended to speak to the full breadth of lived and living experience work.

That includes peer support and service delivery, as well as leadership, advocacy, policy, advisory, education, and system-level roles. The language is being shaped to reflect this diversity and avoid assumptions about what LLE work “looks like”.