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Applications are now open for the 2025 Pilot Student Placement Program – an opportunity for students who are studying a Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work to start their career in the lived experience workforce in Victoria.

Coordinated by Mind Australia’s Lived Experience Career Compass, the Pilot Student Placement Program will give more than 100 peer work students an opportunity to put their education into practice in real-world settings, and experience what it’s like to work in a professional organisation.

Participating Pilot Student Placement Program organisations include Wellways, Neami National, Orygen, Eastern Health and Uniting Vic Tas.

Lived Experience Career Compass Lead, Lisa Williams, says the Pilot Student Placement Program will help make a career in mental health peer work more attainable in Victoria.

“This first intake of the Pilot Student Placement Program marks a significant step in the growth and development of the lived and living experience mental health workforce in Victoria,” Ms Williams said.

“Finding a suitable placement has been a barrier to some students completing their Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work. This program is breaking down those barriers and creating much-needed opportunities for mental health peer work students to graduate and get their careers started.

“All participating host organisations see the valuable and unique impact people with lived experience can have supporting people to manage their mental health challenges. Whether they have their own experience of mental health challenges, or lived experience as a carer or family member, peer workers are the future of a more humane and person-centred mental health system.”

Applications for this year’s Pilot Student Placement Program opened on Monday 4 August. There is currently no deadline for applications, with intake occurring throughout the year.

Applicants are required to attend, or watch a recording of, an online information session as part of their application. Upcoming information sessions for this year’s Pilot Student Placement Program will be held on:

Students can access placements with the support of the Registered Training Organisation (RTO) they are studying with.

The Pilot Student Placement Program is coordinated by the Lived Experience Career Compass, which is making it easier for people who have experienced mental health challenges to enter and build a career in the lived and living experience workforce in Victoria.

For more information, visit the Pilot Student Placement program webpage or contact [email protected]