Talk with consumers and other consumer representatives within your network to provide you with consumer views on various issues. Listen carefully to what everyone has to say, ask questions, clarify issues and principles. Your job is to understand a range of consumer viewpoints, and to try to present this diversity of issues. Keeping in touch with your networks will ensure you gain an informed view of the consumers' perspective. Look for the principles and interests in common among the people or groups you are representing. If you cannot reach a consensus you can use material such as the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights to express consumers' needs and a broad perspective on a range of issues.

To remind yourself of your role as a consumer representative, you need to constantly ask yourself:

• What are the views of consumers?
• What are the needs of consumers?
• How can the views of consumers be captured?
• What does my experience as a consumer contribute to an understanding and identification of issues?
• How will consumers be affected by this committee's decisions?