The Australian Government Department of Health (Health) has engaged a consortium, including the Consumers Health Forum, to develop a National Consumer Engagement Strategy, as part of the Government’s 10 Year Preventive Health Strategy. 

Opportunities for health consumers to join this project were:

• Consumer Reference Group members (applications are now closed) 
• read more 
• Community conversation hosts (applications are now closed) 
• Read more  

Join the Consumer Reference Group

A Consumer Reference Group has been established to work with consumers, community groups and consumer organisations, including Health defined priority population groups, to co-design and test:

• strategies for engaging with each population group
• approaches to changing attitudes and behaviour to improve health and wellbeing and increase longevity
• tools and resources for organisations and consumers.

Consumers will be consulted through focus groups, community conversations and consumer panels.

Three consumers are joining two expert consumers and CHF staff on the Consumer Reference Group (applications are now closed).  

More information

The Consumer Reference Group will:

• co‑design and develop a consultation process with consumers
• identify key touchpoints for engaging with consumers, including for different priority populations
• identify effective ways to engage with consumers from different priority populations, including how digital and non-digital communication can be used
• iteratively review drafts and key documents
• develop principles to guide effective consumer engagement.

The Consumer Reference Group will also:

• test strategies, approaches and tools with consumers, consumer organisations and community groups
• measure and analyse different digital and non-digital strategies to identify effectiveness and best practice
• identify key touch points for engaging with consumers
• develop principles to guide effective consumer engagement.

Be a community conversation host

About the role

Community conversations are a way to engage with local communities, with informal conversations led by consumer representatives with other health consumers, so that they can have their say in a safe and supportive environment.

Consumer representatives, with strong networks, will arrange community conversations with health consumers. It will be an opportunity for health consumers from across Australia to discuss their motivations in making decisions about their health, where and how they gain and use information to make those decisions, and their perspectives on how their choices are influenced.

The host will guide the discussion with a set of questions provided to them and will report the responses to CHF, for compiling into a set of consumer insights.