Join the CHF Consumer Register 2026 

Expression of Interest: CHF Consumer Register 2026

Consumers Health Forum of Australia

Expression of Interest due date: 17 August 2026, 12:00 pm AEST

What’s this about?

Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) is establishing a pool or register of health consumer advocates (CHF Register) who represent the diverse perspectives and experiences of health care and health care advocacy in Australia.

The CHF Register is for experienced and emerging health consumer advocates and representatives who want to contribute to national health policy and program discussions with CHF or CHF's strategic stakeholders (such as the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing) or support CHF consumer engagement capability development activities for consumers and policy makers.

CHF Register purpose

Joining the CHF Register, means you will be connected with opportunities to use your valuable and unique lived experience and expertise to inform health policy, programs and services across Australia.

Help support CHF to work with a diverse community of health consumers as part of our internal consultations and engagement, and to rapidly respond to our strategic partner requests for consultations and consumer appointments (including with the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing).

The CHF Register will identify up to 30 consumers members for each activity stream below: 

• Activity stream 1: Consumer speakers and panellists (30 members)  

  • This includes joining and helping to plan webinars, conferences, and workshop presentations. 

• Activity stream 2: Rapid deployment for consumer appointments with CHF strategic stakeholders (30 members) 

  • This includes committee or advisory group consumer appointments with short notice 

  • CHF strategic partners include the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing 

• Activity stream 3: CHF rapid policy or program consultations (30 members) 

  • This includes short-notice consultations on policy or programs to inform CHF submissions to government and other decision makers.  

Note:  

• Members of the CHF Register are not representatives of CHF but will form a database  

• CHF will continue to promote and advertise consumer appointments using the CHF Consumer Voices Newsletter and social media channels. The CHF Register is specifically for internal consumer engagement opportunities or when rapid/urgent appointments and opportunities are requested.  

Who should join the Register?

If any of the statements below describe you, we invite you to submit an Expression of Interest to join the CHF Register.  

Are you a consumer advocate or community representative who:  

• Is an emerging health advocate or experienced health consumer representative who has applied their own lived experience to influence systems and services? 

• Is comfortable and motivated to share your lived experience expertise and advocacy experience to support how the consumer voice is reflected in health policy, programs and services?  

• Is keen to be a speaker or panellist for webinars, workshops or conferences on important healthcare issues and consumer engagement approaches? 

• Could be available with rapid or quick turnaround times (less than 3 days) for emerging policy consultations or appointments to committees and advisory groups. 

CHF is committed to creating a national register the reflects the diversity in our broader community. CHF particularly encourages people with disability, people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, diverse gender identities and people living in rural, regional and remote areas to submit an expression of interest to join the CHF Register.

What is involved?

• Members of the CHF Register will share up to two preferred activity streams, their expertise and other areas of interest as part of the Expression of Interest submission.  

• Membership of the CHF Register is for a 12 month term.  

• Successful applicants for CHF Register membership must complete an Onboarding Workshop for the activities they are interested in joining:

  • Onboarding workshop schedule:

    • Presentation and panellists:

      • Tuesday, 29th September 2026 (3pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST)) 

    • Rapid deployment for committees and advisory groups:

      • Thursday, 1 October 2026 (2pm AEST) 

    • Rapid policy and program consultations: 

      • Date TBC in early October 2026 

• Information about opportunities for consumer engagement will be sent to CHF Register member profiles that match the opportunity. Members can submit a simplified expression of interest for opportunities they wish to join.  

• A CHF selection panel will identify the preferred applicants for each opportunity based on: 

  • Lived experience expertise needs of the opportunity (required) 

  • Level of expertise and experience in consumer engagement needed for the opportunity (required) 

  • Availability for required events, preparation and other activities (required) 

  • Equity of opportunity for members on the Register. 

• Membership of the CHF Register does not guarantee participation in activities. It does mean you will be kept informed about opportunities that match the preferred activities and expertise areas provided for your member profile. 

• Members of the CHF Register are not employees or representatives of CHF. 

How to join the CHF Register and get involved:

• Submit your expression of interest to the CHF Register and select up to two activity areas you want to participate in. 

• Progress of your submission (successful and unsuccessful) will be sent by Monday 31st August 2026. Due to the volume of applications, feedback may not be provided on unsuccessful submissions.  

• Attend the compulsory online onboarding and training workshop for the activity area(s) you are interested in.

  • Onboarding workshops will induct members to the Register and are an opportunity for skills development and sharing resources to support successful participation your preferred consumer engagement activities.

• Watch out for emails from CHF inviting you to submit your interest to join opportunities that match your CHF Register profile.

Remuneration

• CHF policy is to remunerate consumers for their time and expertise for completion of agreed work. For CHF led activities, CHF will remunerate participation using $95.20 per hour (ex GST). Other remuneration rates may apply for appointments outside of CHF.

• Note: Remuneration is not provided for being included on the CHF Register, but for completion of work members are appointed to during their time on the CHF Register.

How to apply:

• Please complete this EOI form by:

  • Date: Monday, 17th August 2026  

  • Time:  

    • Melbourne/Sydney/Canberra/Hobart/Brisbane: 1.00 pm 

    • Adelaide/Darwin: 12.30 pm 

    • Perth: 11.00 am 

Questions? 

If you have questions about applying, including to discussing options for audio or video submission alternatives please contact admin@chf.org.au