Introduction to the capability framework

The Victorian Department of Health acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia, and their continuing connections to land, sea and community, and pays respect to Aboriginal people and cultures, and to Elders past, present and emerging.

The department recognises the strength of people living with trauma, neurodiversity, mental illness and substance use or addiction, and their families, carers and supporters, and remembers those who have been lost to suicide.

The department acknowledges the many individuals and organisations who contributed their time, stories, experience and wisdom to guide and contribute to the development of this framework.

For your safety

Some people may find parts of this content confronting or distressing. If you are in crisis, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or see other ways to seek help.

Language is powerful. The words we use to describe ourselves and each other can convey hope, compassion and empathy. They can empower and embolden. They can also cause division and create stigma.

We aim to use inclusive and respectful language in this document – but we realise not everyone will agree with the terminology we have chosen. Different mental health and wellbeing professionals describe themselves in different ways. People with lived experience of mental illness also have diverse experiences, and definitions of mental health or illness may be different for different people at different times. Refer to the glossary of terminology for more.

We use ‘person’, ‘person with lived experience’ and ‘consumers’ rather than terms such as ‘clients’, ‘service users’ or ‘patients’. We use the terms ‘families’, ‘carers’ and ‘supporters’, which include partners, carers, significant others, friends and anyone who has a personal, supporting and caring relationship with the person. We also use the term ‘community’ to denote that people from specific populations like LGBTQI and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples often draw their support from that community.

The mental health and wellbeing workforce is a large and diverse workforce that works in a range of roles and settings. We have not always been able to capture the nuances and the unique and important elements that each workforce cohort brings to the system. For example, in some workforce roles, such as Family and Carer Consultant roles, it is the family member or carer who receives services or support, rather than the consumer.

This framework places consumers, carers and families at the centre. It also recognises breadth of expertise and experiences that exist across the mental health and wellbeing workforce. It acknowledges that the Victorian mental health and wellbeing workforce encompasses people from many different professions, education and backgrounds, who all have the passion and drive to work in the sector. Every member of the workforce draws on their own expertise, experience and background to enable and deliver care, support and treatment for consumers, their families, carers and supporters. We recognise and value all forms of experience equally.