Information is essential for you to be confident and empowered when making choices about your own health care.
Knowledge about health issues is constantly changing. Every year increases the sum of human knowledge through scientific and medical research, and consumers are empowered who are able to access and understand new information, relevant to their health care.
Warning on using the Internet
The Internet can be an invaluable source of up to date information, about medical conditions, illnesses, research findings, services and other issues of importance to you. However, the quality and reliability of health – related sites on the Internet are varied. Accuracy is not guaranteed. Further, each health consumer or patient is an individual, whose condition is unique. Not all advice on the Internet is good. Not all advice will be relevant or safe for you. A good approach to using the Internet is to make notes on the information that interests you and then discuss it with the doctor or other health professional who is treating you.
We have collected or developed the below resources to help newly arrived migrants, people who are unfamiliar with the WA health system, and/or those who do not have English as a first language. Not all resources are available in languages other than English, but where available we have provided links.
Covid-19 multicultural resources – A collection of Covid resources in languages other than English from both government and reputable other organisations. Includes a video about the government’s COVIDsafe app available in 8 different languages and also a link to download a Covid information app in language.
Overview of the WA Health System – This Government of WA, Department of Health page gives a brief overview of the WA public health system and how it is divided up (geographically) into the metropolitan services of North Metropolitan Health Service, The South Metropolitan Health Service and The East Metropolitan Health Service plus the The Child and Adolescent Health Service and WA Country Health Service for regional and remote. Links to each of these services are provided on the page.
Medicare eligibility and enrolling – This Australian Government page explains who is eligible for Medicare and how to enrol for a Medicare number / card.
About Medicare – This Australian Government page explains what is covered by Medicare and how to make claims (for money back or rebates)
Choosing Private Health Insurance – This page by the Commonwealth Ombudsman for Private Health Insurance explains how private health works in Australia and provides information on choosing a policy.
Your healthcare rights – This Health Consumers’ Council page explains your (legal) rights in healthcare around informed consent and the right to competent care. Links also to more detail about mental health rights.
Going to hospital – Easy English Version – This is a Health Consumers’ Council produced brief brochure which explains (in simple English with few words and plenty of images) what to expect if you are going to hospital. Includes what to pack and a bit about what to expect when you get home.
Choosing the right health service – This animated video from Health Direct (available in English, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese and Vietnamese) explains when it’s appropriate to use an online information resource, consult a telephone or online health help line, consult a pharmacist, consult your GP or go to hospital.
The role of a GP – This animated video from Health Direct (available in English, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese and Vietnamese) explains the role of a General Practitioner (GP) or local, family doctor. It explains what a GP can do for your and your family and how and when they will pass you over to a specialist doctor. It explains how to find, choose and access a GP.
Paying for Healthcare – This animated video from Health Direct (available in English, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese and Vietnamese) discusses the cost of various health services and what services are covered by Medicare, the government scheme that helps Australians pay for healthcare.
Maternity Services – This animated video from Health Direct (available in English, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese and Vietnamese) looks at options for pregnancy care and where to give birth in Australia and the costs associated with the services.
Baby’s First Weeks – This animated video from Health Direct (available in English, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese and Vietnamese) looks and the services and support you can receive in the weeks post birth of a baby when living in Australia.
Mental Health – Link to the Embrace Multicultural Mental Health portal which is for both community and services providers. For community there is a range of mental health resources in multiple languages as well as some personal stories and a list of community support organisations.
Five Questions To Ask Your Doctor – This is a Choosing Wisely provided resource, available in multiple languages, which provides five (5) questions which it is sensible to ask your doctor before opting for any test or treatment (together with a brief explanation as to why each is important).
Speaking Up and Giving Feedback – Link to the Health Consumers’ Council page of “self-advocacy” resources. It provides key resources and links to websites to support yourself in the health system, and provide feedback to our health services.
The Health Translations Directory – A Victorian Government library of health resources which have been translated into multiple languages. A very well stocked library which you can search via topic / condition or via language.
If you are from a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) background or work with people from a CaLD background then please participate in our survey on available health literacy resources for CaLD populations.
Everyone deserves honest, respectful communication when something goes wrong during healthcare.
By Health Consumers’ Council WA
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care released the updated Australian Open Disclosure Framework in June 2026. It replaces the 2014 framework and aims to support more consistent, person centred communication when a patient experiences harm or potential harm during their care.
For Health Consumers’ Council WA (HCCWA), this reflects what health consumers have consistently told us through our advocacy work. People often remember less about the clinical details of an incident than how they were treated afterwards. Being listened to, receiving a genuine apology where appropriate, and understanding what happens next can make a significant difference.
Key takeaways
Open disclosure is about honest, respectful communication when a patient experiences harm or potential harm during healthcare.
Australia’s updated Open Disclosure Framework places greater emphasis on person centred care, cultural safety and ongoing communication with patients and families.
Good open disclosure includes listening to the patient’s experience, explaining what happened, offering a genuine apology where appropriate, and discussing what happens next.
If something goes wrong during your healthcare, you should expect clear communication, opportunities to ask questions, and ongoing updates as more information becomes available.
HCCWA supports safer, more compassionate healthcare by advocating for consumers and working with health services to strengthen open disclosure practices.
What is open disclosure?
Open disclosure is the process of having honest, timely and respectful conversations with patients, families and carers when something goes wrong during healthcare.
It involves:
explaining what is known about what happened
acknowledging the impact of the event
offering an apology where appropriate
listening to the person’s experience and concerns
discussing what will happen next, including any investigations or ongoing care.
Open disclosure is based on the principle that people have a right to be informed about their healthcare. It supports safer care, helps maintain trust and encourages learning when things do not go as planned.
When should open disclosure happen?
Open disclosure should be considered whenever a patient experiences harm, or potential harm, during healthcare.
Harm is not limited to physical injury. The updated framework recognises that people may also experience psychological, emotional or social harm. Importantly, individuals may experience harm differently from how a health service defines or understands it.
This reinforces the importance of listening first, rather than assuming everyone shares the same perspective.
What has changed in the 2026 framework?
Open disclosure has been part of Australian healthcare for many years, but the updated framework places greater emphasis on:
person centred communication
cultural safety
restorative approaches that support healing and learning
recognising different experiences of harm
building trust through ongoing communication, rather than treating open disclosure as a single event.
The framework encourages health services to see open disclosure as more than a process to complete. It describes it as an opportunity to build respectful relationships with patients, families and carers, even during difficult circumstances.
Why this matters for consumers in Western Australia
At HCCWA, we regularly hear from people who have experienced harm during healthcare.
Through both our advocacy work and our open disclosure training with health services, we know these conversations can be challenging for everyone involved. Many clinicians may only participate in a small number of serious open disclosure conversations during their careers.
Our experience is that what matters most is not having the perfect words. It is listening carefully, responding honestly and creating space for people to ask questions, express concerns and be heard.
Open disclosure is not a one way conversation. While it involves sharing information, it is equally about understanding the patient’s experience.
People who are distressed may not remember every detail they are told. They are far more likely to remember whether they felt respected, listened to and treated with compassion.
A genuine apology can play an important role in rebuilding trust. It should be sincere, communicated in plain language and accompanied by meaningful follow up.
Trust is rarely rebuilt in a single meeting. It develops over time through ongoing communication, transparency and action.
Cultural safety must be part of the conversation
The updated framework recognises that open disclosure must be culturally safe for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
It acknowledges that racism, discrimination and power imbalances can influence how people experience healthcare and whether they feel safe speaking openly.
Importantly, cultural safety is determined by the person, family or community receiving care, not by the health service.
This means services need to consider who should be involved in conversations, how information is shared and whether people feel respected, supported and safe throughout the process.
From HCCWA’s experience delivering open disclosure training, cultural safety cannot be added at the end. It needs to be considered from the beginning and embedded throughout every stage of open disclosure.
Putting these principles into practice
The updated framework provides clear principles. The challenge is putting those principles into everyday practice.
Through our work with health services, HCCWA focuses on practical skills that support meaningful open disclosure, including:
preparing for conversations
identifying who should be involved
communicating honestly without speculation
creating opportunities for patients and families to share their experience
providing clear follow up and updates as new information becomes available.
These practical actions often determine whether people feel genuinely supported or simply informed.
What should consumers expect after a healthcare incident?
If something goes wrong during your healthcare, you can reasonably expect:
honest and timely communication
an explanation of what is known
an opportunity to ask questions
respectful treatment throughout the process
ongoing updates if more information becomes available
information about the next steps in your care.
If you feel your concerns have not been heard, you can ask for further discussions or seek support from an independent organisation such as HCCWA.
The Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights also outlines your rights to access, safety, respect, partnership, information, privacy and the opportunity to provide feedback about your care.
What if open disclosure does not happen?
Not every healthcare incident is managed well.
If you believe open disclosure has not occurred, or you feel you have not received honest communication after an adverse event, you can:
ask whether an open disclosure process has been considered
request another meeting
bring a family member, friend or advocate to support you
write down your questions beforehand
ask for information in writing where appropriate
seek independent advice or advocacy if you need support navigating the process.
What this means for consumer representatives and advocates
The updated framework strengthens the role of consumer representatives and advocates in improving healthcare.
It provides a stronger foundation for asking whether open disclosure is being done well. This includes whether communication is timely, whether people feel listened to and whether health services follow through on their commitments.
For consumer representatives, the framework is another practical tool that can help keep the focus on people’s experiences and support improvements across the health system.
How HCCWA supports open disclosure
HCCWA has worked with health services across Western Australia to deliver open disclosure training that combines practical communication skills with the perspectives of health consumers.
Our training helps clinicians build confidence in having honest conversations after adverse events and supports organisations to strengthen their open disclosure practices.
If your organisation is looking to improve its approach to open disclosure, HCCWA can work with your service to deliver practical, consumer informed training tailored to your setting.
Is open disclosure an admission of legal liability?
No. Open disclosure is about communicating openly and respectfully after something has gone wrong. Having an open disclosure conversation does not, by itself, determine legal liability.
Can I ask for open disclosure?
Yes. If you believe you have experienced harm during healthcare and open disclosure has not been offered, you can ask the health service whether an open disclosure process is appropriate.
Can I bring someone with me?
Yes. You can ask a family member, friend, carer or advocate to attend an open disclosure meeting with you for support.
Does open disclosure replace making a complaint?
No. Open disclosure and complaints are different processes. You can still make a complaint if you are unhappy with your care or with how an incident has been managed.
Real change happens when consumer voices are heard.
For more than 30 years, HCCWA has worked alongside consumers, carers, communities, health services, and decision-makers to improve healthcare in Western Australia.
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30+ years championing consumer voices
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1,200+ Consumer enquiries supported annually
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$4.77 social value created for every $1 invested
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Thousands of Western Australians engaged every year
Here are just some of the ways consumer voices shape change.
Supporting people to navigate healthcare
Every year, HCCWA helps hundreds of Western Australians navigate complex healthcare issues, understand their rights, communicate with providers, and have their concerns heard.
Over the past year alone:
• More than 1,200 people contacted HCCWA for support and information. • More than 100 consumers received direct support during meetings with healthcare providers and services. • Independent evaluation found that every $1 invested in HCCWA's Individual Health Advocacy Service creates $4.77 in social value.
Bringing lived experience into decision-making
Consumer representatives supported by HCCWA contribute to:
• Health service planning. • Quality improvement projects. • Research and clinical governance. • Statewide advisory groups. • Healthcare policy development.
Their lived experience helps ensure decisions reflect the needs of people who use healthcare services.
Helping decision-makers understand what matters most
Through consultations, surveys, workshops, events, and community engagement activities, HCCWA gathers consumer perspectives from across Western Australia.
These insights help identify:
• Barriers to access. • Safety concerns. • Affordability challenges. • Opportunities for improvement. • Emerging healthcare issues.
We share these insights with health services, government agencies, researchers, and policymakers to help inform better decisions.
Creating opportunities for people to have a voice
Every year, thousands of Western Australians participate in HCCWA activities through:
Together, these voices help create a healthcare system that better reflects the needs of the community.
What could your voice help change?
A better patient experience. A safer service. A more accessible system. A policy that better reflects community needs.
Every improvement starts with someone speaking up. When consumers share their experiences and ideas, decision-makers gain the insight they need to make healthcare work better for everyone.
Most people want their healthcare experience to be positive, respectful and centred around their needs.
Sometimes, however, you may leave an appointment, hospital stay or healthcare service feeling confused, concerned or unsure about what happened.
You might feel that your questions were not fully answered. You may not understand a decision about your care. You might feel that something could have been handled differently. Perhaps something has gone wrong.
If this happens, it is important to know that you have options.
Providing feedback is an important part of improving healthcare. It helps healthcare services understand what is working well, what could be improved and where consumers may need additional support.
Just as importantly, giving feedback is one of your healthcare rights.
Start with a conversation
In many cases, concerns can be resolved through clear communication and a conversation with the healthcare service involved.
If your concern relates to a public hospital, you can contact the hospital’s Consumer Liaison Service or Patient Feedback Service.
If your concern relates to a GP clinic, specialist practice or other healthcare provider, you can contact the practice manager.
Sometimes a conversation can clarify misunderstandings, answer questions or help resolve concerns quickly.
When raising a concern, it can help to:
Explain what happened as clearly as possible
Describe how the situation affected you
Ask questions if something is unclear
Explain what outcome you are hoping for
Keep a record of important conversations or correspondence
Knowing your rights and communicating clearly can help you feel more confident when discussing concerns about your healthcare.
What if my concern is not resolved?
Sometimes concerns are not resolved through initial conversations.
If that happens, there are several options available depending on the nature of your concern.
Contact HaDSCO
The Health and Disability Services Complaints Office (HaDSCO) is an independent complaints resolution service in Western Australia.
HaDSCO can help consumers and healthcare providers work towards resolving complaints about health, disability and mental health services.
Share your experience through Care Opinion Australia
Care Opinion Australia provides a public platform where consumers can share their healthcare experiences and feedback.
For many public hospitals, services respond publicly to stories and feedback shared through the platform.
This can be a valuable way to share both positive and negative healthcare experiences and contribute to service improvement.
Concerned about a health practitioner?
If your concern relates to an individual health practitioner, such as a doctor, nurse, psychologist, dentist or other registered health professional, you may be able to raise a concern with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra).
Ahpra also maintains a public Register of Practitioners, where consumers can check whether a practitioner is registered and whether any conditions have been placed on their registration.
What are my rights as a health consumer?
Every person receiving healthcare has rights.
These include the right to:
Be treated with respect and dignity
Ask questions about your care
Receive information in a way you can understand
Be involved in decisions about your healthcare
Seek a second opinion
Provide feedback about your healthcare experience
Many people worry that their concern is not important enough to raise.
However, feedback plays an important role in improving healthcare services and helping organisations understand the experiences of consumers and carers.
Building confidence through self-advocacy
Self-advocacy means understanding your rights, communicating your needs and actively participating in decisions about your healthcare.
It does not mean being confrontational.
It means asking questions, seeking information, raising concerns when necessary and working collaboratively with healthcare providers to achieve the best possible outcomes.
The more informed and confident you are, the better equipped you are to navigate healthcare services and make decisions about your care.
Need support with self-advocacy?
Health Consumers’ Council WA provides a range of free resources to help consumers understand their rights and navigate the healthcare system with confidence.
Our resources include:
Self-advocacy guides
Factsheets
Letter templates
Workshops and training
Independent Individual Health Advocacy Service (IHAS)
Explore our free self-advocacy resources and learn more about your healthcare rights by visiting our website.
Let’s make healthcare fair for all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I complain about a hospital in Western Australia?
Yes. You can start by contacting the hospital’s Consumer Liaison Service or Patient Feedback Service. If your concern is not resolved, you may wish to contact HaDSCO or use other available feedback pathways.
Can I complain about my doctor?
Yes. You can raise concerns directly with the practice, and in some situations you may also be able to raise concerns with Ahpra.
What is HaDSCO?
The Health and Disability Services Complaints Office is an independent Western Australian service that helps resolve complaints about health, disability and mental health services.
What is Ahpra?
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency regulates registered health practitioners across Australia and manages notifications about practitioners.
Do I have the right to give feedback about my healthcare?
Yes. Providing feedback and raising concerns about your healthcare is one of your healthcare rights.
Where can I get help advocating for myself?
Health Consumers’ Council WA provides free self-advocacy resources, workshops, fact sheets, templates and independent advocacy support through our Individual Health Advocacy Service (IHAS).
Prepared for participants, our consumer community and health system partners
A warm welcome back, and a thank you
These workshops belong to everyone who showed up: those who came in person on a Saturday morning, those who joined online on a Tuesday evening, and those who registered and couldn’t make it this time. Your interest matters, and there will always be a door open for you.
This report is our way of sharing what happened in those rooms and online spaces, and what we heard. It’s written for the people who attended, for our wider consumer community across WA, and for the health system partners and consumer engagement teams who are part of this work with us.
We hope it reflects not just what was covered, but the spirit of how it was covered: honestly, warmly, and grounded in the belief that the experiences of people who use, care for others in, and move through health services are a form of knowledge the system cannot afford to ignore.
“taking the time out of our weekend to come along” – Workshop facilitator, opening the in-person session
What we heard: key themes
Across both sessions, a number of strong themes emerged. These weren’t just talking points; they were things people felt and named from their own lives.
1. Lived experience is a form of knowledge
People who use health services, care for others, navigate aged care, mental health, disability or hospital systems hold knowledge the system cannot get from data alone. This came through clearly in both workshops.
“as consumers moving through it, you then start seeing the gaps”
“our perspectives and experiences are so valuable and give services and systems the information they can’t get anywhere else”
This is one of the core reasons consumer representation matters. Participants told us the most useful parts of the workshop included gaining “in-depth knowledge of health WA,” “understanding the value” of consumer representation, and learning “what consumer reps can expect, skills required, barriers, challenges and benefits.” Together, these responses suggest the workshops helped people see that their experience is not secondary to professional knowledge. It is different knowledge. And it is essential.
2. Consumer representation is contribution, not just a position
Many participants described consumer representation as a way of using their hard-won experience to improve services for others. For some, that came from personal health experiences. For others, it came from watching a parent, child, partner or family member struggle to navigate a system that wasn’t designed with them in mind.
“sharing what I’ve been through to help make the system better for other people”
“have a say and be a voice for people who don’t necessarily have the strength to do that”
People are not coming to consumer representation only because they want a seat at a table. They are coming because they want what they have been through, or what someone they love has been through, to mean something.
“To get to know that consumer representation work can really make consumers’ life easier.”
That comment captures a practical hope that ran through both workshops. Consumer representation is not abstract. It is about improving real people’s real experiences of care.
3. Representation is relational and collective
Consumer representation is not only about telling our own story. Our stories matter; they often bring us into this work. But participants also reflected on how the work asks us to listen, stay curious, seek out other perspectives and hold space for voices that are different from our own.
“Everyone around the table is human, not just the specialists, and your voice is just as important.”
This speaks to both confidence and connection. Consumer representation is not about creating an “us and them” divide. It’s about bringing lived experience into shared spaces, while being honest about power, accountability and the need for change.
4. Diversity is central, not optional
Both workshops gave real attention to diversity. Participants across the two sessions brought a wide range of identities and experiences: carers, people living with chronic illness, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, healthcare staff, community members and people new to the work.
“If someone has experienced racism or discrimination in the health system, asking them to sit on a committee can feel impossible.”
This is a powerful reminder. Inviting people is not enough. If people have been harmed, dismissed or treated unfairly by systems, participation needs to be built with care, trust and safety. The workshops consistently encouraged participants to ask: Who has been involved? Who hasn’t? What might we be missing? What do we need to do differently?
5. The work is practical and values-based
Participants valued both the practical and the human dimensions of the workshops. People discussed what consumer representatives can expect, including payment, orientation, preparation time, support from coordinators and respect in meetings. They also discussed skills: listening, asking good questions, being prepared, managing power dynamics, seeking information and sharing experience safely.
“we put names to these numbers”
That comment captures something important. Consumer representatives help ensure that systems don’t lose sight of the people affected by their decisions. Evaluation responses described the most useful elements as the “interactive nature,” the “honest and open and authentic account of the role,” and the practical detail about what the work involves.
6. Tokenism, accountability and closing the loop
Participants were honest about the risk of consumer involvement becoming a tick-box exercise. This included concerns about not being heard, being the only person with a different view, feeling spoken over, having too little preparation time, or being invited into decisions too late to make a real difference.
The workshops were clear: meaningful partnership is not just about inviting people in. It is about creating the conditions for people to contribute well, taking that contribution seriously, and coming back to people with what happened as a result. People want to know: What did you do with what we said? What changed? What couldn’t change, and why? That feedback loop is a form of respect.
7. The work can be meaningful and hard, sometimes at the same time
The workshops were honest about the emotional dimensions of consumer representation. People often come to this work because something difficult or harmful happened to them or to someone they care about. That motivation can be powerful. It can also make the work emotionally demanding.
“Knowing when you can share the raw emotion, and when you can’t, is a really fine balance.”
Participants discussed bureaucracy, slow change, power imbalances, vicarious trauma and the challenge of knowing how to bring personal experience into formal spaces without being asked to carry more than is fair. The training was clear: consumer representative roles are not therapy. People need support, boundaries and care to do this work sustainably over time.
Self-care was framed as a collective as well as an individual responsibility: knowing our limits, debriefing, finding allies, seeking mentoring, choosing the right opportunities, and remembering that this work should also bring something to us.
About these workshops
In March and April 2026, Health Consumers’ Council WA held two Introduction to Consumer Representation workshops. One was an in-person Saturday session; the other was an online Tuesday evening session. Together, they brought people into conversation, people at different stages of their journeys with consumer representation, and from different corners of WA.
These sessions are part of HCCWA’s core training and engagement work. They are designed for people with lived and learned experience, for carers, family members and community members who want to understand what consumer representation can look like, why it matters, and how they might contribute to making health services work better for everyone.
The timing and format of both sessions were deliberate. The Saturday workshop came out of feedback that people needed options outside standard working hours. The Tuesday evening online session recognised that many people are fitting this kind of engagement around employment, caring responsibilities, health needs, study and family life. Accessibility is not an afterthought at HCCWA. It is central to how we think about participation.
Consumer representation is not separate from the communities we’re part of. It’s one way that people who live with and through health systems can bring their knowledge into places where decisions are made, and help those decisions be better.
Who took part
Across the two workshops, 35 people registered. Thirteen people attended: five at the in-person session and eight online. A number of people sent apologies and couldn’t make it on the day.
Importantly, two people who had registered for the in-person Saturday session and were unable to attend came back and joined the online Tuesday evening session instead. Because a second option existed, they were able to find a time that worked for them and still participate. This is exactly why offering different formats matters: not as a logistical convenience, but because the right opportunity at the right time is what makes participation genuinely accessible.
We want to say something directly here: lower attendance than registrations is not a failure, by anyone. It’s a reality of community participation. People register because they want to come. Work, health, caring, transport, unexpected demands: sometimes life gets in the way. This is one of the reasons we follow up with everyone who couldn’t attend and personally invite them to the next available session. Missing one workshop does not mean missing the opportunity. You are always still welcome.
“It really wasn’t until I had to help my elderly mother and uncle navigate aged care and health that I realised how complicated it all is, especially if you don’t have IT skills or English as a first language.” – Workshop participant
This quote captures something we heard throughout both sessions: people often come to consumer representation because they have seen, very personally, how hard systems can be to navigate. And they want that to change for the next person.
A snapshot of who responded to our evaluation
Six people completed anonymous evaluation forms across the two sessions. While this isn’t a full picture of everyone who attended, it gives us a useful snapshot of who provided feedback.
People who responded included:
Consumer representatives and people new to consumer representation
A consumer who is part of a systemic advisory group
A healthcare staff member
A community member
People who identified as carers, people living with chronic health conditions, and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
Respondents came from postcodes across metropolitan Perth and regional WA, a reminder that this work matters from Fremantle to the south-west and beyond. For every single one of them, this was their first time attending an HCCWA training or event.
What the workshops covered
The sessions worked through a lot of ground, but always with people at the centre. Topics included:
How the WA health system is structured, and where its connections and gaps tend to be
What we mean when we talk about consumers, carers, family, lived experience and learned experience
What consumer representative roles can actually involve in practice
Partnering with consumers, including Standard 2 of the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards
What people can expect when they step into a consumer representative role
The skills and qualities that support effective representation
The importance of diversity, and of noticing whose voices are still missing
Honest conversation about the challenges: tokenism, power dynamics, emotional labour and feeling unheard
Self-care, boundaries and sustainability in the work
Where to find further support, training and opportunities through HCCWA and beyond
What made these workshops more than a list of topics, though, was the way they were held. Consumer representation was never framed as a technical task or a formal position only. It was framed as relational, values-based work, grounded in lived experience, shared responsibility and connection to community.
What participants told us
Feedback on the day, and through the evaluation forms, was positive and thoughtful.
Everyone who gave feedback after the workshops said:
The workshop was a good use of their time
The length was just right
They would recommend an HCCWA event to a friend, colleague or network
Their knowledge of the importance of consumer representation improved: four said it had greatly improved, two said it had improved
Most respondents also reported increased interest in getting involved. Four said their interest had greatly increased, one said it had increased, and one said it had stayed the same, which may simply mean they were already keen.
In their own words: what was most useful
“In-depth knowledge of health WA”
“Understanding the value”
“What consumer reps can expect, skills required, barriers, challenges and benefits”
“Interactive nature”
“Honest and open and authentic account of the role”
“To get to know that consumer representation work can really make consumers’ life easier.”
What participants suggested we could do better
When asked what was least useful, most people said nothing, or that all parts were useful. One person noted the health system overview was complex and acknowledged openly that the system itself is complex and convoluted. This is useful feedback: the overview is important, and we can keep working on how we present it clearly.
One participant suggested we explore ways of managing discussion so that each person has a chance to contribute without any one topic taking over. That’s something we will consider for future sessions.
What worked well, and what we’re thinking about next
These workshops did several things well.
They created welcoming spaces where people could bring their experience, questions and uncertainty without needing to already have system knowledge. They affirmed lived and learned experience as valuable knowledge, not a nice addition but something central. They were practical and honest about what consumer representation involves, including the challenges. They supported people to see themselves as capable contributors to change.
The smaller in-person group allowed for deeper conversation and relationship-building. The online evening format broadened access for people who could not attend in person or during the day. Across both formats, participants responded to authenticity: not just being told what consumer representation is but being invited into an honest conversation about what it feels like and what helps.
For future sessions, we are thinking about:
Making the WA health system overview easier to navigate, with clearer visuals and plain-language pathways
Continuing to offer flexible formats, in person and online, on weekends and evenings, so that more people can participate around their lives
Protecting space for genuine discussion while supporting a good session flow
Keeping diversity, equity and missing voices as core content throughout, not a separate topic
Continuing to name emotional labour, boundaries and self-care as genuine parts of the work
In closing
These two workshops were a small, meaningful piece of the work. Thirteen people came together, bringing curiosity, experience and care, and explored what it might look like to contribute to a health system that works better for everyone.
The strongest message across both sessions was consistent: people who use services, care for others and navigate health systems hold knowledge that matters. This knowledge helps services see what is working, what is confusing, what is missing and what needs to change.
“Consumer representatives help put names to these numbers.”
“sharing experience to help make the system better for other people”
Together, those two reflections capture the heart of this work.
Consumer representation is not separate from community. It is grounded in relationships, accountability and shared responsibility. It asks us to bring our own experience, listen for the experiences of others, notice who is missing, and keep working towards systems that better reflect the needs and realities of the people they serve.
For HCCWA, these sessions are part of strengthening the pathways for people to contribute to health system improvement across WA. They are also a model of the kind of engagement we want to see more broadly: accessible, honest, relational, inclusive and grounded in the belief that our experiences can create change.
Thank you to everyone who came, who tried to come, and who continues to believe that their experience belongs in the room.
In March and April, we ran two workshops and brought together thirteen people at different stages of their consumer representation journeys. What they shared was honest, thoughtful and consistent with what we have heard over many years of running this training.
People come to this work because something happened to them or to someone they love, and they want it to mean something changes for the next person. They want to understand the system well enough to push back on it. They want to contribute in a way that is heard and respected, not just invited in and then overlooked.
“our perspectives and experiences are so valuable and give services and systems the information they can’t get anywhere else”
We have put together a full summary of both workshops, including what participants told us about the value of lived experience, the realities of consumer representative roles, the importance of diversity and who is still missing from these spaces, and what makes participation meaningful rather than tokenistic.
Why this matters beyond the training room
Consumer representatives play a specific and important role in systems change. They bring the perspectives of people who use services into the places where decisions are made. They help ensure that what the health system understands about what is working, what is missing and what needs to change is grounded in real life, not just data and projections.
HCCWA’s role is to make sure the people stepping into those roles feel ready: informed, supported and clear that their experience is a form of expertise. That has been our commitment for 34 years and this training is one of the places where that commitment shows up in practice
A training built for the long haul
This is not a one-off workshop or a box to tick before someone is assigned to a committee or a working group or a seat at an executive table. It is a space where people with lived and learned experience of health services can explore what consumer representative work actually involves, think about whether and how they want to contribute, and build confidence to do that well. The content covers the shape of the WA health system and where consumer voices can fit within it. It is honest about the challenges: the risk of tokenism, the emotional weight of bringing personal experience into formal spaces, the patience required when change is slow. And it is grounded, always, in the belief that people who use health services hold knowledge the system cannot get from anywhere else.
It has been delivered face to face, fully online, and now in both formats because we have learned that different options open the door for different people. In 2026, two people who couldn’t make the Saturday in-person session came back and attended the Tuesday evening online session instead. That is what genuine accessibility looks like: not just saying people are welcome, but making sure there is more than one way in.
Over three decades of consumer voices: the training that keeps people ready
Since 1994, Health Consumers’ Council WA has stood alongside people who use health services across WA. Throughout that time, one thread has run consistently through our work: helping people understand that their experience matters, that their voice belongs in the room, and that they have something real to contribute to making the health system better.
Our Introduction to Consumer Representation training is one of the ways we do that. The current iteration of this training goes back to 2019, but this commitment goes back much further. The format has evolved; the purpose has not.
Read the full 2026 workshop summary report or get in touch with us at engagement@hconc.org.au if you are interested in consumer representation opportunities or want to know when our next session is running.
We’re excited to share HCCWA’s new Health Passport — a simple, practical tool designed to make healthcare appointments easier and less stressful for people from non-English speaking backgrounds.
The Health Passport helps people share important information with health services, especially when they are not yet confident reading or writing in English, or when they need communication support such as an Auslan interpreter.
With support from a family member, carer, community worker or service provider, a person can complete the Health Passport before attending a health appointment. Once completed, it gives healthcare staff key information at a glance, helping to reduce the need for people to repeatedly answer questions they may not fully understand or feel confident responding to.
We hope the Health Passport helps people feel more prepared, supported and confident when accessing care — and helps health services provide care that is respectful, inclusive and person-centred.
The Health Passport is now available to download and use. We encourage you to share it with your community, clients, networks and anyone who may find it helpful.
We warmly welcome feedback from both health consumers and healthcare providers as we continue working together to make healthcare more accessible for everyone.
This work also connects closely with HCCWA’s Diversity Dialogues initiative, which brings together consumers, carers, communities, and healthcare organisations to discuss how we can improve healthcare access and experiences for everyone in WA.
Our next Diversity Dialogues session will focus on improving access to care for older people from migrant and refugee backgrounds.
WA Health now has a mandatory policy for how body worn cameras can be used in public health facilities. The policy is intended to support safety during incidents of violence, aggression or threatening behaviour, while protecting people’s privacy, dignity and rights.
Plain language question
Plain language answer
Who can use body worn cameras?
Only Security Officers can use them under this policy.
When can they be turned on?
Only when there is an imminent safety risk involving violent, aggressive or threatening behaviour.
Are they for routine surveillance?
No. They must not be used for general monitoring, intimidation, harassment, discrimination, personal use or staff disputes.
Do people need to be told?
Yes, where practicable. Security Officers should clearly tell people the camera is being activated and that they are being recorded.
When should recording stop?
Recording should stop once the incident is resolved and the immediate safety risk has passed.
How is footage handled?
Footage must be downloaded, securely stored, linked to a security incident report, and accessed or disclosed only under relevant WA Health rules.
What the policy allows
Body worn cameras can only be used by Security Officers when they are responding to incidents involving violent, aggressive or threatening behaviour.
They are one part of a broader workplace violence and aggression response. The cameras may help deter or de-escalate behaviour and may create an objective record of an incident.
They must be used lawfully, ethically and proportionately.
What the policy does not allow
Cameras are not for routine or general surveillance.
They must not be used for personal purposes, staff disputes, intimidation, harassment or discrimination.
They should not be activated simply because a person is distressed, unwell, frustrated or upset unless there is an immediate safety risk involving threatening, violent or aggressive behaviour.
When cameras can be turned on
A camera can only be activated when there is an imminent risk to the safety of workers, patients or visitors.
Imminent risk means there is a credible and immediate threat based on current, clear and objective signs that harm is happening or about to happen.
Where practicable, Security Officers must tell people clearly that the camera is being turned on and that they are being recorded. This may include physical actions, such as pointing to the camera, to support understanding.
Places and situations needing extra care
Cameras should generally not be activated in highly private or sensitive spaces, such as toilets, change rooms, bathrooms, parent rooms, lactation rooms, clinical treatment areas, during medical procedures, or when someone is undressed.
The exception is where there is an imminent safety risk involving threatening, violent or aggressive behaviour.
Security Officers should consider relevant information from clinical staff before activating a camera, including known clinical conditions, substance use, triggers or behavioural history, particularly where recording may escalate the situation.
When recording must stop
Recording should stop once the incident has been resolved, the immediate safety risk has passed, and the Security Officer has been stood down from the incident or risk.
If a patient, carer, guardian, staff member or member of the public asks for recording to stop, the Security Officer must assess whether continued recording is still necessary and lawful.
If recording continues, the person should be told clearly.
Privacy and access to footage
Body worn cameras are treated as listening and optical surveillance devices under WA surveillance law.
Recordings must avoid unlawful recording of private conversations or private activities.
Footage must be downloaded and stored securely at the end of each shift, or as soon as practicable, in an access-controlled system.
Stored footage must be linked to a relevant security incident report. Access, use or disclosure must be managed under relevant WA Health information access, retention, privacy and Aboriginal data governance policies.
How use will be reported and monitored
The policy includes only limited requirements for reporting and monitoring body worn camera use.
When a workplace violence and aggression incident occurs and a camera is activated, the incident report must include the words “BWC activated” so footage can be linked to the incident record.
Footage must be linked to the relevant security incident report and stored in an access-controlled system.
Compliance monitoring focuses on whether Security Officers have completed mandatory body worn camera training.
The System Governance and Reform Unit, on behalf of the System Manager, may ask Health Service Providers for additional information to evaluate compliance and support policy evaluation.
The policy does not clearly set out routine public or consumer-facing reporting on how often cameras are used, where they are used, who is recorded, whether people ask for recording to stop, complaints about camera use, access requests, disclosures of footage, or audit outcomes.
Training and local procedures
Health Service Providers must develop their own procedures that align with the statewide policy.
Security Officers must complete training before wearing or operating a camera.
Training must cover legal requirements, activation and deactivation, access and disclosure, end-of-shift processes, incident reporting, verbal notification, camera positioning and device operation.
Consumer-rights and implementation issues to watch
Whether consumers, carers and visitors are told about camera use in clear, accessible and culturally safe ways.
How staff decide that a safety risk is imminent, and whether that decision is documented consistently.
How the policy is applied for people who are distressed, unwell, intoxicated, experiencing mental health crisis, cognitively impaired, neurodivergent, communicating in a language other than English, or experiencing cultural unsafety.
Whether recording in sensitive clinical or personal spaces is treated as genuinely exceptional.
How people can ask questions, raise concerns, make complaints or request access to information about footage involving them.
Whether local procedures include practical guidance for de-escalation, trauma-informed care, disability access, interpreter use, and culturally safe communication.
Whether local monitoring includes consumer-focused measures, such as number of activations, locations, reasons for activation, requests to stop recording, complaints, access requests, disclosures and equity impacts.
Note
This summary is intended to support discussion. It does not replace the official WA Health policy.
WA Health has introduced a statewide mandatory policy for body worn camera use in public health facilities. The policy is about staff and visitor safety, but it also raises important questions about trust, dignity, communication, privacy and accountability.
WA Health has introduced a new mandatory policy about the use of body worn cameras in public health facilities. The policy is focused on supporting safety during incidents involving violence, aggression or threatening behaviour. It sets out when body worn cameras can be used, who can use them, how people should be told they are being recorded, and how footage should be managed.
Health Consumers’ Council WA was invited to take part in the policy consultation process, alongside clinical, safety and health system representatives. We appreciated the opportunity to bring a consumer perspective into those discussions and to speak to what matters for people, families and communities when they are accessing care.
For us, this conversation was about more than the cameras themselves. It was about trust, dignity, communication, privacy and safety.
We also want to acknowledge why this policy exists. Health care workers, security staff and others working in our health system have the right to be safe at work. No one should experience violence, aggression, threats or abuse while providing care or supporting people in health services.
When staff feel unsafe, this can affect everyone – staff, patients, families, carers and other people nearby. A safer environment supports better care.
From a consumer perspective, supporting staff safety and protecting consumer rights are not opposing goals. Both matter. The important question is how safety measures are used, especially in situations where people may be unwell, frightened, distressed, overwhelmed or in crisis.
This is not completely new
Body worn cameras are already used in a range of public safety and frontline settings across Australia. They have also already been used in some WA health settings.
For example, WA Country Health Service has had a local Body Worn Camera Procedure for security officers working at WACHS health sites and facilities. That procedure was published in May 2025 and covers the use of body worn cameras, associated equipment, and the capture, management, storage, retrieval and release of digital data.
WACHS also has an Electronic Security Systems Policy that includes body worn cameras as part of its broader security arrangements, alongside CCTV, duress alarms and access or identification cards.
So, the new WA Health policy is not simply about introducing a new technology for the first time. What is new is the statewide mandatory policy. This creates a system-wide framework for the lawful, ethical and consistent use of body worn cameras across all WA public health facilities.
We have not found publicly available body worn camera-specific policies for every Health Service Provider. This is one reason a statewide policy matters: it gives services a shared set of minimum requirements, rather than relying only on local arrangements that may differ between services and may not be easy for consumers to find.
What the WA policy says
Under the WA Health policy, body worn cameras can only be used by Security Officers. They are not for routine surveillance. They may be activated only when there is an imminent risk to the safety of staff, patients or visitors because of violent, aggressive or threatening behaviour.
Where practicable, people should be told that recording is starting. This is important because clear communication can help reduce fear, confusion and mistrust, especially for people who may already be distressed or struggling to understand what is happening.
The policy also recognises that extra care is needed in private, sensitive and clinical areas. From a consumer perspective, this is one of the most important parts of implementation. A person’s dignity, privacy and cultural safety still matter, even when a situation is difficult or unsafe.
What happens to the footage?
The policy does not set one simple storage timeframe for body worn camera footage. Instead, footage must be managed in line with WA Health information policies and State Government records rules. In practice, footage linked to a security incident may be kept for longer than routine footage, depending on the type of incident, whether it is needed for investigation, and how the record is classified.
A consumer who wants access to footage involving them will need to contact the relevant hospital or health service and ask about access through Freedom of Information or the appropriate information access process. Access may not be automatic, especially if other people are identifiable in the footage.
Questions consumer representatives can ask
As this policy is put into practice, consumer representatives, Chairs and committee members can play an important role by staying curious and asking practical questions, like:
How will people be told when a body worn camera is being turned on?
How will staff make sure people understand what is happening, especially if they are distressed, unwell, cognitively impaired, culturally unsafe, or communicating in a language other than English?
How often are body worn cameras being activated, and in what kinds of situations?
How will services monitor whether cameras are being used appropriately?
How will consumers, families and carers be able to raise concerns or provide feedback?
How long is footage kept, who can access it, and how are people told about their rights to request access?
How will consumer experience be included in evaluation of the policy?
Keeping people at the centre
HCCWA supports safe health services for everyone – patients, families, carers, staff, volunteers and visitors. We also believe that safety measures must be implemented in ways that protect dignity, trust, cultural safety and compassion.
Many of the situations where body worn cameras may be used will involve people at very difficult moments in their lives. That is why monitoring and evaluation should look beyond compliance and should also consider what body worn camera use means for consumers, including whether people feel respected, informed and safe.
We are sharing this information as part of our commitment to keeping our consumer community informed about policy changes and the work HCCWA is involved in. We hope it supports consumer representatives, Chairs and community leaders to take part confidently in conversations about how this policy is implemented across WA Health.
