Wednesday July 30, 2025
On the 29 July Eastern Health held our Annual Consumer & Community Forum at The Round. It was a special (and hybrid) event that brought close to 100 people together including consumer representatives, community members, local council representatives, community organisation representatives and Eastern Health staff and leaders.
This forum, themed Strength in Diversity, was also a celebration and chance to share important initiatives that reflect our deepening commitment to inclusion and equity. This included the launch of the Eastern Health Diversity Equity & Inclusion Framework and Plan, LGBTQIA+ Equity Action Plan and Disability Action Plan. These plans are a milestone for Eastern Health and a promise — to do better, to listen more closely, and to make inclusion a lived reality across all our services.
Forums like this create a valuable space for education about key projects, such as Safewards Acute, and open conversations between health service providers, consumers and the community. When we value people with lived experience and community knowledge as equal partners, we can shape care that is not only clinically strong, but also compassionate, respectful, and truly person-centred.
As an organisation, we know that creating safe, welcoming spaces for all is ongoing work. Events like this help keep our communities informed and are great starting points for further collaboration between different groups. The journey continues — and every staff member, every consumer, every voice has a role to play.
We would like to thank our wonderful event sponsors Community Bank Inner East for attending and supporting the event.
A big thank you to all the consumer representatives, community members, representatives from community groups, council and community organisations for taking the time to attend the event in person and online.
A huge congratulations to all our staff who were involved in the initiatives mentioned above.
Special thanks our event planning committee, guest speakers, stall holders, online support team, table facilitators, experts and notetakers, and everyone who took the time to support the event in various ways. Follow the links to get involved with consumer and community partnerships at Eastern Health, or learn more about our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work
Community Advisory Committee – Recruiting Now
Eastern Health is the major provider of public health services in Melbourne’s eastern region. One important way that consumers are involved at Eastern Health is through our Community Advisory Committee (CAC). The CAC is an advisory committee of the Eastern Health Board of Directors. The committee meets every second month to provide direction and advice regarding consumer and community engagement.
We are looking for motivated and enthusiastic people who would like to partner with us to improve healthcare for our community.
· Share your voice and experience
· Influence decisions
· Contribute to ongoing improvements in our health service.
You can read the Terms of Reference, role description and selection criteria, available here.
Consumer representatives who are currently on the Eastern Health Consumer Representatives Register are welcome to apply.
Expressions of interest including a cover letter and brief CV can be sent to Rachel Soh – consumers@easternhealth.org.au by close of business on the 22 August 2025.