Apply to Contribute Your Voice

Meli is inviting women with lived experience of family violence to express their interest in a new Peer Worker role within our Safe at Home program.

We know that lived experience brings insight, empathy, and guidance that cannot be learned from textbooks. Your voice can help shape a service that truly understands what safety, stability, and recovery feel like in real life.

If you’re someone who feels ready to use your experience to support others, we would love to hear from you.

About the Role

Safe at Home uses a whole‑of‑family approach, which means we consider the needs of all family members, including children and young people; recognising that each person’s experience matters, and that safety and recovery are strengthened when the whole family is supported.

You would work alongside our Family Violence Case Managers to help women stay safely in their homes or to navigate new housing and community options if home is no longer safe.

You don’t need to have completed your qualifications—we welcome applicants who are currently studying in the field. What’s most important is having enough personal distance, stability, and readiness to draw on your lived experience in a safe and supported way.

Ongoing training, supervision, and mentoring will be provided.

• This position is a fixed term, full time position until 31 December 2027
• Salary: $88,307 p/a + Super + Salary Packaging

What You Would Do in This Role

Below is a simple overview of the kinds of things a Peer Worker will do in Safe at Home:

• Build connection and trust: Help women feel safe, understood, and supported by gently drawing on your own lived experience when it’s helpful.
• Share concerns with the team: Notice and share anything that might affect someone’s safety, working together with case managers.
• Support recovery and next steps: Work with family members and their case manager to plan small, achievable steps toward safety, stability, and confidence.
• Help people find supports and services: Sit alongside women as they work out what services might help, and support them to connect in when they’re ready.
• Explain things clearly: Help community members understand the Safe at Home program in simple, everyday language - what it is, how it works, and what choices they have.
• Encourage healthy boundaries and self‑advocacy: Model respectful communication and help community members build confidence to speak up for their needs.
• Bring lived experience into team conversations: Share ideas in team meetings or reflective practice, recognising that everyone’s story is different.
• Maintain boundaries and self‑care: Know what is part of the role (and what isn’t), use supervision, and take care of your wellbeing.
• Join supervision and training: Take part in regular support, training, and learning opportunities - no one is expected to know everything on day one.
• Help improve the program: Share your ideas about what’s working well and what could be better as Safe at Home continues to grow.

Who We’re Hoping to Hear From

You may be a good fit for this role if you:

• have lived experience of family violence and feel ready to use that experience in a safe and intentional way
• can reflect on your own journey and understand that others’ experiences may be different
• bring empathy, patience, and a gentle approach
• value boundaries, honesty, and self‑awareness
• enjoy working with others and contributing to a team
• are open to learning and to participating in training
• A relevant qualification is desirable, such as a Certificate in the community services sector (e.g. Community Services, Alcohol and Other Drugs, Mental Health).

Alternatively, candidates may be working towards a relevant qualification and/or have demonstrated experience in the sector.

Women from diverse backgrounds are warmly encouraged to express interest — including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, culturally diverse women, LGBTQIA+ women, women with disability, and women returning to work after time away.

If you’re reading this and feel a strong interest in the role, but aren’t sure you meet every expectation, we still encourage you to reach out or apply. We value diverse pathways and would welcome the opportunity to hear from you.

What Happens Next

If this opportunity feels like it might be right for you, we warmly invite you to apply. As part of the process, you’ll be asked to share a little about yourself through a few questions, along with your resume and a cover letter.

A full Position Description is available at the bottom of this ad via the purple “Position Description” button.

After reviewing applications, suitable applicants will be invited to have a phone conversation with the Hiring Manager. This is a chance to talk more about the role, share your experience, and ask any questions you may have before deciding whether to continue.

If you choose to move forward, the next step is an interview with a small panel of two people, including a Lived Experience Advisor.

If you have any questions about this process or the position, you can contact Kristy Berryman for a confidential chat:

📧 Kristy.berryman@meli.org.au
📞 0455510993

You only need to share your name and the best way to contact you.

Thank You

Thank you for considering sharing your lived experience to support other women and families in our community.
Your voice is powerful, and we would be honoured to speak with you.

Please note applications for this position close 11:59pm Friday 12th June 2026

Position description Apply now

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