Friends of Not Broken Project

An advisory and participation group supporting the Not Broken Project through lived experience, shared learning, and community-informed guidance.

Advisory and Participation Group

Terms of Reference

The Not Broken Project advocates for a fundamental shift in how Australia understands and treats mental distress — away from a medication-first model, and toward the social, environmental, and developmental roots of human suffering.

Friends of Not Broken Project is a space for people to come together to shape, challenge, and grow the Not Broken movement. The group provides advisory input only and does not hold formal decision-making or governance responsibilities. 

Purpose

Friends of Not Broken Project exists to:

  • Bring lived experience, collective wisdom, and diverse perspectives into the heart of the Project
  • Support the Steering Committee through thoughtful, values-aligned advice
  • Create a community of practice grounded in reflection, connection, and shared learning
  • Grow a movement that challenges the idea that people are “broken,” and understands the social, environmental, and developmental roots of human suffering
  • Learn together
  • Explore relational, non-pathologising approaches to distress
  • Share experiences, ideas, and practices
  • Make sense of complexity together

Advisory Role

Friends of Not Broken Project offer advice and insight to help guide:

  • The direction and priorities of the Project
  • How work is designed, communicated, and delivered

Growing the Movement

Members act as a bridge between the Project and the broader community by:

  • Bringing community voice, insight, and challenge into the Project
  • Sharing ideas and learnings back into networks and communities
  • Helping the movement stay connected, relevant, and grounded

Who Is Part of the Group

We aim for diversity of experience, identity, and perspective, recognising that no single voice
represents all.

The group brings together people with:

  • Lived and living experience of distress and where that distress has been over-medicalised
  • Practice, professional, or community knowledge
  • A shared commitment to the values of the Not Broken Project

What We Ask of Each Other

We commit to:

  • Showing up with curiosity, respect, and openness
  • Speaking from our own experience while making space for others
  • Being willing to sit with complexity, discomfort, and disagreement
  • Contributing to a psychologically safe and inclusive space
  • Holding what is shared with care and confidentiality

Meetings

We come together around four times a year (or as needed), with sessions that include:

  • Conversations shaping the direction of the Project
  • Space for shared reflection and learning
  • Additional opportunities to connect may emerge as the work evolves

Meetings will be coordinated by the Not Broken Project team, with a focus on enabling inclusive

Connection to the Steering Committee

  • The Advisory Group shares insights, reflections, and recommendations
  • The Steering Committee listens and responds, helping ensure this input is meaningfully taken up
  • The NBP Operational Lead will function as the main connection with the Steering Committee, ensuring a two-way feedback process
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