The engagement process is intended to involve Lived Experience communities, tangata whaiora, whānau, community networks, and relevant stakeholders, including government and sector organisations.

People are being invited because the proposed body needs to be informed by those who would be affected by it, work with it, or rely on it as part of the wider mental health and addiction system.

We want to engage with tangata whaiora, people with Lived Experience of mental health and addiction service use. We also want to engage with whānau who have provided support.

We ask that you reflect on your own experience and listen to others to consider what representation matters to you and how you want to be represented.

Through the design process we want to engage with diverse groups to collect varied experiences and views. Please connect with us if you can offer experience from Māori, Pasifika, Asian, Disabled, Youth, and Rainbow communities perspective. Also, if your experience fits to:

• Individuals and whānau receiving compulsory care, including those in inpatient, forensic (including in-reach facilities), and long-term rehabilitation settings, as well as those with eating disorder service experience (across mental and physical health settings).

• Individuals and whānau with experience under the Substance Addiction (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act (SACAT).

• Individuals who have accessed Opioid Substitution Treatment (OST) services.

• Individuals who have participated in residential medical detox programmes.

• Individuals accessing or who have recently accessed residential rehabilitation services, including NGO, private, and therapeutic community options.

There will be a mix of in-person and online opportunities, including national co-design workshops in four regions and online, so people can take part in ways that work for them.

Lived Experience organisations will also support engagement through their own networks and communities, which means some people may be invited to join through organisations and groups they already know and trust.

People who want to take part in the process will be able to register for the workshops. When people register, it helps us understand who we are hearing from. The aim of the process is to remove barriers to participation by offering accessible options, such as a mix of formats and support for different communication styles and needs.

The engagement process is designed to be Lived Experience-led. Lived Experience organisations are co-leading the work, shaping the design approach, supporting engagement, and overseeing how insights are interpreted and used. This will ensure that different Lived Experience perspectives are heard and meaningfully influence the recommendations.

The Ministry of Health want to know and understand different perspectives and their consideration in any recommendations.

Different views are expected and are an important part of the process. The engagement is intended to create space for a range of perspectives to be shared respectfully. Where there are differences in opinion, these will be acknowledged and considered, rather than forced into a single view too early

After the engagement process is completed, the information gathered will be analysed and used to develop recommendations on the design of the National Representative Body.

As this work has been commissioned by the Ministry of Health, the recommendations and considerations from the design work will be handed, as taonga, to the Ministry of Health and their MH&A Lived Experience Team. They will provide Lived Experience advice to the responsible Minister as the complex policy and related decisions needed for a National Representative Body are processed.

Participants will be informed of how the design work is being used and progress made as milestones allow. We acknowledge the need to be transparent and to provide clear feedback so people can see how their contributions have influenced the work. This will take time and be dependent on progress, however the Ministry of Health has committed to keeping communities updated on developments following the engagement process as much as possible as the work progresses.