Peers Helping Peers
With support from WAPHA’s Peers Helping Peers program, a community-led volunteer group became a registered organisation with governance, a board, a digital platform, and the infrastructure to keep showing up.
How It Came Together
In 2025-26, Integrity Initiative was supported by WAPHA’s Peers Helping Peers program to build the foundations that community-led organisations often struggle to afford: legal registration, governance, insurance, a digital platform, and an inaugural Board of Directors. This report documents how we used it.
What This Made Possible
Each piece addressed a real gap in how Integrity Initiative could operate. Individually meaningful, collectively transformational.
Training
Capability Built
Five board members completed AICD Board Bootcamp training, with additional financial management training for the team.
Policy
Policies Written
A full suite of governance, safety, and compliance policies developed from scratch: risk, conduct, privacy, safeguarding, and more.
Charity Status
ACNC Application Lodged
Application submitted to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, including DGR-1 status. Awaiting approval.
Community
Member Hub Launched
A dedicated online space for members with peer support resources, a community forum, and access to all 12 workshop modules.
From Group to Organisation
Integrity Initiative transitioned from an auspiced community group to an independently registered company limited by guarantee. Registration was approved on 22 May 2026, with an ACNC application and founding constitution developed alongside. This gives the organisation the legal standing to operate independently, hold funds, and pursue charitable status.
A Platform Built to Last
The previous site was limited in functionality and difficult to scale. The new platform launched publicly at Made By Many on 12 June 2026 and was built to grow with the organisation: a members hub, blog, newsletter, community forum, and all 12 workshop modules in one place. It was developed in line with WCAG 2.2 and Integrity Initiative’s own Designing With Care guide.
A Clearer Identity
Alongside the new website, the brand refinement work sharpened how Integrity Initiative looks, sounds, and presents itself. A cohesive voice, tone, and visual style guide was developed to ground the organisation’s mission, vision, and priority populations in a consistent identity. A library of original graphic illustrations was created for recurring use across all platforms.
We Threw a Party.
On Friday 12 June 2026, exactly one year after Integrity Initiative was founded, Made By Many brought together the people who had believed in this work from the beginning. The night marked three things at once: a first birthday, the announcement of company registration, and the public debut of the new website.
The venue was gifted by The Backlot Perth and catering provided in-kind by Nosh Catering. For the first time, the event was livestreamed so those who couldn’t be in the room could still be part of it. Watch the recording below.
54
People Registered
444
Eventbrite Page Views
73
Recording Views
In Their Own Words
Connection and awe
Hope
Resistance
Dignity, authentic care and radical change
Real people, real solutions, authentic peer power
Celebrating the next generation of consumer leadership
An inspiring group of caring people who want to initiate change
Hope for what a lived experience led organisation can achieve
Doing, supporting and making things right, standing up and advocating
A strong belief in what Integrity Initiative stands for and what it will achieve
Celebrating a space where I feel genuinely seen, heard, respected and valued
Curious as to how we can support and elevate Integrity Initiative
To connect, to learn, and to belong
Made by Many was full of joy, hope, community and connection. It is a reflection of all the people, the hard work, the countless hours that go into making something like this happen. It recognises every person who has supported Integrity Initiative in some way, shape or form, and the diverse lived and living experiences we hold.
Avie
Integrity Army Member
The room was filled with so much heart, power, passion and respect. In my speech I spoke about feeling unseen and unheard during my most distressing years. Now I’m in a place where not only is the door finally opening for me, but I have people in my life who will help keep it open.
Jessi Townley
Integrity Army Member
Properly Covered
Becoming a registered organisation brought with it the need for appropriate coverage. Integrity Initiative now holds public liability insurance with errors and omissions extension, and volunteer insurance covering all directors and team members.
Meet the Board
Twenty-two people applied to join Integrity Initiative’s inaugural Board. Each was assessed against a skills matrix, with strong weighting on values alignment and an understanding of what it means to govern a grassroots not-for-profit. Shortlisted candidates attended group interviews designed to surface working dynamics and values in a way a standard format would not. Eight directors were appointed and announced at Made By Many on 12 June 2026, bringing expertise across lived experience, clinical practice, governance, strategy, and community building.
Raff Di Bartolomeo
He/Him
Principal Consultant, Two Roads Consulting
“Better things happen when people influence the decisions that affect their lives. As Chair, I hope to realise a vision where lived experience is valued and empowered to create a more inclusive and compassionate world.”
Tianah mcBride
She/Her
Mental Health Lead, Aboriginal Legal Service of WA
“I’m a firm believer in anti-oppressive, trauma-informed healthcare. I joined the board to help ensure Integrity Initiative’s mission and values become better reflected within systemic approaches to mental health care.”
Ryan D'lima
He/Him
Lived Experience Co-ordinator
“I bring over a decade of lived experience leadership across public mental health, primary health networks, and justice and forensic settings. I joined to support lived experience leadership and governance, with a focus on dignity for people in inpatient settings.”
Mike Fuller
He/Him
Founder, Kamunity Consulting
“Joining Integrity Initiative was an easy decision because they’re already leading by example, putting living and lived experience first. Not just in what they do, but in who and how they do it.”
Ash Maynard
He/Him
Director of Regional Development, RDA Peel
“Lived experience belongs at the centre of how mental health support is designed, and governance needs to be as serious as the work itself. I want to help build the structures that let II keep doing what it does well as it grows, without losing what makes it worth doing.”
Gee Anderson
They/Them
Living Experience Advocate
“I have 10 years of experience in Lived Experience advocacy across mental health, disability, youth, LGBTIQA+ rights, and homelessness. My work draws on Lived Experience expertise and the principles of Disability Justice, Mad Studies, and Abolition.”
Grace Sholl
She/Her
Lived Experience Advocate, Educator and Researcher
“Having a lived experience of attempting suicide, I really connected with Integrity Initiative’s mission. Autonomy and dignity are nonnegotiable human rights that I hope to help amplify in every part of the community.”
Dan McKenna
He/Him
Regional Team Leader, Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health
“I’m a social worker with a leadership role in regional mental health. My work is driven by a passion to ensure mental healthcare is accessible for all young people. You’ll also find me caring for rescue animals, travelling, or playing guitar.”
Ready to Share
Seven print resources were updated to reflect Integrity Initiative’s refreshed brand, ready for events, outreach, and community spaces. The suite covers everything from an About Us introduction and Caring With Integrity brochure to a Workshop Handbook and Theory of Change poster. These are the materials that do the work when the team is not in the room.
The Scorecard
Thirteen activities across three categories. Here is where each one landed.
Legal & Compliance
Company registered 22 May. ACNC application lodged 30 May. Constitution written. Core governance documents, policies, and 5-year strategic plan all in place. DGR-1 and NFP tax concession status pending with ACNC and ATO.
Board & Leadership
22 applications received. 8 directors appointed. 5 induction meetings completed across governance, policy, finance, and strategy. AICD Board Bootcamp training completed for 5 members. Full governance structure in place.
Community & Brand Launch
Website live. Brand guide and illustration library created. 7 print resources updated. Made By Many: 54 registrations, 444 event page views, 73 recording views.
Challenges and Learnings
Two things that were harder than expected, what we did about them, and what we would do differently.
Operations & Capacity
Budget Agility & Compliance
Limited by Systems, Guaranteed to Grow
The story behind this page, told from the inside. This Substack piece covers the decisions that were hard, the moments of uncertainty, and what it actually felt like to build something worth building.
