Lived Experience Project Worker

National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health

(The Centre)

• This position is open to applicants with a lived experience of intellectual disability only. This means a person has an intellectual disability.
• This role is for 7 hours per week
• This role is up until 30 June 2027
• $50.69 per hour + 17% Super and leave loading

• The Centre is a part of the Faculty of Medicine and Health at UNSW.
• The Centre is located at the UNSW campus in Kensington, Sydney.

About the job and the Centre

The Lived Experience Project Worker will work with different teams at the National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health (The Centre) 

The Centre works closely with a group of other organisations called a consortium. These consortium members are:

• The New South Wales Council for Intellectual Disability (CID)
• Down Syndrome Australia (DSA)
• Queenslanders with Disability Network (QDN)
• First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN)
• Centre for Disability Studies (CDS)
• Mater Intellectual Disability and Autism Service and Mater Misericordiae (MIDAS)
• University of Melbourne (UoM)
• Telethon Kids Institute (TKI)

The Centre is working on co-designing ways to improve the health of people with intellectual disability.

The Project Worker will:

The Lived Experience Project Worker will work on all parts of a project.

Some of the work the project worker will do:

• Share their experiences that can help shape the work being done in the project (only experiences people want to share)
• Lead and be part of meetings with people who work in and outside of the Centre, including people who teach at universities
• Co-design different parts of the project
• Co-design information that people with intellectual disability can use
  • This means making sure that everyone can understand the information
• Test documents and resources
  • This means talking about the things that make sense, the things that might be confusing, things that are clear and things that are unclear
  • Give suggestions about how to make the documents and resources better

The Project Manager (Education) is the manager of the Lived Experience Project Worker.

The Lived Experience Project Worker does not manage any staff.

The project team will support the Lived Experience Project Worker.

The Project Worker should have:

• Lived experience of intellectual disability
• A passion for improving healthcare for people with intellectual disability
• An understanding and/or experience of working in projects and with project teams
• Confidence to ask questions, share ideas, discuss issues with other people with intellectual disability, families, advocates and health service providers
• Ability to work with a team
• Good organisation and time management skills
• Ability or interest to learn some computer skills

Easy Read Documents:

Easy Read Application Form

Easy Read Position Description

How to Apply

You can:

1. Click the apply now button at the bottom of this page where you will need to complete an online application form and submit your resume.

OR

2. Complete the attached application form and email it to jenna.zhao@unsw.edu.au

The application form will ask some questions about yourself like

o   Your name and contact details

o   Why you want to do this job

o   Some of the jobs you’ve done before

If you need help with your application or have any questions about this job, please contact Jenna Zhao – jenna.zhao@unsw.edu.au or by phone: (02) 9065 1742

Apply for this job by Sunday 30^th August 2026.

Under the provisions of section 126 of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW), an exemption is given from sections 49D and 51 of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW) to the University of New South Wales to advertise, designate and recruit for the position of a research assistant for people who self-identify as having lived experience of an intellectual disability.

UNSW is committed to evolving a culture that embraces equity and supports a diverse and inclusive community where everyone can participate fairly, in a safe and respectful environment. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds and encourage applications from people of diverse gender, sexual orientation, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background, people with disability and those with caring and family responsibilities. UNSW provides workplace adjustments for people with disability, and access to flexible work options for eligible staff.

The University reserves the right not to proceed with any appointment.