108 Bargara Rd
Bundaberg East, Qld, 4670
IMPACT Community Services Limited (IMPACT) is a high profile, community owned organisation supporting the most vulnerable and marginalised members of our community. Since 1978, we have been supporting local people experiencing disadvantage, poverty and exclusion. Our vision is improving lives. IMPACT is also a Child Safe Organisation committed to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people.
This isn’t just a job. This is a space where your lived experience is valued, your voice matters, and your story can support real change in the lives of others.
We are seeking Lived Experience Peer Workers to join the team at IMPACT Community Services, supporting individuals across Bundaberg and surrounding rural communities. This is a Full-time Fixed term position till 30th June 2027.
If you’re passionate about connection, recovery, and walking alongside, this might be your moment.
This role includes outreach to rural communities where access to support can be limited, offering a meaningful opportunity to make an impact where it is needed most.
To thrive in this role, you will bring a combination of lived experience, insight, and a genuine commitment to walking alongside others. This includes:
To find out more, view our position description and full list of staff benefits at Join Our Team - at HomePage - Impact Community Services
Submit your application today and provide your:
IMPACT welcomes all applications, including from Indigenous Australians, people with a lived experience of mental health concerns and recovery, a disability, those who identify as LGBTIQ+ and from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
We believe that diversity in our workplace makes us stronger and we provide equal opportunity to all. IMPACT is proud to be an INCLUSIVE EMPLOYER 2024-2025 with the Diversity Council Australia. Selection for all vacancies is made on the basis of merit.
The successful applicant will be required to obtain background checks prior to employment, including a Working with Children Check.
Recognising the crucial role of lived experience in mental health work, IMPACT Community Services has welcomed Lived/Living Experience Lead Missy Sands to strengthen the organisation’s capabilities in this evolving space.
Missy has begun the important work of implementing IMPACT’s very own lived experience framework, which will guide staff practice across the organisation's extensive peer support network. The focus is on embedding a consistent, values-driven approach to peer work while building the confidence and capability of the workforce.
Step one is training, with IMPACT’s team of peer support workers recently starting a six-week training program Missy put together to teach them the fundamentals of lived experience group work.
“They’re learning how to facilitate groups with the different dynamics, personalities and people in front of them,” Missy said. “Role play is going to be huge because we learn by doing.”
“We're going to have conversations with people that can be intense. They could be crisis conversations.
“We’re exploring how you navigate that so they’re safe and you’re safe, and when to escalate matters.”
She says someone with lived experience can’t walk straight into lived experience work, with confidence and skills taking years to hone.
“I remember feeling like an imposter at first. I didn’t feel comfortable doing the work until a good couple of years into it,” Missy said.
Nine years down the track on her lived experience peer work journey, Missy is embracing the chance to show her team the ropes. She couldn’t be more qualified for the challenge, having played an integral role in getting psychosocial peer group sessions off the ground in Queensland.
“When I was at Queensland Health, the peer recovery group was my baby. I started that group.
“Now it is mandatory, so I’m going to embed that, teach the peers how to deliver that and give them the methodology behind it so they understand that whole process.”
In addition to understanding the unique cohorts in each area that IMPACT serves, including Bundaberg, Hervey Bay and Kingaroy, Missy says she’s focused on reaching those in underserviced rural areas.
“In Gayndah, Mundubbera and Eidsvold, they're not getting that much service because there are only a few peers and they're not in that area.
“We're trying to navigate how we can get some support that way, whether it's online through Microsoft Teams or us as a team going out there once a week or once a month.”
Core to peer support work is a strong passion, and Missy brings that wholeheartedly to her role. She said she’s a big believer in the peer way and its ability to improve lives.
“I take nothing away from the clinical side. We're all here for different parts of that person, but we all come together for the same reason, and that’s to support them.
“As peer workers, we make a big impact on somebody who is sitting in front of us and doesn’t know where to go or how to live independently.
“Giving that hope, motivation and empowerment is quite magical.”
It’s a reminder for all of us to pause and consider the power of genuine human connection, and how much hope can grow when someone simply walks beside another with understanding and care.
For more on IMPACT’s Group-Based Peer Recovery Support Program, visit https://impact.org.au/support-and-wellbeing/mental-health/mental-health-services/group-based-peer-recovery-support-program/
IMPACT Community Services is calling for community members and stakeholders to join the official opening of its new site at 381 Esplanade, Torquay on 24 February.
From 9.30 am to 11 am, attendees can connect with the staff members who are part of IMPACT’s Hervey Bay health and support programs, learn more about their valuable work and tour their spacious new building.
Since December, the beachside premises has been home to the Intensive Family Support; Youth Wellbeing Initiative (HERE); Family Mental Health Support Services; and Group Based Peer Recovery Support teams.
Nancy Oosterhof, IMPACT’s General Manager of Health and Support and a driving force behind the site move, said the official opening is an exciting opportunity for staff, stakeholders and the community to connect.
“We want to showcase the premises, but the purpose is for the community to come along and engage with us, meet the team and understand the range of services we provide,” Ms Oosterhof said.
Ms Oosterhof says the space is a blank canvas and welcomes community members to have their say on aesthetic aspects like images and murals.
“I really want to support those conversations during the official opening, which will help us personalise the site and ensure that it feels welcoming,” she said.
“We're hoping to be informed by community around what they want to see and how they want to use the space.”
Sylvia Powell, IMPACT’s Hervey Bay Intensive Family Support Manager, has relished working at the new site for the last two months.
Ms Powell said she is keen to hear people’s feedback and see everyone’s collective vision for the space come to life.
“We want to create a universal space for our community to come and connect with our staff,” Ms Powell said.
“We’re hoping people will feel it’s open, welcoming, friendly and culturally appropriate for our First Nations peoples and our migrant community.”
Ms Powell said that IMPACT’s decision to relocate to a high-visibility branded location speaks volumes.
“The move highlights our invested interest in the area and the servicing of clients in an appropriate space that we can develop as we grow,” she said.
“It means broader recognition for IMPACT in the community and having a space that is specifically designed for the programs we operate here.”
IMPACT will welcome attendees on 24 February from 9.30 to 11 am, with light refreshments to be provided.
Those who plan to attend the event are asked to register online.
For more information on IMPACT’s health and support programs, visit our website.
Feeling lost or disconnected? You're not alone.
IMPACT Community Services (IMPACT) is working with the team at the Centacare Neighbourhood Centre to help people cultivate their emotional wellbeing as well as gardening skills.
Join us every Thursday to grow gardens and reconnect with nature. Enjoy BBQs and salads made with crops grown by the participants, alongside fun social activities. Food and drinks are provided.
IMPACT Peer Support Luke Arnold would love to see more people take part.
"Whether you're really keen on gardening or just like sitting back and having a chat, come join the fun," he said.
Luke, who is based in Kingaroy and serves the South Burnett region, says participants enjoy the welcoming atmosphere, good company, and shared meals.
He said that growing food and flowers provides a sense of achievement, reduces stress, and encourages mindfulness.
Our mental health programs offer a safe and inclusive space where people can connect, share experiences, and find the support they need.
If you are over the age of 16 and interested in joining in the group, reach out to Luke at IMPACT on 1800 179 233. Self-referrals are welcome.
Having access to mental health support services can be lifechanging, and just because you live in a rural area, shouldn’t mean you are without access to help.
IMPACT is dedicated to improving lives and one of the ways we strive to do this is via our mental health support services.
We have been present in the community for the past 10 years, delivering different styles of mental health support. Our commitment to supporting locals is solidified with the opening of our own drop-in centre on 6/119 Youngman Street, Kingaroy.
The center will enable IMPACT to deliver our mental health program and give locals a safe place to share their lived experiences, meet people and a place to have a coffee and a chat if they are having bad day.
“Mental health support needs to be delivered in a way that connects with people in a rural setting,” IMPACT’s Mental Health Manager Jannene Thorn said.
“There needs to be flexibility in service delivery.”
The Commonwealth Psychosocial Support service is a recovery focused, strengths based mental health support program.
It aims to strengthen the capacity of participants to live independently, safely and productively in their community by focusing on capacity building via phone, virtual or individual and group settings.
CPS is for participants over the age of 16 with severe mental illness not accessing the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
The centre will be open from Monday to Friday, 8am-4pm with our Peer Support Workers eager to meet and help out those who need it.
To find out more about IMPACT’s mental health support services head to https://impact.org.au/support-and-wellbeing/
To contact the team, phone 0488 534 222 or email larnold@impact.org.au.
If you need help now, please see the parenting/mental health support contacts below:
By Tanya O'Shea, IMPACT Community Services' Managing Director
"STRONGER TOGETHER" is a weekly column where Tanya explores key issues. This week Tanya focuses on the power of peer support and sharing lived experience.
People have been telling stories since the beginning. Sometimes it’s a conversation, other times we write them down, we paint, draw, sing, sign, listen and imagine.
It’s a powerful art and its value cannot be understated – particularly when your story shared can make a difference.
Positive representation and shared lived experience can make people feel seen, valid, inspire a sense of belonging, and most importantly assures people that they are not alone.
The influence of support, that comes from a place of genuine understanding and compassion, can be life changing.
It’s the reason why IMPACT Community Services values peer support workers.
Luke is one of IMPACT’s peer support workers who shared his story at our recent Annual Celebration in the hopes of helping others.
Working in the South Burnett, Luke left his job as a registered nurse after experiencing challenges with anxiety and stress.
While he wasn’t quite sure what the job with IMPACT meant from the advertisement, during the interview he realised he had something to offer through his lived experiences.
Luke said through his work at IMPACT, he couldn’t believe that he found a use for the challenges he had endured – to help others.
He said the work he does in peer support was one of the things he was proud to do.
“When I see that I’m actually helping others because I’ve shared my experience and I’ve been there, or I’ve been where they’re at and I’ve communicated that well and I can tell that’s helped them; that feels really good,” he said.
Luke said this work was also part of his own recovery journey which gave him the focus to continue and help others.
It’s people like Luke who personify our vision of improving lives at IMPACT.
Not only is his personal journey one of inspiring growth and courage, but it’s two-fold as he is using his time and understanding to help others improve their lives too.
To view Luke’s story or for more information on the support services available at IMPACT, visit our website.
