Standards & Co-Design
NLEC's National Co-Design Standards Framework provides an accountable basis for distinguishing genuine co-design from consultation, participation and symbolic engagement in Australian policy and service reform.
For policy teams, programme designers, service leaders, evaluators, researchers, boards and lived experience partners
The framework is designed to help institutions examine whether lived experience contributors were involved early, held meaningful influence, were supported and remunerated fairly, and can see how their input affected decisions.
NLEC can support organisations to interpret the framework, plan engagement against its standards, or review a documented process. An assessment is not a guarantee of policy quality and does not replace legal, regulatory or community-specific obligations.
NLEC does not treat the use of the term co-design as evidence that co-design occurred. Assessment should consider process records, participant experience, decision rights, resourcing, feedback loops and published outcomes.
The standards can inform reform governance, procurement briefs, evaluation questions, consultation design, committee evidence and board oversight where the quality of participation is material to legitimacy or outcomes.
Related NLEC Work
Understand how an independent assessment can examine documented engagement practice.
Explore this area →Read how NLEC applies lived experience and co-design analysis to public reform questions.
Explore this area →Access NLEC's published standards and public-interest reports.
Explore this area →Discuss the Work
NLEC considers the purpose, affected communities, decision-making context, independence requirements and intended public benefit before proposing an engagement approach.
