The purpose of this report is to outline the findings of the peer support project, research undertaken by Griffith University and funded by the Queensland Alliance for Mental Health. The project aimed to explore, articulate and expand on existing concepts of recovery and peer support when working alongside people with a mental illness. This project identified eight categories that articulated the key elements of effective paid peer support within a consumer-operated service environment. The first six align well with the conceptual framework derived from the literature review (relationship based on lived experience of recovery, goal to facilitate recovery and healing, relationship characteristics, workforce characteristics, clear principals, policy and governance). However, two new categories arose from the data analysis for the research (issues of power and the ‘dark side’ of peer support). These themes have not previously been identified in the extant literature and, hence, add a new dimension to an understanding of peer support work. Overall it was clear that having a lived experience of, not just mental illness, but also of recovery was, by definition, the essential aspect to peer support work.