The Advocacy Standards Project
What is the project going to achieve?
In the wake of the report from the Aged Care Royal Commission, the role of Advocacy for older people became more prominent, and this was reinforced during the COVID pandemic and its devastating impact on older people. The Disability Royal Commission is also highlighting the vulnerability of people with disability in their communities and in some specialist service settings, focusing the need for strong independent Advocacy.
The two peak bodies representing Advocacy, the Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) and the Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA) agreed to work together to create a new Australian Standard specific to Advocacy for Aged Care and Disability, which can be used strengthen and continuously improve Advocacy, and enable agencies to demonstrate to government departments that they are achieving outcomes for the funding they receive.
The Standard, AS 5391:2024 Advocacy in Ageing and Disability is now complete and in the process of being published. We have achieved a lot in just over the past 18 months.
Update: Advocacy Scheme Development
Following the publication of AS 5391:2024 OPAN and DANA have been working with the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JASANZ) to develop a scheme to enable Advocacy Service to be certified against the requirements of the Standard. This project commenced in May 2024 and is being coordinated by Capacity Services. In June 2024 a number of online information sessions were held with Advocacy Service providers and people who use Advocacy Services, after which the first drafts of the scheme were written by JASANZ in consultation with OPAN and DANA.
The first consultation draft of the Scheme document is now complete and has been submitted to a Technical Committee made up of Advocacy Service providers and people who use Advocacy, Government Department officials and representatives of Certification Bodies who conduct the audits to certify Advocacy Services against standards. The Technical Committee will meet to consider the draft on 12 November 2024, and once its suggested amendments are included, a second draft will be produced for comment from the public.
Update: Advocacy Scheme Development
Following the publication of AS 5391:2024 OPAN and DANA have been working with the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JASANZ) to develop a scheme to enable Advocacy Service to be certified against the requirements of the Standard. This project commenced in May 2024 and is being coordinated by Capacity Services. In June 2024 a number of online information sessions were held with Advocacy Service providers and people who use Advocacy Services, after which the first drafts of the scheme were written by JASANZ in consultation with OPAN and DANA.
The first consultation draft of the Scheme document is now complete and has been submitted to a Technical Committee made up of Advocacy Service providers and people who use Advocacy, Government Department officials and representatives of Certification Bodies who conduct the audits to certify Advocacy Services against standards. The Technical Committee will meet to consider the draft on 12 November 2024, and once its suggested amendments are included, a second draft will be produced for comment from the public.
OPAN and DANA, who are the Scheme owners and are driving this project, have contracted Capacity Services to conduct online consultations with Advocacy Service providers and people with lived experience as Advocacy service users. These consultations will be offered on several occasions to make sure we are able to reach as many people as possible who may wish to comment on the Scheme draft. These will take place over 6, 2-hour online sessions between Tuesday 26 November and Tuesday 4 December, with the possibility of an additional session in the week beginning 9 December subject to demand. Two of the online sessions will be specifically targeted at people who use Advocacy Services
Once the draft is ready to be circulated publicly, we will provide a brief update on this web page to guide you to the consultation document and give you instructions on how you can make comment directly back to JASANZ. The online consultation sessions will focus how to make comment on the draft and on the most important aspects of the Scheme draft including:
The competencies and conduct of the Certifying Bodies who will audit the Advocacy Services;
- How Advocacy Services can demonstrate how they comply with the requirements of the Advocacy Standard AS 5391:2024;
- How best to ensure the views of Persons using Advocacy Services are included in the audit process, and that those interviewed are selected fairly;
- How often audits need to be conducted; and
- The duration and cost of audits and what certification activities can be done remotely and online
Questions can be directed to Michael Bleasdale, Capacity Services: michael@capacityservices.com.au
Attend an online session
Please note that all sessions will cover the same material and are open to everyone. We have scheduled two sessions (on 27 November and 3 December) for attendance by people who use or are likely to use advocacy services.
Wednesday 27 November, 12:30 to 2:00pm – Register here.
Friday 29 November, 12:30 to 2:00pm (AEDT)
Friday 29 November, 3:00 to 4:30pm (AEDT)
Tuesday 3 December, 3:00 to 4:30 pm (AEDT)