Project Overview
The two peak bodies representing Advocacy, the Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA) and the Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN), agreed to work together to create a new Australian Standard specific to Advocacy for Aged Care and Disability, which can be used to strengthen and continuously improve Advocacy and enable agencies to demonstrate to government departments that they are achieving outcomes for the funding they receive.
Update: Advocacy Scheme Development
Following the publication of AS 5391:2024, DANA and OPAN 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 JASANZ wrote the first drafts of the scheme 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.
How To Get Involved
The Standard, AS 5391:2024 Advocacy in Ageing and Disability, is now complete and in the process of being published.
Project News
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Further Information
Background
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 some specialist service settings, focusing on the need for strong independent Advocacy.
DANA and OPAN, 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.
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