Project Overview
DANA will be administering the allocation of funds and supporting the successful organisations in delivering the Supported Employment Advocacy program for this project, and will be working in partnership with Inclusion Australia to deliver this important work.
This project will run until June 2027, and funding will be provided up until this date.
Grants will fund advocacy capacity for organisations to provide case-based advocacy support to people with high support needs and their families, enabling them to access short-term, one-on-one assistance to solve employment-related issues.
This must be delivered through a supported decision-making approach, where the preferences and rights of people with disability and their families and carers are respected and supported.
The primary target audience for the case-based advocacy support is:
- Supported employees (including those who work at ADEs and those working in open employment under the Supported Wage System (SWS) and
- Young people with high support need to transition from school to work.
Advocacy support must be person-centred and focus on employment issues. These could include but are not limited to:
- Resolving issues with employers, potential employers and employment service providers;
- Supporting people to understand rights and responsibilities at work;
- Reporting or making complaints about discrimination at work;
- Supporting people to better understand their government benefits, payments, pensions and support services, and how working can impact these entitlements or
- Any other employment-related issues as they arise.
Organisations that successfully obtain a Supported Employment Advocacy Grant will also have access to training, upskilling, and connection opportunities with other grant recipients.
Key dates
- 12 March 2025: Grant rounds open
- 7 April 2025: Expressions of Interest close at 5:00pm AEDT
- 16 May 2025: Applicants are notified
- May to June 2025: Establish contracting agreements
- June 2025: Grant partners commence work on individual project
- Reporting dates
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- Child safe reporting 1 of March each year
- Workplan reporting
- December 2025
- June 2026
- December 2027
- June 2027 – Final report
- 30 June 2027: Project concludes
At the heart of this project is supporting decision-making. We welcome applications from organisations with a strong history of supporting decision-making for people with intellectual disabilities in their advocacy work.
How To Get Involved
Applications are now closed for this project. Please see below for an update on the project partners.
Project Updates
Supported employment advocacy grants announced
DANA is pleased to announce the awarded partners of the Supported Employment advocacy program, a project in partnership with Inclusion Australia.
On Tuesday 22 June DANA received confirmation from Department of Social services of the approval of all 8 of our Advocacy partners to work with DANA and IA on the delivery of direct individual employment advocacy across all states and territories in Australia.
The following advocacy organisations have been awarded the contracts.
| State/Territory | Organisation | Total amount |
| New South Wales | Side by Side | $780,000 |
| Victoria | VALID | $690,000 |
| Queensland | Aged and Disability Advocacy Australia | $330,000 |
| Tasmania & First Nations support component | The Speak Out Association of Tasmania | $249,000(Tas)
$201,000 (First Nations) Total ($450,000) |
| South Australia | Advocacy for Disability Access and Inclusion Inc | $249,000 |
| Western Australia | Sussex Street Community Legal Service | $285,000 |
| Northern Territory | Disability Advocacy Services | $120,000 |
| Australian Capital Territory | Advocacy for Inclusion | $96,000 |
These grants will fund each organisation to employ Employment Advocates to provide case-based advocacy support to people with high support needs and their families, enabling them to access short-term, one-on-one assistance to solve employment-related issues.
The project will be delivered over the next two years and conclude on June 30, 2027.
We look forward to sharing more about the impact of this project and any specialised resources developed to provide specific support to people with intellectual disability with the wider Advocacy sector.
Project News
- Projects Supported Employment Advocacy
Applications are now open for independent advocacy organisations to submit expressions of interest for the Supported Employment Advocacy..
Further Information
Background
DANA and Inclusion Australia have been funded to undertake employment advocacy work with people with disability who are currently in supported employment (Australian Disability Enterprises or ADEs).
DANA's component of the grant will fund advocates to do outreach and inreach to support people with disability to understand their employment options. Advocacy organisations can apply to be funded to undertake this work in their area.
Reports and Resources
Key Dates
Frequently Asked Questions
Read our full list of Frequently Asked Questions here: Employment Advocacy Grants FAQ
Project Team
Barnaby Lund
Operations Team
Project Assistant
Project Enquiry
If you would like to get in touch with the project team for this project, simply fill out the form and we will get back to you.
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