This is a public facing policy

Choice and Advocacy Policy

Policy Index: Customer

  1. Relevant Legislation, Standards and Agreements

The following Legislation apply to this policy and supporting documentation:

Disability Act 2006 – (Vic)

Disability Discrimination Act 1992– (Cth)

The following Standards and Conventions apply to this policy and supporting documentation:

Human Services Standards

Standard 1 – Empowerment

Standard 2 – Access and Engagement

Standard 3 – Wellbeing

Standard 4 – Participation

National Standards for Disability Services

Standard 1 – Rights

Standard 2 – Participation and Inclusion

Standard 3 – Individual Outcomes

Standard 4 – Feedback and Complaints

Victorian Early Childhood Intervention Standards

Standard 2 – Access and Engagement

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Persons with Disabilities

  1. Purpose

Yooralla recognises that all customers have individual goals, aspirations and support needs. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that every customer participatesand has control in making decisions about their daily lives and the services they receive.

Yooralla affirms supported decision-making of every person with a disability that is consistent with the Convention on the Rights of People with Disability. Customers have the right to provide feedback and raise concerns regarding services they receive so that Yooralla may learn from the feedback and improve its services and practice.

Yooralla provides customers with options to self-advocate, influence systemic issues to affect long term positive changes. Customers can use or have access to an external advocate of their choice who plays a critical role in ensuring their rights and interests are respected and realised.

Yooralla’s Choice and Advocacy policy supports appropriate customer decisions and should be read in conjunction withCustomer Charter of Rights and Responsibilities, policies on Human Rights, Customer Engagement & Participation, Quality and Customer Empowerment andClinical Governance.

The policy on Choice and Advocacy:

a)focuses on the rights of people with disabilities and those who need assistance in a supported decision-making process;

b)ensures customers, their family members/carers and support person are at the centre of practice and service delivery;

c)increases stakeholder participation in making choices and empowering people to exercise their rights, including their dignity to take calculated risks;

d)strengthens self-advocacy of people with disabilities so they can speak up for their rights; and

e)facilitates any assistance to customers if they so choose to have an advocate or a person within their network to enable supported decision-making.

  1. Scopeof Policy

This policy applies to all staff, volunteers, agency staff and contractors in relation to all customers.

  1. Definitions

Any defined terms below are specific to this document

Advocate – an advocate is a person who, with explicit authority, represents another’s interests; an informal advocate however can be a friend, family member or neighbour.

Community – refers to the immediate local environment and the broader society.

Customer advocacy – the process of standing beside an individual or group and speaking out on their behalf to protect and promote their rights and interests.

Customer – A person who uses or is a potential user of a service, including their family and carers. Customers may be engaged as individuals, groups, organisations of customers, customer representatives or communities.

Individual needs – includes both the needs of an individual person and the collective needs of people with disability.

Valued status – reflects a service that is delivered by the advocacy in a way that enables the customer, as far as possible, to live and work in ways that are valued by the community.

  1. Policy Statement

Customers of Yooralla are the primary decision makers about the services they receive.

The outcome ofcustomer decision making, choice and advocacyare supported by:

a)a person centred approach in service delivery; placing the customer’s right to self-determination at the centre of decision making processes; including keeping the customer informed of choices, opportunities and potential limitations so they can make informed choices, including a dignity of risk decision;

b)collaborationwith and support for the individual customers to participate in decisions that affect their lives through their involvement in the planning, provision, management and evaluation of service/s they receive;

c)making sure the decision making and choice processes support the customer’s right to involve family members/carers and other elected supports including an advocate;

d)considering the cultural/language needs of customers, their families/carers and support networks;

e)facilitating access to advocacy within Yooralla as requested or when necessary. Where Yooralla is unable to provide an advocate, customers are provided with information or referred to alternative service options; and

f)providing information to customers in accessible communication formats (that are approved by Speech Pathology Australia Clinical Guidelines).

Defining Advocacy within the Organisation

The policy supports roles of formal and informal advocates and the importance of these roles in maintaining customer rights to self-determination in decision making and choice processes.

Yooralla provides advocacy primarily in the form of:

a)individual advocacyto uphold the rights and interest of customers on a one-to-one basis in addressing instances of discrimination, abuse and neglect and providing feedback to Yooralla for improved services and practice. This may take the form of peer support, leadership mentoring or coaching, training and development, counselling and occasional case-work;

b)systemic advocacy to influence positive, long term changes, that remove barriers and address discriminatory practices to ensure thedignity of customers are upheld; and

c)self-advocacy supports customers to advocate for them on a one-to-one or group basis.This may take the form of peer support, leadership mentoring or coaching, training and development, collaborating with peers to form groups, and providing advice.

Advocacy and empowerment support for Yooralla’s customers is provided across all services.

Customers are referred by services, families/carers or are self-referred. In individual advocacy, customers receive non-legal, issue-based advocacy support, including advice oncare concerns relating to discrimination, access, and resources.

Yooralla takes direction from the customer and workstogether to resolve the issue. In instances where advocacy and empowerment support cannot be responded to the customer is offered the option to be referred externally.

Yooralla’s customers are also engaged in systemic advocacy through their participation in advisory groups, residential house meetingsand circle of family and friends. Within this context customers seek to introduce and influence longer term changes to ensure best outcomes that impact on their quality of life.

Committee or Groups Supporting Choice and Advocacy

The following groups have been established to demonstrate customer engagement. They may change from time to time and new mechanisms may be put in place to complement them or replace them.

a)Yooralla Community Partnership Advisory Committee (YCPAC)

The committee was established with the aim of increasing customer and community participation across all areas of Yooralla which brings together voices of the community and consumers to ensure Yooralla provides services that meet and respond to differing needs of customers within the organisation and in the community. The YCPAC operates to provide strategic advice from a customer/community perspective.

b)Families and Friends groups, or specific Steering Groups

Families and friends are participatory groups initiated within services by families/carers to support the natural role played by families and/or their elected support person in advocating for rights and interests of a family member with disability at the level of direct service delivery.

Steering groups are established on a case by case basis to oversight implementation and/or evaluation of service reviews or discrete projects and typically may have set life spans. Membership includes the customer, family members/carers, an external advocate, government department representative and Yooralla senior management.

c)YES Group

Facilitated by the Customer Rights and Empowerment Team, this group of people with disability meets monthly to discuss issues and concerns within their own services and systemic concerns, and they plan actions to address matters. YES stands for ‘Your Enquiries Solved’. Adults with disability come together to support and empower each other, and to support each other to resolve any issues that they are having difficulties with.

d)Manager of Stakeholder Engagement

This position was created to focus on building and gathering diverse stakeholder feedback to improve practice and service delivery, particularly in terms of strategic planning. The position is responsible for seeking feedback via an annual customer satisfaction survey across Yooralla.

e)Customer Rights and Empowerment team

The team functions to increase individual empowerment by equipping customers with the tools needed to promote, protect and safeguard their full and equal rights as citizens within their own community. In doing so, the team encourages the strengthening of peer supports, leadership mentoring, rights training program, self-advocacy competency and stakeholder participation.

  1. Responsibility for Implementation, Compliance Monitoring, Measuring and Continual Improvement

These positions are responsible for implementation and compliance monitoring of the policy in their work areas:

a)Leaders need to inspire trust at all times and role model Yooralla’s values and integrity. They need to have a clear vision for the future; develop strategies that will achieve Yooralla goals and engage all stakeholders to join them on the journey.

b)Managers have the responsibility to monitor, check and ensure all elements of the policy are implemented within their area of responsibility. Managers are responsible for ensuring staff attend and participate in training and development in the area of customer engagement, participation and feedback.

c)Staffare responsible for ensuring that the principles and components within this policy are applied in their daily work. Staff members attend and participate in training and development in this area.

d)Individuals, families and other stakeholders are encouraged to provide feedback to the organisation regarding its processes and practices to learn and improve on what it does.

  1. Related Documents and Links

Privacy Policy

Quality and Customer Empowerment Policy

Clinical Governance Policy

Human Rights Policy

Customer Charter of Rights and Responsibilities

Facility Based Respite Customer Handbook

This document is uncontrolled when printed, please refer to the Policies and Procedures Library for current controlled version
Accountable: Chief Practitioner / Effective Date: 3/06/2018 / Review Date: 5/05/2019
Responsible: Director of Quality / Version Number: 12
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