The Law Handbook 2024

796 NOTE The law in this chapter is current as at 1 September 2023. Disability advocacy Defining advocacy Advocacy is work that is intended to support people in asserting their rights and interests, or that asserts their rights and interests with them. Advocacy may be for individuals or be about changing laws, systems and policies. Types of advocacy services Disability advocacy services are divided into generalist and specialist services. The generalist services are usually tied to a local area and do not cover the whole of Victoria. Specialist services may be state-wide or local. Usually, specialist services either work on specific issues or are connected to a particular type of disability. For example, the Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council works with people who have a mental illness. The Association of Children with a Disability advocates on issues affecting children and their families. To find the most appropriate disability advocacy service for your needs, contact the Disability Advocacy Resource Unit ( DARU ) (see ‘Contacts’ at the end of this chapter). Support for advocacy services Advocacy services have established a network called Disability Advocacy Victoria (www.disability advocacyvic.org.au) . Self-advocacy The role of self-advocacy organisations is to assist people with disability to advocate for themselves in all aspects of everyday life. For more information, contact the Self Advocacy Resource Unit (see ‘Contacts’ at the end of this chapter). Citizen advocacy Citizen advocacy programs link people with disabilities to community volunteers. Volunteers advocate on behalf of people with disabilities and assist them in accessing community services and gaining their rights. Citizen advocacy organisations are based regionally. Contact DARU to find your local organisation. The Public Advocate Introduction and key legislation The Public Advocate is an independent statutory office established under the Guardianship and Administration Act 1986 (Vic). On 1 March 2020, that Act was replaced by the Guardianship and Administration Act 2019 (Vic) (‘ GA Act ’), which continued the role. The GA Act places the promotion of human rights and the dignity of people with disability at its centre (s 7). This is a change from the 1986 Act, which focused more on promoting the ‘best interests’ of people with disability. The Public Advocate’s functions on behalf of people with disability include: • promoting the human rights of people with disability and developing their ability to act independently; • protecting people with disability against abuse, neglect and exploitation; • advocating on a systematic or individual level; • coordinating programs that achieve these goals; • informing the public about the laws affecting people with disability; and • acting as guardian and medical treatment decision- maker of last resort. ‘Disability’ is defined in the GA Act to mean a neurological impairment, intellectual impairment, 8.2 Disability: Asserting your rights Contributor: Philip Grano, Principal Legal Officer (Retired), Office of the Public Advocate