Advocacy

Advocacy for Families and their children with disability (0-18 years)
ACD Tas works alongside parents and carers or legal guardians with children (0-18 years) with disability or disabling conditions in our professional advocacy provision across Tasmania.

We work within the fundamental principle that the rights and interests of the child or young person with disability are upheld at all times.

Families often experience issues affecting their child/ren with disability or disabling conditions. Our Disability Consultants provide professional advocacy to support and act on your behalf to resolve issues as quickly as possible.

ACD Tas Disability Consultants provide professional advocacy to assist parents and carers in developing skills and knowledge so they can make informed decisions; exercise their rights and advocate successfully for their children with disability.

Systemic Advocacy (Community Development Work)
Proactively, ACD Tas staff represent the best interests of families by spending time evolving innovative ideas and participating in and/or undertaking community development projects.

ACD Tas keeps up to date with current issues impacting on children with disability and their families by collecting relevant data from each individual contact.

ACD Tas is involved in many strategic alliances, working groups, reference groups and committees, and writes submissions to the Government to influence and suggest ideas for addressing key issues affecting families and their children and/or young people with disability across Tasmania.

There are many areas that require priority and focus for community development work and systemic advocacy in line with addressing, progressing and resolving presenting issues for families and their children with disability across the community.

Recent submissions ACD Tas has provided to Government on impacting children with disability and their families can be read below:

🔉 Submission to the NDIS Independent Review 2023 ( 1 Sep 2023)
In October 2022, the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme announced the NDIS Review, which would look at the design, operations and sustainability of the NDIS. It would also examine ways to build a more responsive, supportive and sustainable market and workforce. Terms of reference can be viewed here. ACD Tas provided a written submission, which detailed our unique role alongside the parents and carers for effectively engaging with services and influencing needed social change; the need for government collaboration and NDIS governance improvements that recognise the valuable role
of parents and carers and bring about timely access to appropriate, competent and relevant services to children with high and complex needs; the need to redesign service systems that are inclusive and incorporate the disability needs of children and their families; the need to strengthen service provision and safeguarding mechanisms for children with disability.

View the submission here:

🔉 Submission to the Disability Inclusion Bill (4 Oct 2023)
The Tasmanian Government asked for input on the Disability Inclusion Bill 2023. In reviewing the previous Disability Services Act 2011 (Tas), it was identified that an entirely new Disability Inclusion Act was required to advance the human rights of Tasmanians with disability. More information about the Bill can be viewed here. ACD Tas provided a written submission that focused on the Tasmanian service system landscape and ACD Tas’s unique role within it alongside the parents and carers with a focus on improving service systems that are inclusive and incorporate the disability needs of children and their families.

View the submission here:

A Life Not So Ordinary” by Selina Spowart – In providing an opportunity to share and provide parent’s own experiences, we are able to assist in advocating for parent’s in their specific experiences in their role in caring for children and young people with disability. Read her article “A Life Not So Ordinary” which was a special edition of PEPTalk in May 2017.

Selina talks about domestic violence that she experienced as a parent of child with complex disability. “Violence committed by children against their mothers, fathers, siblings and carers is rarely discussed in this country. Is it really happening? Well, it happened to us. And I don’t think we are the only ones”.

Read the special edition now online below:

Selina also writes a blog – you can follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/happychinblog/.