Systemic advocacy

What is systemic advocacy?

One of the aims of Advocacy Tasmania Inc is: 'To identify and take action on systemic issues affecting our client groups'.

'Systemic issues' are issues which are currently affecting, or in the future are likely to affect a number of people in one or more of our client groups - i.e. people with disabilities or mental health disorders, older people and/or their families and carers.

The 'system' can be an individual service or even a site or an entire service delivery program. In many instances the systemic issues ATI works on relate to community support service delivery (for example, HACC, Aged Care, Disability or Mental Health Service delivery). However, we also work in other systems, such as criminal justice, legal, child and family, housing etc.

'Action' can include:

Drawing the issue to the attention of decision makers such as politicians, public servants and others in positions of authority and suggesting options which would resolve the problem
Writing submissions when reviews of legislation or government policy and practices are taking place
Mounting a media and lobbying campaign to raise community awareness about an issue in order to have it addressed
Participating on working groups and committees on issues of importance to our client groups

ATI's aim is to take action that will protect and promote the rights and interests of all people affected or potentially affected by the issue.

Current systemic issues on which we are working

Individualised funding

Individualised funding is an important issue for ATI - one that we have been actively pursuing for over a decade. We believe that consumers of services should have maximum control over the decisions that impact on their lives. Individualised funding is one way for consumers to exert that control.

ATI is currently preparing a draft strategic framework document for consideration by DHHS. This document will collate the existing research on the individualised funding issue and point to the key steps that will be necessary for a large-scale shift to the use of individualised funding approaches in Tasmania. The draft will be forwarded to DHHS in February 2011.

In our recent Budget Priority Statement, we stressed the importance of individualised funding and argued for a program to eliminate the waitlist for Individual Support Packages. You can download our Budget Priority Statement from our publications page.

Advocacy Tasmania was delighted to have the opportunity to partner with DHHS in organising a successful Individualised Funding Symposium on 3 November 2010. Speakers from Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia offered valuable insights into what has worked, and not worked, in the implementation of individualised funding approaches in those states. Even more importantly, we heard the voices of consumers who told us about the importance of individualised funding to their lives.

Videos of the presentations, copies of the PowerPoint slides used by presenters, and biographical information on those presenters can be accessed from the Symposium proceedings.

Participants at the Symposium expressed interest in the recent FaHCSIA-commissioned report into the Australian (and international) experience with individualised funding approaches. This report can be accessed from the FaHCSIA website.

Mental Health Act 1996 Review

ATI's aim in participating in the review is to contribute to the development of a new Act which respects individual autonomy; safeguards patient's rights; and ensures the best possible standard of care and treatment for mentally ill Tasmanians.

Advocacy Tasmania has participated on the Advisory Group and contributed to the process through lobbying; written submissions; and discussion. ATI has been instrumental in ensuring that the review has given adequate time and proper consideration to important human rights issues and that the widest possible community response has been received by the reviewers. The Review has been stalled since early 2008 and is unlikely to be completed anytime in 2009.

Elder abuse

For some years ATI has been lobbying the state government to acknowledge that elder abuse is a problem in Tasmania and that they have a responsibility to develop a range of strategies to address it.

Elder abuse has presented to ATI through our advocacy work in both Aged Care and HACC. The majority of referrals come via community care staff who raise concerns about the treatment of an elder living in the community by a family member or trusted other (for example, a neighbour). While there are some systems in place to identify and address abuse of residents in aged care by staff, there is nothing to respond to abuse by family and others, in either the community or residential care.

In 2007, Advocacy Tasmania Inc joined with TasCOSS, Aged and Community Services Tasmania (ACST) and Council on the Ageing to form the Tasmanian Elder Abuse Partnership (TEAP). The TEAP has a joint position statement calling for the state government to develop an Elder Abuse Strategy.

In October 2008 TEAP organised a community forum on elder abuse with several guest speakers including Associate Professor Gerry Naughtin, one of Australia's leading experts on this issue, and Julie Nelson from Seniors Rights Victoria. Over 70 people attended the forum and there was strong media interest. However, no action was forthcoming from the government.

In July 2009 the ABC Stateline television show aired a story on elder abuse in Tasmania. TEAP assisted in the making of the program. Following the Stateline story we were advised that the Department of Health and Human Services would be taking responsibility for developing the State Government's response. While it is positive that there appears to be some progress imminent, it is disappointing that elder abuse is not seen as a whole of government issue.

Tasmania is the only Australian state that does not have a strategy or system for preventing and responding to elder abuse.

In August 2009 the Our Island Our Voices campaign released the first of 15 Policy Action Statements on critical issues for the Tasmanian community in the lead up to the 2010 State Election. The campaign is being coordinated by TasCOSS. Advocacy Tasmania fully supports Our Island Our Voices, which is calling on all Tasmanian political parties to commit to developing a comprehensive Elder Abuse Strategy. The urgency of the need for such a strategy was further underlined by a recent article in the Sunday Tasmanian.

See also the statement on elder abuse on our publications page.

Review of the Commonwealth Aged Care CIS

The Commonwealth Government is undertaking a review of the Aged Care Complaints Investigation Scheme. This national scheme provides a mechanism for residents and relatives to make complaints about the care and services received from Commonwealth-funded residential and community aged care services. The older people who use these services are often amongst our most frail and vulnerable citizens. It is vital that they have access to an effective and independent complaints scheme. This is therefore an important review. ATI has made a submission.

Submissions

You can find submissions and papers made in regard to systemic issues in the papers & submissions section of the publications page.