What Advocacy Agencies Do - Advocacy

Topics in this section:

Advocacy
Information
Education
Policy
Partnerships

Advocacy

Advocacy is the core business of the Residential Aged Care Advocacy Services Program. It is this role which provides the advocacy agencies with the expertise and depth of understanding of the aged care sector required to undertake their other roles in education, information and policy support.

Advocacy agencies are funded to provide an independent free and confidential service to consumers of aged care services and their representatives through representation or supporting them to self advocate.

The advocacy agencies provide high quality consumer-focused practices including:

• acting for older people upon the instructions of those older people or their representatives
• interviewing older people or their representatives with their consent
• having access to such documentation as is available to the older person and only with the permission of that person, or his/her representative
• recognising that the older persons interest must be considered of paramount importance if a conflict of interest arises in the assistance given by the advocacy agency
• achieving maximum participation of older people in the advocacy process so that they continue to be optimally involved in decision-making about their quality of life
• maintaining open and constructive communication, including consultation, feedback mechanisms and clear points of contact with older people, their representatives and other relevant parties
• providing clearly stated standards of service which strive to make services accessible and applicable to all members of the client group
• developing mechanisms for dealing with older peoples complaints regarding services provided by the advocacy agency and informing older people about those redressing mechanisms.

Goal

To assist consumers of aged care services to voice their complaints and concerns through an advocate or to be encouraged and supported to represent themselves.

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