People with a disability and older persons are some of the most vulnerable in Australia. They need to have their voice heard on issues that are important to them to protect and promote their rights. For this reason, the requirements established by a new Draft Standard on Ageing and Disability is to provide uniform minimum requirements for Advocacy in aged care and disability. It specifies requirements for the design, accessibility, and quality of advocacy services.
The Draft AS 5391:2023 Advocacy in Ageing and Disability was prepared by the Standards Australia Committee MB-031 Advocacy in aged care and disability. This document applies to Advocacy Services delivering disability or aged care advocacy and is intended for use as an auditing tool. This document specifies minimum requirements for disability and aged care advocacy and comprises three broad areas: Human rights framework for Advocacy; Advocacy service delivery; and Advocacy Service operations and governance. Standards Australia encourages views and input from a wide cross section of the public on a draft publication during the Public Comment stage. Create a free account when you login to Standards Australia Connect and browse in Drafts open for public comment Draft AS 5391:2023 Advocacy in Aging and Disability, open for Public Comment until 22 December 2023. Read more in the Standards Australia Public Comment Guide.
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Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) engages with these issues by supporting a representative to the committee which developed the standard. The CFA representative ensures the impact on consumers is always a central part of committee considerations. The CFA Standards Project makes sure the consumer voice is heard in the standards development process giving the Australian consumer greater confidence in the products, services and systems they use. Find out how to get involved and make a difference here.