Independent disability advocacy services are critical for all Queenslanders living with disability, both participants of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and the vast majority who are not eligible to access the NDIS.
Master data was provided by DSDSATSIP for QDAP funded services for 01st January 2022 – 31st May 2022 and was used to prepare this report. Through our analysis of the data as well as our experiences providing advocacy services, it is evident that there is significant unmet demand for independent advocacy services.
Increasing the State government funded independent advocacy program, QDAP, to a minimum of $15 million annually would allow expansion of disability advocacy across the state. In the alternative, providing a minimum of $10 million annually would allow for existing disability advocacy services to be adequately resourced and assist in meeting the current demand.
Without this funding and an ongoing commitment to independent disability advocacy, Queenslanders living with disability will continue to have difficulty accessing advocacy services. Additionally, those living in regional, rural, and remote locations will have trouble accessing quality face-to-face advocacy services that are responsive and with localised knowledge. The issue surrounding organisations having limited capacity to provide services will continue.
Disability advocates will be unable to complete proactive outreach to find the most vulnerable people which will result in Queenslanders living with disability continuing to have their human rights infringed upon. Disability advocates will be unable to complete community-based education and capacity building for individuals to self-advocate and will instead spend their time focusing on ‘putting out fires’ rather than ensuring they were not lit in the first place. Disability advocates want to see our communities moving towards being disability responsive, accessible, and inclusive and disability advocates can be facilitators in making this happen. We hope the Queensland Government understands the importance of disability advocates in upholding, defending, and promoting people with disability’s rights and look forward to an increase in funding and ongoing commitment to support the sector.
