Systemic advocacy involves working for long-term social change to make sure legislation, policies and practices support the rights and interests of people with impaired decision-making ability.
This can include influencing;
- The creation of new laws or changes to current laws
- The priorities and plans of government and non-government agencies
- The policies and procedures that relate to services or systems
- The way in which government and non-government agencies provide services
Systemic advocacy seeks to make positive changes for a whole group of people rather than one individual. It responds to issues and barriers that keep on occurring for many individuals with impaired decision-making ability during their day-to-day lives.
Individual advocacy is about supporting people with impaired decision-making ability to;
- Voice their concerns
- Access information
- Solve any issues
- Identify available options
It is important that systemic advocacy undertaken by the Public Advocate is informed by the lived experiences of people with impaired decision-making ability.
Hearing about individual matters and experiences help us to work out;
- Areas of concern in the community
- Serious problems with Queensland systems
- Issues that could be addressed through our systemic advocacy work