Advocacy
Do you need help in understanding your rights?
Do you need access to information regarding your situation?
Do you want to understand the system so you can advocate for yourself?
ADEC’s Advocacy Program can help you. We offer one-on-one support, outreach, and referral support for clients.
Call us today to find out how.
ADEC has been Breaking Barriers and Building Futures since 1982
What is ADEC’s Advocacy Program?
ADEC exists to provide advocacy services that advance the rights of people with disabilities in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD). Our goal is to promote, protect, and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of human rights, and to advocate for the inherent dignity of all persons with disabilities.
Our Advocates work alongside you to help you understand your rights, make informed decisions and access the supports that are right for you and your loved ones. Whether you’re navigating the disability support system, attending appointments, understanding your options or speaking up for your rights, we’re here to support and empower you every step of the way.
Our role is to ensure your voice is heard. We provide information, guidance and advocacy so you can confidently present your views, make informed choices and achieve the outcomes that matter most to you.
Our Advocacy services are completely FREE. If you speak a language other than English, we also provide FREE interpreter services, ensuring you can access support in the language you feel most comfortable using.
How we can help you
Our Advocates can help you with:
- Accessing the NDIS and Planning Meetings
- Assisting in accessing important supports such as legal and employment services, and educational opportunities
- Lodging formal complaints
- Accessing disability aids, equipment, and assessments
- Accessing Respite, Personal Care, and Domestic Assistance
- Accessing Carer Payment and Carer Support
- Housing matters, including housing support services and disability modifications
- Public housing applications
- Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) matters
- Guardianship and Administrator applications
- Accessing financial support, including material aid, concession discounts, financial counseling, and no-interest loans.
- Accessing Centrelink Disability Support Pension
Eligibility
- People living with a disability
- A carer or a family member of a person living with a disability
- From culturally and linguistically diverse background
- Lives in Victoria (statewide)
ADEC is funded to provide independent advocacy for people living with a disability. ADEC also offers NDIS support services.
It is important that the formal advocacy we provide to you remains independent; so if you have received advocacy support from us at anytime we are unable to offer our NDIS Support Services to you. Similarly, if you currently are receiving NDIS Supports from us, we are unable to offer you our independent advocacy services. This ensures there is no conflict of interest.
Visit the NDIS website for more information.
ADEC’s Independent Advocacy Statement
At ADEC, our advocacy service is independent and focused on your rights, choices, and voice. We support you to speak up, make informed decisions, and be heard — without pressure or influence from other services.
We work closely with people from multicultural communities, especially people with disability, to ensure they are treated fairly and with respect. Our advocacy team listens to you, values your culture and language, and supports what matters most to you.
To maintain independence and avoid any conflict of interest, ADEC cannot provide any other services to individuals who are receiving or have previously received advocacy support from us.
You can read our Independent Advocacy Statement below to learn more about how we work, your rights, and how to make a complaint.
Types of Advocacy Support Services
Short-term one-on-one assistance to help you solve an issue.
Short-term one-on-one assistance for carers and families to solve an issue.
Training and information sessions to communities about how to advocate for yourself or your loved ones.
Focuses on making a more inclusive community through legislation, policies and practices for people living with a disability.
NDIS Appeals
If you disagree with the NDIA’s Internal Review decision about your NDIS Plan, you can request an External Review with the Administration Reviews Tribunal (ART). This is called lodging an Appeal with the ART. ADEC can guide you in lodging an ART appeal. We will help you prepare your case, guide you through the process, and attend ART conferences and hearings with you as support, ensuring you receive the essential support you need to thrive.
This is a Free service.
Why Choose ADEC?
At ADEC we celebrate diversity. We have bilingual staff that can speak over 33 different languages. We provide free translation services, so you know exactly what is happening when we assist you.
Our team is highly qualified and regularly trained. We are a compassionate group, committed to equality, and driven by making a positive impact. We understand the importance of cultural nuances and personal preferences for care.
ADEC has served the community since 1982 as a not-for-profit. Today we service a very large number of ethnic communities with the widest range of support services.
We believe that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, and we work tirelessly to advocate for and create positive change in the disability and aged care sectors.
Contact Us
If you are a referring agency, please add your agency name in the message section.
“I just wanted to take the opportunity to say a big thank you to Deborah for all of her assistance and brilliant advocacy skills in helping to secure an NDIS plan that will finally meet my daughter needs.”
“I was talking to Shukrullah the supervisor who speaks farsi, I was really appreciative of Faiths work and she was helping me a lot. She was helping me further than her responsibilities and I was very grateful and admiring her job and the work she was doing for me. I have to thank her because she was a great help. ADEC helps people with no expectation, and I really admire that organization.”
“Thank you so much for all your help Rosa!! I learned so much from you about preparing for a review meeting. I will definitely need your help again so I will contact you 2 months before the review”.
“Celeste is a wonderful and caring individual, who is always demonstrating willingness to spark change in every encounter she has with her clients.
Working with Celeste has been an absolute delight as we both learn from each other. I am pleased to say that it has significantly increased my personal knowledge and willingness to advocate for others in the community, especially through my own work as a research advisor for Cerebral Palsy”.
Our Locations
Postal Address
PO Box 40, South Morang, VIC 3752Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but eligibility criteria and waiting periods may apply. Interpreters can be arranged free of cost.
Certainly, ADEC goes beyond advocacy to help participants establish connections with a range of government services. Whether it involves navigating disability support services, transport services, or other governmental support, our team is committed to understanding your unique circumstances. The extent of assistance is tailored to your specific case and the services required.
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