About advocacy
This information is about advocacy.
It has information on
- What advocacy is
- Times you might need to advocate
- How you can advocate for yourself to get help for your mental health
- Finding someone to advocate for you
Advocacy is having your voice heard so your rights and needs are met.
You can have needs in many areas of your life.
Rights are rules about how everybody should be treated fairly.
A right is something everyone has.
To advocate is you or someone else doing things so that your rights and needs are met.
An advocate is someone who speaks up to get you the support you need.
You can have needs in many areas of your life.
Below we talk about your mental health needs.
Mental health is about
- How you think
- How you feel
There may be times when you need to advocate to get support for your mental health.
You might need an advocate if
- You have trouble finding a mental health service that is right for you
- A mental health service says they cannot help you
- You are not happy with the support you get from a mental health service
- If you are in hospital for your mental health
- If you need to go to the Mental Health Review Tribunal
The Mental Health Review Tribunal is a group of people who know a lot about mental health treatment and the law.
For more information about the Mental Health Review Tribunal go to https://www.3dn.unsw.edu.au/sites/
default/files/documents/3DN_MHA_
MHRT_ERv1.pdf
You may want a legal advocate if you need to
- Go to the Mental Health Review Tribunal
- Get legal help
You can be a self-advocate.
A self-advocate is someone who speaks up for themselves.
There are ways you can speak up for yourself to get support that is right for you.
You could self-advocate by asking a mental health worker if they
- See other people with intellectual disability
- Know about helping people with intellectual disability with their mental health
Sometimes it can be hard to speak up for yourself.
You may want to find an advocate who can support you to speak up for your rights.
There is more information below about finding an advocate.
To self-advocate it can help to know what rights you have to mental health care.
For more information about your rights go to https://www.idmhconnect.health/
your-rights/ER
For more information about how to advocate go to https://www.voicestogether.com.au/
self-advocates/toolkits-resources-how-to/
When to find an advocate
You may want to find an advocate when
- You do not want to do it yourself
- You have tried but it did not work
You might like to ask someone you trust to advocate for you.
There are many people you might trust.
For more information about who you might trust go to https://www.idmhconnect.health/
someone-trust
Types of advocates
There are different types of advocates.
They can include the following people.
Peer advocates are people who also have a disability or mental health problem and advocate for others.
Professional advocates are people who are paid to advocate for others.
Legal advocates are people who make sure
- Your legal rights are looked after
- You can get access to mental health services you need
A legal advocate can be a lawyer.
A lawyer is someone who knows about the laws and government rules in Australia.
Laws are a set of rules that everyone must follow.
For more information about the types of advocacy go to
Finding an advocate
To find an advocate you may like to ask someone you trust to advocate for you.
There are many people you might trust.
For more information about who you might trust go to https://www.idmhconnect.health/
someone-trust
To find an advocate you can connect to advocacy organisations.
Go to
- Disability Advocacy Network Australia
https://www.dana.org.au/find-an-advocate/
- Voices Together – self-advocacy groups https://www.voicestogether.com.au/
self-advocates/find-group/
- People with Disability Australia
https://pwd.org.au/get-help/individual-advocacy/
You can also contact People with Disability Australia through their WayFinder Hub
- Call 1800 843 920
- Email [email protected]
To find a legal advocate go to
- Intellectual Disability Rights Service
https://idrs.org.au/
- Mental Health Advocacy Service
https://www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/my-problem-is-about/mental-health/duty-service-in-hospitals/mental-health-advocacy-service
There are some tricky words on this Easy Read page.
For more information about these words go to