Disability Royal Commission counselling and advocacy supports providers

Visit Disability counselling and advocacy support to find a Disability Royal Commission support service in your area, such as counselling, advocacy, legal and financial services.

Background

The Australian Government is funding free and independent supports for people engaging with, or affected by, the Disability Royal Commission. This includes funding to the department for counselling and advocacy supports. The department is providing counselling support to people in the following ways:

  • National Counselling and Referral Service: A free, trauma-informed telephone counselling service to support people affected by the Disability Royal Commission. The service is available via the telephone, and online text and web chat.
  • Counselling support services: Free, trauma-informed counselling for people affected by the Disability Royal Commission, which includes the frontline counselling services and targeted counselling services.

The department is providing advocacy support through the following:

  • Individual advocacy support: Advocates can help a person with disability understand how to tell their story to the Disability Royal Commission, work out problems or avoid discriminatory issues, find communication supports such as interpreters, and access supports such as legal or financial services.
  • Indigenous-specific advocacy support: First Peoples Disability Network will provide indigenous-specific advocacy through mapping gaps of Indigenous advocacy support across Australia and building capacity and providing education materials to advocacy providers to provide culturally appropriate Indigenous advocacy support.
  • Disability Representative Organisations (DROs) Disability Royal Commission support: DROs will provide systemic advocacy support for the Disability Royal Commission to support members, both organisational and individual, to understand and engage with the Disability Royal Commission, including through hosting workshops and forums to reach vulnerable individuals and groups.

Disability Royal Commission counselling supports

Operational Guidelines for the counselling support services

The Operational Guidelines Counselling Support Services for people affected by the Disability Royal Commission provide more specific information about frontline and targeted counselling services.

Disability Royal Commission advocacy supports

Operational Guidelines for Individual Advocacy Support Program

The Operational Guidelines for the Disability Royal Commission Individual Advocacy Support Program provide more specific information about the individual advocacy supports.

Further resources for providers

Providers can access a variety of accessible resources, including a Communication Toolkit, by visiting Disability counselling and advocacy support.

Find a Disability Royal Commission support service

If you need support, visit Disability counselling and advocacy support to find a Disability Royal Commission support service in your area.

Contact

For further information, contact the Department of Social Services.

Post:

Advocacy and Inclusion Branch
Department of Social Services
GPO Box 9820
Canberra ACT 2601

Email:

Disability Royal Commission advocacy supports: disabilityadvocacy@dss.gov.au

Disability Royal Commission counselling supports: DRCSupports@dss.gov.au

For day-to-day issues relating to funding agreements and other program and operational matters, providers should contact their departmental Funding Arrangement Manager.

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