JASANZ is inviting all interested members of the public and organisations to help shape the content of a nationally significant certification scheme for Aged Care and Disability Advocacy Services. 

Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) and Disability Advocacy Network of Australia (DANA) approached JASANZ to develop a certification scheme for accredited certification to the Australian Standard (AS) 5391 ‘Advocacy in Ageing and Disability’, the first Australian Standard for aged care and disability advocacy per se. The standard is available for purchase from Standards Australia. 

The objective of the certification scheme, to be titled ‘Advocacy in Ageing and Disability Standard Scheme’ (AADSS), is to support the broader objectives of the Advocacy Standards Project that led to the creation of AS 5391. You can read more about the Project on the OPAN and DANA websites. 

The standard was developed through the Standards Australia national standards development process, following extensive public consultation over the past three years.  

The current ‘Committee Draft 1.5’ (CD1.5) version of the Scheme is in the early stages of development, and is the result of careful consideration by OPAN, DANA, and key stakeholders in government, industry, and the aged care and disability sectors, including most notably Persons for which the Advocacy Services are to provide services to.  

The draft still needs to undergo several rounds of Scheme Technical Committee consideration and public consultation, with the aim of the Committee reaching consensus to approve a Final Scheme document for approval and publication by OPAN and DANA as the Scheme Owners.  

A ‘Plain Language’ (easy read) version of the Scheme document will be published when the Scheme is finalised. The attached version is currently written for technical standards and conformance (auditing) experts, and in formal, legalistic language. The public are not expected to be familiar with all of its terminology. 

What do think about the draft CD1.5 Scheme? Is the Technical Committee on the right track? 

Does it: 

• Allow adequate opportunities for Persons, their family and friends receiving (or seeking) aged care and disability Advocacy to be a part of the audit and certification process? 
• Appropriately emphasise the fundamental rights of Persons under the United Nations Charter of Human Rights, the United Nations Principles for Older Persons, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and related Australian legal protections? 
• Provide adequate incentives for: 
  • Advocacy Services to be certified? 
  • Persons, family, friends, governments and other Advocacy users to preference use of AS 5391 certified Advocacy Services, where available? 
• Contain all the features you would expect to see in a certification scheme for Advocacy Services? If not, what is missing? 
• Adopt the most useful features of existing certification schemes in related areas, particularly the National Disability Advocacy Program Scheme (NDAP Scheme)? 
• Strike the right balance between being prescriptive enough to give guidance and expectations, and allowing room for Advocacy Services and auditors to innovate and apply their own judgement? 
• Look like a certification scheme that you would be happy to be a part of? 

How to provide comments 

Please provide all comments to Michael Bleasdale, the authorised OPAN and DANA Project Leader for the Advocacy in Ageing and Disability Standard Scheme (AADSS). Michael can be contacted by email at Michael@capacityservices.com.au 

Please provide comments by no later than Sunday 15 December.  

You may want to provide comments in any format you wish. However, a comments template is attached below, and as per the first row example, can be completed to concisely describe specific areas of concern or suggested improvement in the Scheme document.  

OPAN, DANA, and JASANZ thank you in advance for any comments you may wish to provide. 

We are looking forward to progressing the draft, and launching the Advocacy in Ageing and Disability Standard Scheme (AADSS) in 2025. 

Files for Consultation

Advocacy in Ageing and Disability Standard Scheme (AADSS) – Committee Draft v1.5 

Comments Table – Committee Draft v1.5