Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA) Ltd

Last week, the DANA team hosted a workshop in Adelaide with our SA members as part of the Future of Advocacy project, followed by a session on the new advocacy standard. The Future of Advocacy project aims to develop a clear vision for a more sustainable advocacy sector, supported by a strategy to influence funding and policy decisions from July 2025 and beyond. Our members' expertise and insights are a crucial part of helping shape this important work! Thank you to our members for their time and valuable insights. As a fully remote team, we value every opportunity to connect in person with you! Read more about the project: https://ow.ly/nBXF50Uh4Qw

✨ Our 2023-24 Annual Report is now online! It showcases a transformative year for DANA and the NCDA team, as new initiatives and projects were rolled out between July 2023 to June 2024. 📄 Read the accessible PDF on our website here: https://lnkd.in/gdWZvF-K We hope our members, friends and supporters enjoy reading the report.

⚠️ If your advocacy work involves partnering with speech pathologists or dietitians, here’s an important update from the leading professional bodies. Speech Pathology Australia and Dietitians Australia have urgently written to the Hon. Bill Shorten, Minister for the NDIS, requesting critical updates to the NDIS support lists. Lyn Brodie, Interim CEO of Speech Pathology Australia says: "These lists must be urgently amended to ensure safe and effective mealtimes for people with dietary and swallowing needs." 📢Read the full media release from the peak bodies here: https://lnkd.in/gGzBuT4S

SA and NSW members: Future of Advocacy Forums are coming to you this month! We’re excited to bring our in-person member events to Adelaide and Sydney! These forums explore the principles of the Future of Advocacy Project. We invite your engagement and your insights to help guide the project. (Both events will also include an optional session on the Advocacy Standards Project) Adelaide Forum 🗓️ Thursday 21 Nov | ⏰ 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM ACDT Sydney Forum (Parramatta) 🗓️ Thursday 28 Nov | ⏰ 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM AEDT Register now by emailing: members@dana.org.au

🌟 Help us spotlight people with disability in leadership as part of our celebration of International Day of People with Disability, coming up on December 3rd! 🌟 DANA invites you to nominate leaders in disability advocacy. Let’s share their stories—"Nothing about us, without us! 📝 Nominate yourself or a leader by November 30. To Learn more and access the form: https://lnkd.in/gKB5jd99 #IDPWD

The 2023 NDIS Review introduced "foundational supports" to help bridge the gap between NDIS-funded and mainstream services. DANA has released a new Issues Paper that explores a critical question: Should advocacy be part of the "foundational supports" or remain an independent service? We’re seeking your feedback on important issues like access, capacity, unmet demand, and the independence of advocacy. Read more in our article below 👇

DANA members, don't miss our one-hour online workshops exploring the Future of Advocacy project! These sessions dive deeper into key topics from recent forums in Melbourne and online. 📅 Upcoming Online Workshops: Tuesday 26 Nov, 3-4 PM AEDT: One size does not fit all: Advocacy and diversity Thursday 5 Dec, 1-2 PM AEDT: Increasing reach to more people Thursday 5 Dec, 3-4 PM AEDT: Building a sustainable and resilient sector for the future 📧 To register, email: members@dana.org.au

Disability representation in the media is important and necessary for a more inclusive society – but is it being done right? How can we make it better? DANA is proud to join the next Open Dialogue event on November 26th at 7:00pm (AEDT) for a discussion about what we like to see when we see ourselves on screen, and what just doesn’t make the cut. We’re thrilled to have our Deputy CEO, El Gibbs, as a panelist at this event. El has been a powerful advocate, using media to drive visibility, challenge stereotypes, and champion the work of independent advocacy for people with disability. Register for free online: https://lnkd.in/grsKAhHP If you want to know even more about how changing the narrative of our mainstream media can significantly influence how people with disability are treated, you can read "By Us, For Us - Disability Messaging Guide" which DANA launched earlier this year in partnership with Centre for Australian Progress: https://lnkd.in/giKMX9tQ

Some great events coming up this month from our team at the National Centre for Disability Advocacy (NCDA) 👇 Since the NCDA launched in 2022, the team has been running monthly networking events and webinars where experts from the disability and advocacy community dive into topics relevant to their work. These events have been so popular that there are often waitlists! The fantastic feedback we’re getting is a real testament to the hard work the team puts into planning, collaborating, and delivering events that help strengthen our sector. Here’s what advocates have had to say: “𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴! 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 :)” “𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴. 𝘓𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦.” “𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘐’𝘮 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭.” If you want to find out more about the NCDA events, contact the team below.

We are excited to work with the National Disability Research Partnership (NDRP) on a new co-designed research project. DANA's role is to explore how disability advocacy and consumer organisations can actively co-design and contribute to NDRP's research. We look forward to updating our members and community throughout the project.