Office of the Public AdvocateMessage from the Public Advocate
I retire as Public Advocate this week, leading me to reflect on the many passionate and dedicated individuals I have met and worked with. These are people who share OPA’s vision of a fair and inclusive society that respects and values the human rights and dignity of all people.
OPA Volunteers
OPA’s volunteers protect the rights and wellbeing of people with disability and mental illness in disability accommodation, mental health units, supported residential services, police interviews and procedures, and during prison disciplinary hearings.
In thinking about the impact of OPA volunteers, I am reminded of a quote from American anthropologist Margaret Mead:
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it's the only thing that ever has."
There are over 600 people who volunteer with the Community Visitors, Independent Third Persons (ITP), and Corrections Independent Support Officer programs. I encourage others to consider volunteering.
These are vital volunteer programs to help uphold and safeguard the human rights of people with disability. OPA ITP volunteers attend police interviews for adults and young people with disability to ensure that they are not disadvantaged during the interview process. Just over 35 years ago, when the Community Visitor Program was established, Community Visitors were entrusted with the crucial responsibility of being a voice for people living in the closed and semi-closed settings of institutions. An insight into the profound impact of the Community Visitor Program, from its inception to today, can be found in OPA’s report Great Expectations: 35 Years of Community Visitors.
I would like to thank OPA volunteers for their dedication, the countless hours they contribute, their commitment and years of service. I look forward to meeting with you and celebrating at the annual volunteer conference this Friday.
Human Rights
In my role as Public Advocate, I have witnessed people with disability facing barriers in exercising and enjoying human rights that apply to everyone.
Eleanor Roosevelt, who was the first Chairperson of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in 1946, said:
“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world.”
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities focuses on removing barriers that people with disability face in exercising rights. Being able to choose where you live, and who you live with, and being able to receive the support you need to make your own decisions — these are examples of fundamental rights people with disability continue to face barriers in exercising.
‘Voice’ is so crucial if we are to understand the impact of human rights in ‘small places close to home’, and the impact when rights are denied. I have been moved by my involvement with 3 short videos co-designed with OPA’s Lived Experience Advisory Committee. I note the important work of self advocacy organisations in promoting the voice of people with disability.
The importance of people having their voice heard underpins OPA’s position statement: Right to tell one’s own story. In this position statement, OPA recognises that some people with experience of guardianship or administration want the opportunity to share their own stories publicly, without undue constraints. OPA supports their calls and commends the disability advocacy organisations who have sought to advance this goal.
Foundations for change report
OPA recently held a yarning circle for the launch of the report Foundations for change: OPA’s engagement with Aboriginal people with disability.
Kyle Vander-Kuyp, Deputy Chair Connecting Home, joined OPA for the launch. Kyle is a proud Worimi and Yuin man and former Olympian, who has also worked extensively with the Stolen Generation. Kyle was a thoughtful, big-hearted and engaging speaker and there were many tears shed by the audience as he told his moving story.
Targeted manipulation and personal autonomy– roundtable and discussion paper
OPA is not alone in recognising the new opportunities for targeted manipulation that have arisen with the implementation of the NDIS. OPA’s discussion paper– Targeted Manipulation and personal autonomy– and subsequent roundtable were designed as opportunities to describe a potential framework for conceptualising targeted manipulation in adult safeguarding contexts.
To find out how others were engaging with or responding to these issues, on 24 September I hosted a Roundtable limited to 12 attendees from agencies involved with disability, justice, academia, safeguarding, and advocacy.
The discussion paper highlights the forms of targeted manipulation experienced by OPA guardianship clients. These behaviours include indoctrination, coercive control and, specific to NDIS-related examples, targeted incentives to switch service providers. The paper also shows the usefulness of an alternative framework for understanding vulnerability in which vulnerability is understood as context dependent, not purely a function of the person’s disability. This framing has benefits from a human rights perspective, and enables a preventative approach to harms caused by manipulation: for example, considering frontline practices like scaffolding which attempt to limit the impact of manipulators, or policy or legislative changes that limit opportunities for exploitation under the NDIS. I hope to generate sector-wide engagement with practices of targeted manipulation and develop a shared language to describe what we are seeing.
Thank you
It has been my privilege to hold the role of Victoria’s Public Advocate over the last 17 years. I wish to conclude by thanking people with disability, family members, volunteers, self-advocates, advocates, OPA staff and organisations and professionals who OPA has worked with, and alongside, over the last 17 years.
