Self advocacy
What is self-advocacy?
Self-advocacy puts you in control. It is the ability to speak up for yourself on issues that are important to you. Speaking up for yourself can be empowering and supports your independence.
You might want to speak up – using self-advocacy when you
- are finding it difficult to access aged care services
- have a concern about your aged care services
- don’t feel like your aged care services are meeting your needs
- want to make a complaint.
The Self-advocacy toolkit aims to make it easier for you to access the information you need to speak up for better aged care.
You can access this information as a printed booklet, order a copy.
If you run into problems, or you just need to talk things over, our professional aged care advocates are here for support.
Self-advocacy – or speaking up – puts you in control. It’s about maintaining your own power.
A guide to self-advocacy – what you need to know for better aged care
This OPAN guide gives you steps to follow and some practical tips to help you get started with self-advocacy or speaking up. Being confident to speak up for yourself can take time. It takes planning, patience and sometimes, persistence. Download or print it for easy access.
Self-advocacy toolkit – print booklet
OPAN’s Self-advocacy toolkit print booklet contains a step-by-step guide to making yourself heard and checklists to help you speak up for better in home and residential care. It also covers your aged care options when leaving hospital and tips for making an effective complaint.
