Who are we: Mackay Advocacy is an Independent Disability Advocacy Service supporting people in our community.
What we DO NOT do: Offer legal advice, Financial Advice, Counselling, Secretarial Services, Decision Maker.
What is Advocacy: Advocacy is speaking and acting to uphold and defend the rights and needs of people with a disability to ensure their basic human rights are being met and to empower the individual to speak for themselves.
Why do we need Independent Disability Advocacy?
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- To ensure people with disabilities’ fundamental human rights are being met and to ensure we minimise the risk of harm, neglect abuse and exploitation.
- To assist individuals to have control and direction of their own lives.
As a community to ensure we are all connected & responsible for enabling inclusions.
“The good things in life are universal and include being treated with dignity, respect, acceptance, a sense of belonging, an education, developing and exercising one’s capacities, a voice in the affairs of your community and society, opportunities to participate, a decent material standard of living, a normative place to live, and opportunities for work and self-support” ~ Wolfensberger et al 1996 7
What Disability Advocates Do:
Disability advocacy may include:
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- Providing information to people with a disability on issues, strategies, their human rights and identifying instances of discrimination, including the right to have access to a wide range of services to meet their individual needs.
- Assisting people with a disability to uphold their rights by speaking to people and organisations to raise awareness of problems and seek solutions
MAI strongly supports cases involving discrimination, abuse, neglect, and exploitation of individuals with disabilities.
What are the Key Advocacy Issues:
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- Abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence
- Child Protection
- Community inclusion – social/family
- Disability services
- Education
- Health/Mental health
- Access to justice
- NDIS –Quality Safeguards Commission
- Physical Access
- Vulnerable/Isolated people with disabilities
We are funded by: Department of Child Safety, Seniors and Disability Services, Department of Social Services and Queensland Health
MISSION STATEMENT
Mackay Advocacy Inc. provides free, confidential, individual advocacy
and assistance to people with a disability in
Mackay, Whitsunday and Isaac regions to ensure their fundamental,
human rights are met.
Management Committee
| President | Raoul Wilson |
| Vice-President | Ray Wegner |
| Secretary | Christian Strang |
| Treasurer | Ros Warner |
| Committee Member | Tarnia Kerruish |
| Committee Member | Paula Creen |
| Committee Member | Gunther Paul |
| Committee Member | Joanna Chounding |
Accessing our service
We offer FREE advocacy services for those with a disability through government funding. Referrals can be made by the person themselves (self-refer), family member, service provider, carer or support person to someone with a disability.
It is important to note that if you are referring someone to us, we are only able to act for that person if they wish us to do so. Referrals are reviewed and prioritized according to levels of vulnerability and urgency.
Making an appointment with an Advocate is essential.
If you are not satisfied with the way in which our advocates work with you on your issues, or perhaps with the way in which the organisation is functioning, you can make a complaint.
This will not affect the work we do with you now or in the future. It will also help us offer better advocacy assistance and make our organisation stronger.