Advocacy
NDIS Decision-making

Decision-making

NDIS Decision Support

Overview

Our NDIS Decision Support provides advocacy and decision-making support for people with disability who have limited decision-making capacity and require assistance to engage with the NDIS at any stage of process.

What we do

Our advocates provide assistance to eligible clients with NDIS processes within a supported decision-making framework.

They may assist with: 

  • Gathering appropriate evidence for completing and submitting NDIS Access Requests
  • Making decisions towards development of their initial NDIS Plan, including preparing for and attending NDIS Planning meetings where appropriate
  • Choosing a Support Coordinator with input from the participant
  • Problem-solving initial issues during implementation of the Plan
  • Capacity-building in interactions with the NDIA

 

Who we assist

To be eligible for assistance you must:

  • Be aged between 18 and 65
  • Have limited decision-making capacity
  • Have limited existing avenues of informal or formal decision-making support

How to get help

 

Please contact us on 07 3844 4200 or 1300 130 582 or use the contact form below to enquire about getting assistance from our advocates.

You will be required to provide QAI with certain personal details which are necessary for our advocates to deliver their services. All personal information is treated as strictly confidential.

"QAI put a human touch into our circumstances treating us with respect from the very start. We really felt we had an advocate we could trust and be completely open with and that has been rare in our journey. The knowledge and abilities that our QAI advocate has in putting it all together was priceless to us."

Steven & Popi, NDIS clients

 
 
 
 

My advocate was extremely understanding, gave fantastic advice and helped me every step of the way to achieve a satisfactory outcome. Very impressed. 

Matthew, NDIS client

 

Case study

Kirra* is a young 17-year-old indigenous woman with intellectual disability who lives in a small town in regional Queensland.

In early 2020, Kirra was referred to QAI’s Decision Support by a local psychologist. Kirra had disengaged from school nearly two years ago. She had been living with her father, however he passed away suddenly last year so she had to move back to her mother’s house. She began getting into trouble with the ‘wrong crowd’ and engaging in criminal activity. She was drinking alcohol, using substances and was known to be sexually active. She was considered at high risk of pregnancy, offending, and suicide, particularly given her grief over the loss of her father with whom she had a close, supportive relationship.

Kirra suddenly left town and became very hard to track down. QAI’s Indigenous Liaison and Referral Officer, Evelyn Carte, used her extensive networks to locate this vulnerable young woman and began to establish a relationship. Kirra had begun couch surfing with friends in a nearby city. Evelyn identified agencies that had a professional relationship with Kirra and was able to obtain relevant reports that would serve as supporting evidence for an NDIA Access Request. The Access Request and supporting documentation was compiled and submitted to the NDIS by the Decision Support Advocate.

Within a fortnight, a delegate from the National Access Team phoned the Advocate to discuss Kirra’s situation in more detail as part of her decision-making role. When it became clear that there was no more formal supporting evidence that could be provided to support Kirra’s Access Request, that delegate sought further information about Kirra directly from the Advocate during a detailed phone interview. Later that afternoon, Kirra was granted NDIS Access!

Since then, the Decision Support Advocate has been meeting weekly with Kirra to help her to prepare for her NDIS Plan Meeting, by mapping her current supports, helping her to envision a future, determine her goals and become clearer about what supports would be required to achieve those goals. Kirra is now ready to schedule her Plan Meeting and is about to embark upon a new life where she will have access to additional support to achieve her goals and where some of her incredible dreams may now become a reality.

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