In this Step you will learn:

• What your rights are as a person with a disability
• What your responsibilities are as a person with a disability
• What your rights are as a person from a CaLD background
• What your responsibilities are as a person from a CaLD background
• What your rights are when you are self-advocating
• What your responsibilities are when you are self-advocating
• What some of the rules are that protect you rights and responsibilities

What are rights?

Rights refer to the way people SHOULD be treated. Some rights belong to everyone because they are human; these rights are called human rights. In Australia, it is your basic right to be treated fairly and with respect. It is important to exercise your rights, not just for your own sake, but for the future sake of others. To make sure that your rights are protected, there are laws and/or rules which organisations must follow. Some of the rights and rules apply specifically to people with disabilities and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

What are responsibilities?

Along with rights come responsibilities, responsibilities say how you are expected to act in order to have your rights protected.

It is important to know what your rights and responsibilities are before you start self-advocacy. If you do not know what your rights and responsibilities are you, might ask for something to change that cannot be changed or you might not ask for it in the right way. It is also good to know what your rights and responsibilities are so you know when you are being treated unfairly and need to speak-up to protect yourself.

In this Step you will read some important documents, some are laws (Acts) in Australia and some are rules which say how organizations must provide services (Disability Service Standards). Both the laws and the rules are designed to protect your rights.

At the end of this Step is a diagram which shows why self-advocacy is important to protect your own rights and responsibilities. There are no activities for you to do in this Step, but you might like to think of some examples of Rights and Responsibilities.

Disability Discrimination Act (1992)

The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) says that people with disabilities should be treated the same as the rest of the community. It is unlawful to discriminate against them in many areas of life including education, access to premises, administration of Australian Government laws and programs, and the provision of goods, services, and facilities. A person with a disability can lodge a complaint if they think they are being discriminated against.

Disability Services Act (1986)

The Disability Services Act provides a foundation for developing a range of disability support services aimed at increasing individual independence and integration of people with disabilities within the community.

Disability Service Standards

The Disability Service Standards are a list of rules to make sure your service provider treats you well and maintains your rights. The Disability Discrimination Act 1993 (WA) says that all organisations must meet all the Disability Service Standards. The Service Standards are the first step organisations need to take to have a good quality assurance system in place. In Western Australia there are nine Service Standards, they are:

1. Service Access
Organisations must not refuse you if you have a need they usually meet and they have the resources to do so. You must try to get information so you know the best organisation to go to with your problem.

2. Individual Needs
Organisations must try to meet your needs and help you reach your goals to the best of your ability. You must tell the organisations what you want and help them work towards achieving it.

3. Decision Making and Choice
Organisations must help you to make decisions and choices about your life and the service you get. You must try to get as much information as you can to make decisions and work with your service provider.

4. Privacy, Dignity and Confidentiality
Organisations must always respect your privacy, dignity and confidentiality. You must give the organisation all the information they need to give you the best service.

5. Participation and Integration
Organisations must help you to join in activities you want to do whenever possible. You must work with your service provider to decide which activities you would like to do and what can be done to help you do them.

6. Valued Status
Organisations must help you to learn skills and join in activities that give you value in the community. You must decide what skills you want to learn and then do your best to learn them.

7. Complaints and Disputes
Organisations must listen and respond to any complaints you have with the service you are receiving. You must raise any complaints you have in the correct way so the organisation can begin to address the problem.

8. Service Management
Organisations must try to get the best outcome for you. You must give the organisation enough information so they know what you want and how to get it.

9. Protection of Human Rights and Freedom from Abuse and Neglect
Organisations must not let you be abused or neglected and must maintain your rights all the time. You must report any abuse or neglect that happens to you or that you know is happening to someone else so that it can be stopped.

Quality Assurance and Continuous Quality Improvement

Quality systems are developed so organizations can make sure the service they are providing is the best that is possible. There are many types of quality systems but they all require YOU (the client) to take an active role in the service provision process. That means YOU become the expert and need to tell the service provider what you need and want so you can both work towards the best possible solution. The only way your service provider can understand and work towards your needs is for you to tell them what you need and want. Sometimes your service provider might ask you to tell them what you think about the service you have received and if you think it was good or could be improved in any way. You don’t need to wait for your service provider to ask you, if you think of anything, tell them about it because they need you to tell them what is working and what isn’t so they can give YOU the best service.

What do quality systems do for YOU?

• Allows you to get the service you need and want
• Allows you to say a say about the quality and type of service you receive
• Allows you to have confidence that the organization is providing a good service
• Allows you to have confidence the service will continue and improve over time
• Ensures better outcomes for you AND the organization

What do quality systems need YOU to do?
• Speak-up about what you need and want
• Work with the service provider to achieve the best quality service possible
• Be informed about your rights, responsibilities and what is available to you
• Provide feedback to the organization about the service you have received so it is able to improve the service they provide

To develop good quality systems, organizations need YOU to speak-up and tell them what you want and when something is wrong and could be better.

WA Charter of Multiculturalism

The WA Charter of Multiculturalism protects your rights as a person from a culturally and linguistically diverse background. The Charter of Multiculturalism was developed to allow all West Australians of all cultural and racial backgrounds, religions, and histories to be equally involved in political, social, and economic life in the state. It says Western Australian society must be based on mutual respect, freedom from prejudice and discrimination, equal opportunity, and full participation. The four principles of the Charter are:

Civic Values
Everyone has the right to equal respect, dignity and individual freedom as long as they obey the law.

Fairness
No-one can not be discriminated against because of their culture, race, language, or religion.

Equality
Everyone has the right to opportunities which allow them to reach their potential.

Participation
Everyone has the right to full and equal participation in society.

Under the Multiculturalism Charter the government, organisations, and individuals must be sensitive to the different needs of others and treat them with respect and dignity so everyone can fully participate in West Australian society. The principles of the Charter try to make sure that:

- Everyone has the same rights and responsibilities
- Everyone is a full and equal member of the Australian community
- Everyone has a sense of Australian identity
- Everyone gets the same treatment and protection under the laws of Australia
- Everyone respects the different cultures and backgrounds which make up the West Australian community
- Everyone can participate and enjoy all aspects of society

Consulting Citizens

The Consulting Citizens Resource Guide was developed so organisations are able to see how good consultation works and why it improves the services they provide. By asking and listening to you when they are designing policies and services, organisations give you the chance to have control over your life: they are asking YOU what they should be doing.

Good consultation aims to get feedback, options, alternatives and decisions from the people the policy will affect. It helps the organisation develop policies and services that are in line with what their clients are expecting of them.

The only way good consultation can happen is if you can speak-up and tell the organisation what you need and want. If you don’t speak-up the organisation gets no information from consultation and cannot improve the service they provide.

*** If you don’t tell the organisation how to do something properly, it is harder to complain when you have a problem***

This diagram shows how you have the right and the responsibility to give agencies feedback and tell them how they can give you (and other people like you) the best possible service. The acts and rules you have read about in this step are there to help you give feedback to your service provider, all you need to do is tell people what you think and feel!

Where you can go for more information:

• Disability Services Commission
www.dsc.gov.au

• Acrod WA
www.acrod.org.au

• Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
www.hreoc.gov.au

• CaLD Consumer Perspectives: developing culturally and linguistically responsive approaches to the disability services standards, EDAC, 2005