Supporting people to make their own decisions, rather than having someone else make them, doesn’t sound that hard. But in a world where service systems are complex, and where the focus on ‘consumer choice’ sees people asked to make ever more decisions about the services they receive, anyone who has difficulty making decisions is at risk of having others step in and take over.
But everyone has the right to make or participate in decisions about the things that impact their life.
To assist with decision making and a rights respecting community, ADA Law and QAI have recently developed a new resource, the Supported Decision Making Guide. This Guide gives people, and those who are supporting them, valuable information that will enable them to keep making decisions about their own lives wherever possible.
In this webinar, Mary Burgess, Solicitor at QAI and Karen Williams, Principal Solicitor at ADA Law will outline how to make the most out of the Guide and apply the various pieces of legislation appropriately. Using the principles of the Guardianship Act, Human Rights Act and Powers of Attorney Act, the Guide has several goals including:
- Reduce QCAT applications
- Delay enactment of EPOAs
- Enhance the person’s own decision making opportunities and
- Assist in reducing the need for appointed and enacted decision makers.
The Guide is designed in chapters so that you only need to print the few pages which are relevant to the particular client you might be working with.