Independent Mental Health Advocacy

New mental health self-advocacy toolkit for NDIS users

Our new NDIS Mental Health Toolkit helps people with experience of the mental health system advocate for what they want under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Wednesday 23 November 2022 10:00pm
Graphic of laptop screen with the words ‘NDIS Mental Health Toolkit’, smartphone screen with the Independent Mental Health Advocacy logo held up by a person, and two people using devices.

The toolkit has information and worksheets to help people know their rights and speak up for themselves, whether they are applying for the NDIS or have already been accepted.

It guides them on how the NDIS works, setting goals and plans and where to find support.

It's designed for people with experience of the mental health system who use or are eligible for the NDIS, but can also be used by supporters, such as carers, kin, family of origin, family of choice, friends, community members and support workers.

We co-designed it with people with experience of the NDIS and mental health system. They told us they wanted to know more about how to self-advocate under the NDIS' psychosocial disability stream, and what information and features the toolkit should have.

Hannah Friebel, a lived experience consultant, researcher and artist, was one of our co-designers. She said that this toolkit could have made her pathway towards becoming an NDIS participant much smoother.

'As an NDIS participant living with a psychosocial disability I hope that this online tool can support people like me to access the NDIS, know their rights, and be supported in making equitable decisions knowing what their true options and choices could be,' she said.

'Becoming a self-managed NDIS participant has opened up many options for me in community care and recovery, and self-advocacy has been the core foundation for this.

'For me, working collaboratively with other lived experience voices is essential in developing resources and tools that can support a future of state-wide and national mental health reform.'

We also employed Jeremy Le Roux, an NDIS lived experience consultant, to ensure lived experience was embedded at each step of the co-design process. This was integral to the toolkit's development.

The toolkit is part of our broader project on self-advocacy for the NDIS and builds on our self-advocacy workbook and a training package for NDIS service providers and mental health professionals.

Our project coordinator, Ellisa Scott, said that this toolkit would not have been as useful without it being co-designed with people with lived experience.

'The NDIS is a complex system, and much of the information out there about it can be daunting and confusing for people,' she said.

'The co-design process allowed us to translate NDIS information and validate people's experiences with the NDIS in such a way people can relate to.

'The user will know that the information and worksheets in the toolkit come directly from people with a lived experience, which gives it far more legitimacy and accessibility.'

The Commonwealth government funded the Victorian Department of Health's Mental Health and Wellbeing Division for us to deliver this toolkit as part of the Information, Linkages and Capacity Building programExternal Link .

More information

Go to the NDIS Mental Health Toolkit.

Learn more about our work on self-advocacy for the NDIS.

Social media resources

Share the toolkit on social media using this suggested content.

Twitter

The new #NDIS Mental Health Toolkit helps people with experience of the #mentalhealth system advocate for what they want under the National Disability Insurance Scheme. It was co-designed by @imhavic and people with lived experience.

Find out more: imha.vic.gov.au/ndis-mental-health-toolkit

Download Twitter image (JPG, 830KB)External Link

Tag in image: @NDISExternal Link , @VicLegalAidExternal Link

LinkedIn

This new toolkit helps people with experience of the mental health system advocate for what they want under the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

It has information and worksheets to help them know their rights and speak up for themselves.

Whether applying for the NDIS or already accepted, people can use this toolkit for guidance on how the NDIS works, setting goals and plans and where to find support.

It was co-designed by Independent Mental Health Advocacy and people with lived experience of the NDIS and mental health system.

Find out more: imha.vic.gov.au/ndis-mental-health-toolkit

Download LinkedIn image (JPG, 536KB)External Link

Tag in image: National Disability Insurance AgencyExternal Link , Victoria Legal AidExternal Link

Facebook

Get the help you need to advocate for what you want under the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

If you have experience of the mental health system and use or are applying for the NDIS, this new toolkit supports you know your rights and speak up for yourself.

It has information and worksheets that guide you on how the system works, setting your goals and plans and where to find support.

It was co-designed by Independent Mental Health Advocacy and people with lived experience of the NDIS and mental health system.

Find out more: imha.vic.gov.au/ndis-mental-health-toolkit

Download Facebook image (JPG, 626KB)External Link

Tag in image: NDIS National Disability Insurance SchemeExternal Link , Victoria Legal AidExternal Link

Instagram

Get the help you need to advocate for what you want under the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

If you have experience of the mental health system and use or are applying for the NDIS, this new toolkit supports you know your rights and speak up for yourself.

It has information and worksheets that guide you on how the system works, setting your goals and plans and where to find support.

It was co-designed by Independent Mental Health Advocacy and people with lived experience of the NDIS and mental health system.

Find out more: bit.ly/ndis-toolkit

Download Instagram image (JPG, 626KB)External Link

Tag in image: @ndis_australiaExternal Link

Reviewed 23 November 2022