Advocacy program support Data dictionary

Proportion of assessed NDAP clients who reported improved choice and control to make their own decisions¹.

2024–25

2020–21

The target group for advocacy support provided by National Disability Advocacy Program (NDAP) agencies are people with disability that is attributable to an intellectual, psychiatric, sensory or physical impairment or a combination of such impairments; is permanent or likely to be permanent; and results in a substantially reduced capacity of the person for communication, learning or mobility and the need for ongoing support services.

Total number of clients with improved choice and control to make decisions.

Total number of clients assessed.

The number of assessed NDAP clients with improved choice and control to make decisions, divided by the total number of clients assessed.

Expressed as a percentage.

100 x (Numerator ÷ Denominator)

1. The Strategy would like to see the following tracked – Proportion of people who accessed independent advocacy programs reporting improved choice and control to make their own decisions. Available data do not allow the exact measure listed by the Strategy to be tracked. Currently an alternative measure is reported. 
2. A ‘client’ can be either a person with disability or a carer/family member of a person with disability.
3. A client is considered to have improved when the Goals domain ‘Empowerment, choice and control to make own decisions’ outcome that had changed, with a positive outcome as calculated by the difference between: a. The latest recorded Standard Client Outcome Reporting (SCORE) in the reporting period, for each domain, minus b. The earliest recorded SCORE for the corresponding domain.
4. According to DSS Data Exchange (DEX) protocol, a SCORE may be determined by the practitioner’s professional assessment, a client’s self-assessment, a joint assessment between the client and practitioner, or an assessment by the client’s support person (such as a carer). In the case of a child client, the assessor may be the carer.
5. Participation in the ‘partnership approach’ became a requirement of funding for all NDAP providers from 1 January 2021. Under the partnership approach, providers are expected to assess clients and report Standard Client Outcome Reporting (SCORE) data in the Data Exchange for over 50 per cent of their clients.
6. Organisations funded under the NDAP program are required under their agreement with the Commonwealth to enter data into the DEX in accordance with the Data Exchange Protocols.