We’re here to help you have your say. We listen, we support, and we help to empower you to get what you need to live the life that you want and deserve.

We can provide support to young adults who access the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). One of our advocates recently helped a young adult NDIS participant with autism as their primary disability. They had been living independently in a Housing Tasmania home with assistance from support workers. The client’s house was sublet to them by an organisation that they had previously received in-home support for.

The client’s support worker contacted AdvoTas after finding out that the lease arrangement for the client’s home was not going to be renewed and that they had 30 days to vacate their current home. The client was apprehensive at the thought of having to move homes and didn’t know why they had to leave.

The advocate met with the client, their support worker and NDIS Coordinator of Support (CoS) to discuss the issue and get direction from the client about what they would like the advocate to support them with. The client, with support from their CoS and support worker, explained that they wanted to stay in their home because it made them feel safe to walk around the neighbourhood which was important to them and their overall health. The client asked the advocate to help them to achieve this goal by contacting the area manager for the disability support organisation that refused to renew the client’s lease.

The advocate made contact with the area manager who advised that as the client was no longer receiving support from their previous support provider who sublet the house to them, the organisation could not provide accommodation to them without violating the terms of the lease arrangement.

With the client’s consent, the advocate then contacted Housing Tasmania and talked to the Principal Housing Advisor. The advisor indicated to the advocate that the client’s previous support provider was exceeding their authority (perhaps without meaning to) and that there was no reason that the client should not have their lease renewed. The advisor agreed to contact the previous support organisation manager to confirm that the client would not need to vacate their home.

The client was provided with a new lease to stay in their current home, and all communications between Housing Tasmania and the previous support organisation/lease holder were provided to the advocate to provide evidence of the agreement between the organisations.

The client was very pleased and relieved at being able to stay in their home.

This is just one of the many ways that AdvoTas can help Tasmania’s young people. We can help you no matter where you live in the state, and in whatever way makes you the most comfortable, whether that is by phone, using video conferencing or in person. If there’s another way you’d like to communicate with us, we’re happy to discuss it with you. We’re here to listen to you; we recognise that you are the expert in your own life, so we won’t tell you what to do. You are in control, you tell us what you want us to do, and who you want us to speak to.

So, if you live with a disability, identify as having mental health concerns and/or alcohol and drug related issues, we can help you. We understand that it can feel daunting to reach out for help or think that your issue isn’t serious enough to get help with. We will always listen to you, and if we aren’t able to provide you with support, we will find someone who will. There is always someone who will want to help you.

You can contact us at:

Email: contact@yoursaytas.org

Call: 1800 005 131 (9am – 5pm)

Text: 0457 806 963