2026 is shaping up to be a big year for our sector. It has been announced that the current National Disability Advocacy Program will be transitioning to the new Commonwealth Individual Disability Advocacy Program from November. If you want the latest information, check out this update from DANA CEO, Emma Bennison here.
This has the potential to be the biggest reform in the disability advocacy sector for 30 years. There will be a level of uncertainty for organisations as we wait for more details about the tendering process. For individuals working in the sector, it is another short-term contract. The NCDA will continue to support the sector through these changes.
To kick off the year, we’re hosting some great events, starting with our Advocacy Sector Forum in February. This session will explore how organisations capture and report outcomes, not only to meet reporting requirements, but to understand how the work you’re doing is genuinely making a difference in your community.
We’d love anyone who is outcomes-focussed to join us and share how this work is approached in your organisation. There’s no single “right” way, and we’re keen to learn from the different approaches across the sector. Come along with curiosity, hear from the Centre for Social Impact Swinburne on good practice, learn from peers, and explore how outcomes are being captured and used across our sector.
Around this time last year, we launched the Capacity Tracker and portal to help collect data on waitlist movement. Over the past year, a number of issues have been identified, and we’ve been working behind the scenes to resolve them. One known issue is that reported capacity is not currently updating in the ‘Organisational Capacity’ tab on the front end of the portal.
Our team is working closely with developers to fix this. In the meantime, please continue to log your capacity — we can still see all updates on our end.
We’re aiming to release an improved version of the tracker in March, featuring a more reliable system and a refreshed, user-friendly design.
We look forward to seeing you at an NCDA event soon!
To learn more about our events, contact us.
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