The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (Disability Royal Commission) is happening now and will run until September 2023.
Free, independent and confidential counselling and advocacy support is available for people with disability who have been hurt, taken advantage of or treated badly. Support is also available for anyone who is engaging with or affected by the Disability Royal Commission.
Counselling support
A counsellor can support you, with the help of an interpreter if you need one, to talk about your feelings and emotions in a safe space. They can also help you if you are thinking about telling your story to the Disability Royal Commission.
Whatever you decide to share with the counsellor is private. It is not shared with anyone else and you won’t even have to give your name if you don’t want to.
Advocacy support
An advocate can help people with disability, or family members or carers acting on their behalf, who may have difficulty in communicating or understanding how to engage with the Disability Royal Commission.
An advocate can help you tell your story, protect your rights and access other supports.
How to find support
You can call the National Counselling and Referral Service on 1800 421 468 for counselling support, or ask to be connected to a counsellor or advocate near you. It is available between 9am to 6pm weekdays, and 9am to 5pm weekends and national public holidays.
If you are deaf, hard of hearing or find it hard speaking with people who use a phone, you can call the National Relay Service on 133 677.
Support in languages other than English
If you need counselling or advocacy support in another language, you can use the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) free of charge. You can call:
- the National Counselling and Referral Service on 1800 421 468 and ask for an interpreter, or
- TIS National on 131 450 and ask to be connected to the National Counselling and Referral Service.
Fact sheets, a communication toolkit and audio messages about the support services are available in Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Spanish, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese. Find these resources on the DSS website.
More information
You can find more information about the support services in Easy Read, Auslan, Braille and other accessible formats on the DSS website.
Visit our Disability Royal Commission page or DRC Resources page for more information about the legal supports available and other resources that might help you.