• Table of Contents
• Parliamentary Secretary Foreword
• Purpose of this toolkit
• 1. Background
• 2. Introduction to quality improvement
• 3. Getting started
• 4. Management systems
• 5. Staff recruitment, retention, training and development
• 6. Advocacy access
• 7. Tailoring advocacy to individual needs
• 8. Decision making and choice
• 9. Complaints and disputes
• 10. Privacy, dignity and confidentiality
• 11. Participation and integration
• 12. Valued status
• 13. Protection of human rights and freedom from abuse
• Appendix 1: Concepts related to quality
• Appendix 2: Disability Services Standards and Supporting Standards
• Appendix 3: Draft Disability Advocacy Standards

National Disability Advocacy Program Quality Improvement Toolkit

• Previous: 1. Background
• Next: 3. Getting started

2. Introduction to quality improvement

When referring to quality, we are thinking about the systems you put in place to organise and control advocacy work.  Ensuring the quality of these systems means consistent practice in line with agreed standards.¹

Ensuring quality involves making sure you have:

• clearly documented policies and procedures
• a systematic approach to translating policies and procedures into practice
• a process for review to ensure practices align with the policies and procedures
• confidence that implementation of policies and procedures will remain systematic into the future; that is, implementation is not dependent only on the knowledge of individual staff members.

Quality agencies are agencies which generally show:

• strong customer focus
• clear direction and accountability
• continuous learning and innovation
• valuing people and diversity
• collaborative work practices
• evidence-based decision making
• social and ethical responsibility².

Quality improvement is an integral part of quality management and improvement processes can be integrated into the day-to-day running of your agency.  Basically it is the ongoing review of your policies, processes and practices, to create stronger, more sustainable agencies that better meet the needs of people with disability.

The intent of quality improvement is to lay solid foundations to underpin service delivery outputs, outcomes and impacts – that is, to:

• improve efficiency (to do things right)
• improve effectiveness (to do the right things)
• improve client outcomes/ outcomes for people with disability³.

A quality improvement culture helps you accommodate changes, such as government reforms, variations in the economy and the needs of clients, and continually develop a high quality agency to meet the needs of people with disability.

Quality improvement operates at both an individual agency level and a sector level. Ideally, improvement actions at the two levels are related so that information about successful innovations is shared across the sector, and areas of need are identified so that training and support can be provided. For more information on quality see Appendix 1.

2.1 Benefits of quality improvement

Implementing quality improvement processes has a range of benefits for clients, staff, Board and other stakeholders, as identified by the South Australian Department of Families and Communities’ Service Excellence Program (see the table below).

Benefits of quality improvement⁴

Clients	Expectation they will get the service they need. Greater confidence that the service is run well. Greater opportunity to be involved in decision-making about the services they receive. Confidence in the continuity and improvement of supports over time.
Staff	Find work is less stressful and more satisfying. Experience greater efficiency and effectiveness. Feel more involved and empowered in their work. Have a more interesting learning environment.
Board/Governing Bodies	Confidence that the service is achieving its mission and purpose. Promotes a culture of continuous improvement. Provides a greater opportunity to express agency values and demonstrate these to the community.
Managers	Promotes a culture of continuous improvement. Increases efficiency and effective work processes. Increases time focused on productive work rather than problems. Cuts time on non-productive accountability processes. Opens opportunities to express your agency's values and demonstrate these to the community.
Funding Bodies	Confidence that service providers use funds to achieve agreed outcomes.
Community	Confidence that taxes are being used to effectively assist members of the community.

1. See Appendix 1 for information on key concepts related to quality.
2. South Australian Department of Families and Communities, Benefits of a Quality System, Service Excellence Program, http://www.dfc.sa.gov.au/pub/tabid/267/itemid/755/Benefits-of-a-Quality-System.aspx
3. Disability Service Queensland, Introduction to Quality Management, http://www.disability.qld.gov.au/key-projects/quality/documents/section-2-intro.pdf
4. South Australian Department of Families and Communities, Benefits of a Quality System, Service Excellence Program, http://www.dfc.sa.gov.au/pub/tabid/267/itemid/755/Benefits-of-a-Quality-System.aspx

• Previous: 1. Background
• Next: 3. Getting started

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