About DARU
DARU is unique in Australia as a dedicated resource unit funded to work with disability advocacy organisations to promote and protect the rights of people with disability. We develop and distribute resources and provide training opportunities to keep disability advocates informed and up-to-date about issues affecting people with disability in Victoria.
DARU proudly hosts the advocacy sector’s flagship event each year in Melbourne in partnership with Disability Advocacy Victoria and Victorian Council of Social Services (VCOSS). Check out the conference website to catch up on past sessions:
Strengthening Disability Advocacy Conference
Find an Advocate
Directory of organisations for agencies delivering disability advocacy as well as complaints bodies, campaigners, support groups and useful referral and information services.
Find an advocateOur Publications
A collection of information sheets and reports including ‘What is disability advocacy?’, ‘How to be disability inclusive’ and ‘How we talk about disability matters’.
Browse publicationsOnline Courses
Unaccredited online training that supports skill development for providing human rights based advocacy practice. The courses are self-paced and free of charge. Register and learnAdvocacy Sector Conversations Forum
This forum series provides in depth knowledge on topics that impact disability advocacy practice. Session resources include video, audio, transcript and useful links. Browse resourcesDisability Royal Commission
Commentary around the Commission’s proceedings with analysis and perspectives under investigation. Find out moreIn the news
Support For Disability Self-Help Groups Across Victoria
More Victorians with a disability will get the peer support they need thanks to the Allan Labor Government’s Disability Self-Help Grants Program. Minister for Disability Lizzie Blandthorn today visited Sunspec Support Group for Families and Carers of People with Disabilities in Sunbury to announce 72 self-help groups will receive a grant through the latest round … Continued
Choice and control: are whitegoods disability supports? Here’s what proposed NDIS reforms say
Many Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late last year. Now a draft NDIS reform bill has been tabled. In this series, experts examine what new proposals could mean for people with disability.
National Autism Strategy a start but there’s much more to do
On the eve of Autism Acceptance Month, the clue to 30-down in the Hobart Mercury’s giant crossword was “competent”. The four-letter answer was “able”. It got me thinking about how the construct of “disability” is often framed as synonymous with failure, incompetence and inability.