The Personal Advocacy and Safeguarding Adults Trust provides a range of safeguarding services and supports for people with care and support needs. These services include Supported Decision Making support and training, short term advocacy and lifelong advocacy, discretionary trust administration and a coordinated inter-agency response for Adults at Risk.

The Trust offers parents and other interested persons an opportunity to invest in peace of mind for the future through membership and enrolment. The Trust also extends support to people not enrolled in the Trust.

How it works

The Personal Advocacy and Safeguarding Adults Trust offers three service streams:

1. Lifelong Advocacy for enrolled members
2. Fee-for-Service Advocacy
3. Short term, customised advocacy

Lifelong Advocacy - Trust Membership

The Personal Advocacy and Safeguarding Trust was set up to watch over the welfare and rights of people with intellectual disabilities after their parents die. It does this by appointing an advocate who will:

• Visit the person and their support people regularly to keep an eye on the support received and that it is appropriate. 
• Ensure the person’s individual rights are being respected.
• Help the person to advocate for themselves, and where necessary advocate for them.

Families join the Trust by paying an enrolment fee on behalf of their son or daughter.  That person then becomes a member and the Trust keeps in regular touch with them and their family from then on. Lifelong advocacy plays both a preventative and responsive role to crisis in the member's life.

We also can administer Discretionary Trusts for our members.

Fee-for-Service Advocacy

Whilst lifelong advocacy is the ideal, we understand that this model is not accessible or necessary for all New Zealanders with intellectual disabilities or developmental disorders.

To meet the need for independent, short term, crisis responsive and customised advocacy, The Personal Advocacy Trust also provides advocacy support contracted on an hourly basis. This service may be accessed by the individual themselves, parents, whānau, service providers, or any other support person.