Online Consolidation and Assessment Programs

Consolidation and Assessment (C&A) programs continue to be conducted via the Zoom meeting platform. Delivery and assessment by this method has continued to improve with time and practice, with positive feedback from both attendees and assessors. 2023 commences with a Compensation Level 3 C&A scheduled for 31 Jan - 3 Feb, followed by a Wellbeing Level 2 C&A 14 - 16 Feb and a Compensation Level 1 C&A 21 - 23 Feb. Further programs will be scheduled as candidates complete their WELs and become eligible for assessment.

One-on-One RPL Meetings

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) remains available to experienced Advocates who believe they can meet the assessment requirements of the Course in Military Advocacy without the need for further training. It should be noted that this is not meant to be a method of avoiding the training pathway, but rather recognition that the skills and knowledge required of the Units of Competency may have been acquired through other training and workplace experience. The RPL process consists of:

• Completion and submission of an Underpinning Knowledge Quiz for the level of competency being sought
• A one-on-one interview with an assessor who will ask questions about the candidate’s skills and knowledge in providing Advocacy services at the level of competency being sought
• A review of evidence of the candidate providing Advocacy services at the level of competency being sought.

Candidate’s will be provided with a checklist of evidence that must be shown to their assessor during the RPL interview. As the interviews are being conducted online, the evidence must be in electronic format so that it can be view by the assessor through screen-sharing. Instructions on how to do this will be explained to candidates by their assessor. Candidates who cannot access electronic copies of their evidence find completion of their assessment significantly delayed.
Those Advocates who wish to undergo assessment via the RPL process need to be nominated by their ESO in the normal manner.

Advocate/ESO Consultation – Combined Level 1

Feedback from ESOs and from consultation with Advocates and Advocacy groups as part of the reaccreditation of the Course in Military Advocacy in late 2021 have indicated a need in some ESOs for Advocates trained in both Compensation and Wellbeing to allow a more holistic approach to supporting veterans and their dependants. The indication is that this would be appropriate at Level 1, with Advocates then specialising in either Compensation or Wellbeing at Level 2 (or continuing on in both streams if desired).

Planning is underway to undertake a wide consultation with ESO and Advocates to ascertain:

• whether there is need for dual-streamed Level 1 Advocates in ESOs;
• if such a need is identified, whether this need is universal, or if single-streamed Level 1 Advocates are still required;
• what skills and knowledge are required of a combined-stream Level 1 Advocate;
• what changes, if any, are required to the Level 1 Units of Competency; and
• options for training/assessing candidates.

More information of this consultation process will be released shortly.

Compensation Level 4

Planning is underway to resurrect Compensation Level 4 Advocacy training. Consultation with the principal providers of this Level 4 training is being conducted with the aim of scheduling a Level 4 C&A in late 2023 or early 2024. If you believe you already have the relevant experience at the AAT, and would like to be recognised as a Level 4 Advocate then you may be able to apply for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Contact ATDPenquiries@dva.gov.au for a guide to the RPL process and a list of the evidence you would need to produce.

Mentor Training

When ATDP commenced in 2016, the training of Mentors to undertake workplace training of new Advocates was conducted as part of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Workshops. RPL Workshops were being conducted regularly to allow practicing Advocates trained under the TIP program to gain ATDP Statements of Attainment. Those assessed at Level 2 or above were also trained as Mentors at the conclusion of the RPL process.

As the need for RPL Workshops reduced (concurrent with the outbreak of COVID), the process for RPL assessments was changed to individual presentations of evidence via the Zoom platform. This meant that training of Mentors also had to change.

From mid-2020, two types of Mentor training were introduced:

• Basics in Mentoring. Designed for all ATDP Mentors, this half-day program was designed to introduce the concepts of mentoring and provide information of the specific requirements for mentoring in the context of the Course in Military Advocacy.
• Mentoring in the ATDP. Designed for Regional Mentors and experienced Advocates managing multiple mentors, this two-day assessed program expanded on the content of the Basics course and provided a nationally accredited Statement of Attainment.

When first introduced, the Mentoring in the ATDP program was based on TAEDEL404 Mentor in the workplace, a unit from the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. From April 2022, when MTS dropped this qualification from its scope, the unit was replaced with PSPGEN035 Provide workplace mentoring from the Certificate IV in Government. Due to a restructure of that qualification, MTS becomes unable to issue Statements of Attainment for that unit after April 2023.

Options for adding a stand-alone Mentoring unit of competency from another Training Package to MTS’s scope were discussed. A decision was made that instead, the Basics in Mentoring program would be increased to a full day and would be attended by all Advocates conducting workplace mentoring of trainees in the Course in Military Advocacy.

The available program is now titled Mentoring Workshop. It is a full day of training conducted via Zoom, contextualised specifically for Advocates providing workplace mentoring to trainees undertaking any level of the Course in Military Advocacy. It must be undertaken before an Advocate is appointed as a trainee’s mentor. Advocates who were trained as mentors via an RPL Workshop are strongly encouraged to attend to refresh and update their knowledge and skills. Participants are provided with a Mentor Handbook to guide them in the future.

Each WEL consists of a number of workplace experiences that trainees are required to complete as part of their workplace learning. It is important that these experiences be undertaken, wherever possible, using actual clients in real time. It is acknowledged, however, that this may not be possible or may cause excessive delays in the trainee’s progression. For example, the ESO may have no DRCA or MRCA clients applying for Incapacity Payments when a trainee has reached this milestone in their WEL. Or no determinations have been received requiring a Needs Assessment to be undertaken, causing a long delay in completing that milestone.  Where a Mentor has difficulty is providing a trainee with a workplace experience to match a WEL milestone, alternative methods can be employed. In order of preference, these are:

• The Mentor may chose a historical real case from the ESOs files (preferably one of the Mentor’s own clients) that matches the milestone and have the trainee work through that case as if it was the trainee’s client.
• The Mentor may arrange a simulated client (played by either the Mentor or another Advocate) who’s needs match the milestone requirements and have the trainee work through that case as if it was the trainee’s client.
• The Mentor may email the National Training Manager and request that a Case Study be provided which the trainee can complete to meet a particular milestone.

Note that these alternative should only be employed after all efforts are made to provide the trainee with a real workplace experience. Where one of these alternatives are employed, a note to that effect must be entered against that milestone in the trainee’s WEL.

The Baseline Study of Current and Future Availability of Ex-Service Organisation Advocacy Services Research Project was commissioned by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) to collect data on the capacity of the advocacy workforce.

The study was completed by the University of NSW in May 2021 and released on 22 October 2021. Nearly 600 advocates and nearly 60 ESOs responded to the voluntary survey to provide data for the researchers. Respondents were from across the advocacy community.

The information presented in the independent research report is available to ESOs, DVA, and others for planning evaluation purposes for advocacy services and advocates.

Some more information and a link to the copy of the research report is at www.dva.gov.au/about-us/overview/research/veterans-advocacy-research-project