Course Title: Facilitate the interests and rights of clients

Part B: Course Detail

Teaching Period: Term1 2022

Course Code: LAW5734C

Course Title: Facilitate the interests and rights of clients

Important Information:

Please note that this course may have compulsory in-person attendance requirements for some teaching activities.  

To participate in any RMIT course in-person activities or assessment, you will need to comply with RMIT vaccination requirements which are applicable during the duration of the course. This RMIT requirement includes being vaccinated against COVID-19 or holding a valid medical exemption.  

Please read this RMIT Enrolment Procedure as it has important information regarding COVID vaccination and your study at RMIT: https://policies.rmit.edu.au/document/view.php?id=209.  

Please read the Student website for additional requirements of in-person attendance: https://www.rmit.edu.au/covid/coming-to-campus  

  

Please check your Canvas course shell closer to when the course starts to see if this course requires mandatory in-person attendance. The delivery method of the course might have to change quickly in response to changes in the local state/national directive regarding in-person course attendance.  

School: 535T Social Care and Health

Campus: City Campus

Program: C5360 - Diploma of Financial Counselling

Course Contact: Jo Wallwork

Course Contact Phone: +61 3 9925 3983

Course Contact Email: mary-josephine.wallwork@rmit.edu.au


Name and Contact Details of All Other Relevant Staff

Nominal Hours: 100

Regardless of the mode of delivery, represent a guide to the relative teaching time and student effort required to successfully achieve a particular competency/module. This may include not only scheduled classes or workplace visits but also the amount of effort required to undertake, evaluate and complete all assessment requirements, including any non-classroom activities.

Pre-requisites and Co-requisites

None

Course Description

This course describes the skills and knowledge required to assist clients to not only identify their interests and rights but to voice and realise these interests, needs and rights.  

This course describes the skills and knowledge required to assess and respond to the immediate and ongoing needs of clients in the context of a strengths-based and client-focused financial counselling model.



National Codes, Titles, Elements and Performance Criteria

National Element Code & Title:

CHCADV001 Facilitate the interests and rights of clients

Element:

E1. Facilitate the realisation of client interests, rights and needs

Performance Criteria:

1.1 Discuss the rights and responsibilities of all parties with client

1.2 Provide client with researched, relevant and timely information on their rights and responsibilities

1.3 Assist clients to identify their own interests, rights, needs, choices and responsibilities

1.4 Identify when rights are infringed or not being met

1.5 Provide client with information on available options for meeting their rights and needs and assist them to identify their preferred option

Element:

E2. Advocate in accordance with client preferences and requests to optimise client outcomes

Performance Criteria:

2.1 Undertake an assessment to identify client’s ability to advocate for self

2.2 Initiate, negotiate and implement relevant strategies for addressing client rights and needs in collaboration with the client

2.3 Identify potential barriers as well as resources

2.4 Identify and contact the most appropriate individuals and/or organisations and represent the client to optimise outcomes for the client

2.5 Ensure information is kept in confidence unless authorisation is given to release it

Element:

E3. Provide ongoing support to clients

Performance Criteria:

3.1 Support and encourage clients to exercise their rights and personal preferences without compromising their safety and that of others

3.2 Consult with supervisor, other support workers and the service about interests, rights and needs of clients in a way that upholds their rights and supports their reasonable expectations

3.3 Identify situations of risk or potential risk and refer appropriately

3.4 Apply work practices to minimise potential for harm to clients, self and others

3.5 Conduct all activities in accordance with legal, organisation and duty of care requirements

Element:

E4. Support clients making a complaint

Performance Criteria:

4.1 Discuss organisation and legal complaints mechanism and ensure client is aware of rights and responsibilities

4.2 Assist client in lodging a complaint

4.3 Monitor process and provide ongoing support and information to client

Element:

E5. Review progress

Performance Criteria:

5.1 Discuss progress and outcomes with the client and collaborate on further action as necessary

5.2 Ensure follow up and links to other services as required and in accordance with client preferences

5.3 Obtain feedback and identify opportunities for improvement to own work and action as appropriate


Learning Outcomes


On successful completion of this course you will have developed and applied the skills and knowledge required to demonstrate competency in the above elements.  By applying these skills, you will be able to assist and support clients to articulate their own needs and requirements and be able to develop their own problem-solving and action-planning skills.


Details of Learning Activities

In-class (campus-based and online classroom) activities:

  • teacher directed group activities/projects
  • peer teaching
  • group discussion
  • class activities to review discussions/lectures
  • role play activities
  Out-of-class activities:
  • independent project-based work online and other research
  • independent study

 


Teaching Schedule

Week 1

Advocating for clients’ rights, needs, and interests

 

 

Introduction to unit

Discuss the rights and responsibilities of all parties with client

Provide client with researched, relevant and timely information on their rights and responsibilities

Assist clients to identify their own interests, rights, needs, choices and responsibilities

Identify when rights are infringed or not being met

Differences between negotiation, advocacy, mediation

Knowledge review:

·          Universal Declaration of Human Rights

·          relationship between human needs and human rights

·          human rights frameworks, approaches, instruments

·          actions that constitute discrimination and techniques for addressing it

·          empowerment and disempowerment

·          legal and ethical considerations (international, national, state/territory, local) related to facilitation of client rights and interests and how these impact individual workers:

-          duty of care

-          human rights

-          mandatory reporting

-          discrimination

-          privacy, confidentiality and disclosure

-          informed consent

-          organisation and legal complaints processes

-          rights and responsibilities of clients, workers and organisations

AT3 Knowledge task

Week 2

Working collaboratively with the client

Undertake an assessment to identify client’s ability to advocate for self

Initiate, negotiate and implement relevant strategies for addressing client rights and needs in collaboration with the client

Identify potential barriers as well as resources

Provide client with information on available options for meeting their rights and needs and assist them to identify their preferred option

Identify and contact the most appropriate individuals and/or organisations and represent the client to optimise outcomes for the client

Ensure information is kept in confidence unless authorisation is given to release it

Consult with supervisor, other support workers and the service about interests, rights and needs of clients in a way that upholds their rights and supports their reasonable expectations

Conduct all activities in accordance with legal, organisation and duty of care requirements

Look at potential conflict between client needs and organisation requirements

Consider types of community resources, networks and referral options relevant to the nature of client service

Negotiation, advocacy, mediation techniques for the facilitation of client rights

 

AT3 Knowledge task

Week 3

Provide ongoing support to clients

Support and encourage clients to exercise their rights and personal preferences without compromising their safety and that of others

Identify situations of risk or potential risk and refer appropriately

Apply work practices to minimise potential for harm to clients, self and others

Common risks to client safety and wellbeing

Relevance of child protection across all health and community services contexts, including duty of care when child is not the client, indicators of risk and adult disclosure.

AT3 Knowledge task

Week 4

Support clients making a complaint

Discuss organisation and legal complaints mechanism and ensure client is aware of rights and responsibilities

Assist client in lodging a complaint

Monitor process and provide ongoing support and information to client

AT3 Knowledge task

Week 5

Review progress of advocacy

Discuss progress and outcomes with the client and collaborate on further action as necessary

Ensure follow up and links to other services as required and in accordance with client preferences

Obtain feedback and identify opportunities for improvement to own work and action as appropriate

AT3 Knowledge task

 

Prepare for AT1 and AT2

 

 

Mid-term break

Week 6

AT 3 Knowledge task due

AT1 AT2 role plays 

AT3 Knowledge task DUE

AT1/AT2  in class

Week 7

AT1 And AT2 role plays in class

AT1 and AT2 in class

Week 8

 

Review and assessment catch-up

AT1 and AT2


Learning Resources

Prescribed Texts


References


Other Resources


Overview of Assessment

Your knowledge and understanding of course content is assessed through a demonstration of skills where you will show your strategic approaches to working with clients and developing the clients' skills in goal-focused problem-solving.  You will need to have a good understanding of your role as advocate, and what this means in terms of working with clients, and you will be required to explain this role clearly.

Your knowledge and understanding of course content is assessed through:

  • Knowledge questions 
  • Role play/demonstration of skills  n a work place simulation scenario


Assessment Tasks

This course is assessed in accordance with competency-based assessment. To demonstrate competency in this course you will need to complete the following assessment tasks to a satisfactory standard. You will receive feedback from the teacher when you have completed the assessment tasks. You should refer to the assessment plan which is available on Canvas for details of each assessment task and for detailed assessment criteria. Assessment Task 1: Advocating for clients - role play Assessment Task 2: Complaints process - role play Assessment Task 3: Knowledge questions   Grades that apply to courses that are delivered and assessed in accordance with competency-based assessment are: CA: Competency Achieved NYC: Not Yet Competent DNS: Did not Submit for Assessment


Assessment Matrix

The assessment matrix demonstrates alignment of assessment tasks with the relevant unit of  competency. These matrices are available with the assessment tasks on Canvas.

 

Other Information

Please refer to the RMIT student page for extensive information about study support, assessment, extensions, appeals and a range of other matters: rmit.edu.au/students  

 

Course Overview: Access Course Overview