State of the Nation Advocacy
Instructions to advocates
We need your help to secure support from the Australian government to fund the actions specified in the IBD State of The Nation report, which will greatly improve the quality of life for people living with IBD.
How can you help?
Engage with your local federal member of parliament
Contacting local members and senators, leaders, political parties, and candidates is really effective. Political offices always record the number of calls and emails they receive on an issue, and it affects their own advocacy within their party and in the community. The best way to advocate for change is to arrange a meeting with your local federal member of parliament. Here is how you can organise a meeting:
- Contact the local federal member of parliament or candidate in your electorate. You can search for your local member and senators on the Australian Parliament House website.
- Make an appointment.
- Print the Information for Decision Makers document.
- Attend the appointment, tell your story and relate it to a part of the document that appeals to you.
- Leave the Information for Decision Makers document with them.
If you are unable to attend a meeting with your local federal member of parliament, you can download an email template which you can use to contact them instead. Remember to make personal edits to the email to highlight how an increase in IBD funding would benefit you.
Engage with your network
Talking to people in your network and local community is really effective in advocating for change. Here are some ways you can engage with people:
- Discuss the advocacy you undertake with people in your local community
- Tell others where they can download the Information for Decision Makers document and how to engage with their local federal member of parliament
- Like and share social media posts about the IBD State of the Nation Report and advocacy efforts. Remember to tag Crohn’s & Colitis Australia when you’re sharing information!
If you wish to discuss how you can help further, please call us on 03 9815 1266 or email us at [email protected].