Advocacy is the art of persuasion and influencing policy change. It involves encouraging people and organisations to actively collaborate, make consensus-based decisions and develop key messages to enable all partners to sing from the same hymn sheet.
The Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) provides public health professionals at all levels with an opportunity to improve essential advocacy skills, including effective preparation and planning, identifying critical evidence including that which the opposition may use and ideas on innovative advocacy strategies to persuade policy, in a supportive learning environment.
Participation in a PHAI workshop will give you an opportunity to work with and learn from experienced and skilled advocates who have the experience and expertise to help participants plan an advocacy program based on local issues.
Workshop Options
Advocacy 101
Advocacy in Action
Customised Advocacy
Advocacy Short Course
Community Based Advocacy
Getting Your Message Out
Healthy Homes
To present a strong, persuasive case to influence policy, health or environments, you need to sharpen several core advocacy skills. Our courses will assist you to do this.
A two-day advanced advocacy skills-based workshop where participants walk away with a planned advocacy program.
Customised advocacy skills workshops to develop ‘in-house’ advocacy programs for public health departments, organisations, or target groups.
5-day intensive advocacy workshop tailored to individual participantâs level of experience and personal advocacy goals.
This one-day course will provide the basic information and skills needed for community or volunteer groups to influence issues and local decisions or policy.
This one-day workshop focuses on the importance of generating a consensus-based key message and how to generate enthusiasm around those messages to influence.
Usually a two-day program, these workshops focus on the importance of health within the home, the key diseases related to a home environment and what actions can be taken to tackle these complex issues.
The workshops can be delivered anywhere in the Australasian region and are based on a very competitive user pays model.
Upcoming Training Opportunities
Advocacy Leadership Workshop
Esperance, Kepa Kurl I 2- 3 September 2025
This two-day workshop will equip you with practical tools to pitch and lead advocacy initiatives using the PHAI advocacy model. You will explore a wide range of topics, from human rights to the commercial determinants of health through case studies, group activities and expert presentations.Â
Open to community members and professionals in public health, non-government and grassroots agencies, funding bodies, researchers and students.
No prior advocacy experience is needed â just a passion for change.
What you’ll gain
- Skills to plan, develop and pitch your advocacy campaign
- Hands-on skills through case studies, group work and expert insightsÂ
- Develop your messaging, delivery and persuasive language
Facilitators include
- Dr Mel Stoneham, Curtin University PHAI Teaching Team
- Prof Christina Pollard, Curtin University PHAI Teaching Team
- Dorte Hansen, Project Manager, Hope Community ServicesÂ
Venue
Lotteries House
3 Forrest St
Esperance WA 6450
CostÂ
Two-day Workshop: $300 per person (plus booking fee) â including lunch, morning and afternoon tea.
Subsidies are available for community members.
For more information, please contact Emily Aarts on 0418 423 965 or email at emily.aarts@hopecs.org.au
Please note that places are limited and payment is required to secure your booking. Accommodation is not included in the ticket price.Â
Recent Advocacy Training
- One-day advocacy planning workshop for young people in rural Victoria
- One-day introduction to advocacy with the Public Health Association (Q) in Brisbane
- One-day Advocacy - How it Adds Value to your Work with the Australian Health Promotion Association (Q) in Townsville
- Two-day healthy homes workshops in Alice Springs and Katherine, NT
- Two-day skills-based Advocacy in Action workshop for health professionals with Gateway Health, Victoria
- One-day âGetting your Messages Outâ workshop with health promoters in Orange, NSW
- Two-day community-based advocacy planning workshop with the LaTrobe Health Assembly
Testimonials
Thanks Melissa and Christina for all you have given and inspired us with over the past two days. You have both highlighted the fundamental role of advocacy in our work and provided us with the thinking, tools, and connections needed to drive targeted work in this space… Look out, world!
So grateful for the opportunity to partake in your training. Your energy, knowledge, experience, and passion is so contagious and I look forward to putting the wheels in motion for our region and sector moving forward.
Such a rich and critical training for improving the health of our communities. Advocacy skills for health professionals are whatâs required to transform the systemic barriers that reduce impacts of traditional implementation of health promotion âprogramsâ. We need advocacy in health promotion to turn the tide of the ever increasing burden of chronic disease on our communities. Thank you Melissa, Christina, and PHAI.
Read about PHAIâs advocacy workshops and the community outcomes
Filling gaps â a case study in building advocacy capacity in the health promotion workforce by Melissa Stoneham, Lee Coller, Jacqueline Napolitano, Meg Scolyer & Christina Pollard
Using the media to enhance your advocacy
Itâs important to get your key messages out to the right people to influence your cause. Media advocacy and digital advocacy including online campaigning is one strategy to advance advocacy initiatives.
The mediaâs reach to many, offers a powerful tool to inform and build support around your advocacy issue or ask. Media can also influence public attitudes and opinions on important public health matters. Today, most advocacy campaigns include an online component that includes a social media advocacy strategy.
There is a great section on using the media in the Advocacy in Action Toolkit, but here are a few tips for using the media.
1
Remember there are several platforms you can use to extend your reach. The one you select will depend on who you are trying to influence. The main digital platforms include Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.
2
Be clear about what you are trying to accomplish through your social media advocacy efforts. Is your end goal to acquire new supporters, partners or advocates? Is your goal to promote your key message? Is your goal to invite people to join your advocacy efforts such as promoting a rally?
3
Make the time to post. Most of your social media audience will be following and interacting with several digital platforms. To capture their attention and establish an identity on a new platform, be sure to post regularly. Although there is no general rule, it is recommended you post or repost once a day. It really doesnât take that much time!
4
Pair your messages with engaging visuals to help your campaign stand out online. Always look for that photo opportunity that can match your key messages. Research indicates that visuals will attract more interest â so use them!
5
At the heart of any great advocacy campaign, is telling a story and connecting in a way that will drive people to take action. At the core of social media, people are looking for content that compels them to connect and share. Stories also inspire emotional responses, and people tend to remember them.
6
Make you share and promote your social media accounts with the local media and other people or organisations are trying to influence. You can tag people into most digital platforms. One re-post from a large follower could increase your reach 10 fold!
7
Donât forget t measure your social media efforts. As you continue to post on social media, ensure you have a method for monitoring and measuring your social metrics. Many social media outlets have their own analytics. Things to track include interactions such as likes, shares, and comments. This shows how engaged your supporters are with the content you post. If the goal is to increase website traffic, then focus on URL shares, clicks, and conversions. Google Analytics is a great tool for this purpose.