Welcome!
Welcome to the webpage for the ACT Public Advocate! My name is Jodie Griffiths-Cook, and I hold two positions in the ACT Human Rights Commission: Public Advocate and Children and Young People’s Commissioner.
As Public Advocate, my team and I are responsible for reviewing actions and decisions made about people by services and systems (including government and the courts) to check these are done in a way that respects that person and supports their rights.
About me
I have been the ACT Public Advocate since 2016, after a 3 ½ year stint as the Public Advocate in Queensland. With more than 25 years’ experience in human services, I began my career as a psychologist working with children and young people with disability. I am driven by a strong commitment to social justice and standing up for people’s rights and their ability to influence decisions that impact their lives.
Born on the lands of the Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin Nation in Victoria, and having lived across four jurisdictions, I am pleased to now call the lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples my home. I use she/her pronouns and have a wife, four kids, a dog and 2 cats… I have also newly become a Nana.
My motto in life is: ‘To feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely’, and I aspire to achieve these things for myself and for those for whom we advocate.
About you
You might have come to our website because you feel you need some advocacy support and there does not seem to be anyone in your corner. You might have come because you are worried about someone you know or care for, and think their rights are at risk. Or you might work for an organisation and are worried about an individual or a group of individuals and the way they are being treated.
About us
We are here to assist you to uphold your rights.
Together we will work with the relevant authorities to ensure your views are heard and that decisions made about you consider your opinions, experience, and requests.
We also work to make broader changes to the law, to court processes, to healthcare and to government agencies or any organisation (or multiple organisations) where we can see that improvements can be made to help protect the rights of people who might be at risk of abuse, exploitation, or neglect.