DIY advocacy toolkit

If you are a Sikh experiencing an issue relating to one of your articles of faith, please consider the following steps to advocate for yourself:

1. Get informed on the issue

Read this website for information relating to your issue. See what else you can find on your own online. Has this issue come up before? What was the outcome? Is the law on your side? If so, what is the law that helps protect you in your circumstances.

If you cannot find what you are looking for on this website, contact us and we will see if we can point you in the right direction. While we are trying to share as much as we can on this website there is still plenty that we have in our repository that has not yet made it on to the website in written form. If we have not yet come across this issue, we would still be interested to ensure we can help others when your issue is resolved or finalised.

2. Work out who the decision maker is

You need to clearly understand who the decision maker is to ensure your efforts are directed at the right person/authority. For example, is the decision maker your manager at work? Or will your manager be seeking assistance from the relevant Human Resources (HR) department? Or is it an issue for someone external to your organisation potentially from a government department? Determining who you need to address to resolve your issue/concern is key in ensuring you get a positive result in the shortest amount of time. You can waste a lot of time and effort speaking or writing to someone who will eventually not be making any decision to assist you in your matter.

3. Speak to your allies

Once you know who your decision maker is, you need to speak to your allies. These may be the people within or outside the organisation who will support you with your issue. Speak to these people and let them know what is going on. Tell them what you think should be done. Seek their advice and counsel as to next steps.

4. Talk to the decision maker

If possible, set up a time to speak to the decision maker. If possible, take along a support person. It may be one of your allies. In the meeting/discussion be prepared to:

  • outline your concerns clearly. If you think something has happened that has caused you hurt, harm or loss, outline this clearly.

  • explain your articles of faith in a clear and concise manner and have documentation ready to assist the decision maker (or provide links following the meeting).

  • suggest possible solutions

  • stay calm and collected. Your support person will also be there to assist in this regard. The decision maker may say things that you don’t agree with. You should be able to disagree with the decision maker without displaying signs of anger or agression.

Following the meeting, consider sending an email or letter to the decision maker confirming what you took from the meeting including any next steps.

5. Write to the decision maker

If it is not possible to speak to the decision maker, write an email or letter to them outlining your issue/concern. This letter should (at the minimum):

  • explain the issue in question

  • provide context to the issue

  • explain the relevant interaction with the law (use information on this website wherever possible)

  • provide any additional information helpful to assist the decision maker in making their decision

  • seek a response within an appropriate timeframe

  • advise next steps

A template letter will be uploaded to this website soon that you could use as a starting point.

6. Work out how much noise you want to make about your issue

Sometimes issues can be resolved behind closed doors. Maybe an email or a letter to the decision maker.

However, sometimes certain issues need to be ventilated a little further to get people to take action. You need to consider this before you decide to contact the media. Once your story is in the news, you don’t get to control the narrative. You should always pause to think, consult with your allies before deciding that publicising the issue is the appropriate way forward. There are plenty of steps that could be taken before you resort to the media. These include:

  • Contacting and receiving advice from a local legal centre or your relevant State or Territory Anti-Discrimination agency such as an Equal Opportunity Commission, Human Rights Commission, Fair Work Commission etc.

  • Contact your local State Member of Parliament

  • Contact your local Federal Member of Paraliament

  • Contacting an organisation that already does advocacy for these types of issues such as:

We note that the above list may not be complete. If you know of or work for an organisation that conducts advocacy work in this space and would like to be listed above, please contact us and we will be happy to include a referral link above.