Implementing the Recommendations from the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability

The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (the Royal Commission) published its final report on 2 November 2023, comprising of 12 volumes.  The Royal Commission considered the stories of people with disability and what needs to change to ensure that people with disability have their voices heard, their rights protected and safeguard people with disability from harm. 

The Report contains 222 recommendations across a range of areas including:

• Recognising, protecting and strengthening the human rights and legal rights of people with disability by strengthening the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) and establishing a Disability Rights Act;
• Developing a new National Disability Agreement and strategy and establishing a National Disability Commission;
• Ensuring information is accessible to enable autonomy for people with disability;
• Developing standards for public advocates, trustees and guardians;
• Developing a new decision-making framework in legislation and tribunal proceedings;
• Improving legislative frameworks around restrictive practices;
• Ensuring people with disability have equal access to education, employment and housing opportunities;
• Strengthening responses to people with disability in the criminal justice system;
• Developing culturally safe practices and ensuring access to culturally appropriate support services for people with disability; and
• Developing an independent oversight and complaints mechanism to promote safeguarding.

The Australian Government (Government), along with the State and Territory Governments, are either solely or jointly responsible for 172 of the 222 recommendations.  On 31 July 2024, the Government responded to the recommendations, confirming its commitment to implementing reforms that would support a more inclusive, accessible and safe society for people with disability.  Of the recommendations, the Government has accepted 130 recommendations, notes six recommendations and is continuing to consider the remaining 36 recommendations.

The Government, along with the State and Territory Governments released a joint response confirming their respective commitment to working together as country to ensure that all people with disability have access to supports and services which are culturally appropriate, safe, supportive and will meet their unique and diverse needs.

Accepted Recommendations impacting Organisations

Of the 136 recommendations the Government have accepted and accepted in principle, there are several recommendations that will impact organisations working with people with disability.  The recommendations which organisations need to be mindful of include:

• Reviewing Australia’s Disability Strategy, as well as current national agreements, strategies and plans which are in place;
• Implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Convention) and embedding human rights into support services;
• Promoting the accessibility of information and engaging people with disabilities in decision-making processes on matters which impact their life;
• Ensuring equitable access to support services;
• Reducing and eliminating restrictive practices;
• Developing guidelines and regulatory frameworks for complaints-handling and investigations and regulatory requirements which are accessible and responsive to people with disability;
• Developing guiding principles for reportable incidents;
• Consideration for redress for historical incidents of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation;
• Developing frameworks for registration and auditing to regulate and monitor the quality and safety of NDIS service providers; and
• Information-sharing between safeguarding bodies and organisations to ensure appropriate worker screening and monitoring occurs.

How Can Organisations Prepare for the Recommendations

Although the recommendations have not yet been implemented, organisations can be proactive in preparing the recommendations to ensure they are compliant with any changes that may occur.

Organisations working with people with disability should review their policies, practices, procedures and codes of conduct to ensure that they are compliant with the Convention, any national agreements and strategies in place.  When reviewing any documents which guide an organisation’s practice, consideration should be given to whether the polices and procedures, when put into day-to-day practice, support the human rights, autonomy and integrity of people with disability.

Any information relevant to the organisation should be easily accessible and easy to understand.  People with disability should have access to policies and processes which affect them and should be able to easily access complaints-handling mechanisms.  Policies and guidelines for complaint mechanisms should be clear and employees as well as service users should understand the process for reporting and investigating issues which are raised.  Investigation processes should be thorough, responsive and transparent and should ensure that people with disability feel heard and respected. 

Detailed records should be kept of day-to-day practice, communication and incidents to support investigations, but also to support auditing processes.  Detailed records allow organisations to consider an incident and what practices and processes need to change to mitigate risk and reduce the likelihood of further incidents occurring in the future.

Organisations should also have worker screening processes in place to ensure that suitably qualified individuals who do not pose a risk to the health, safety and wellbeing of people with disability, are employed with the organisation.  Employees and volunteers should also be provided with opportunities to engage in training to support their learning and development and promote a culture of safety within the organisation.

How Safe Space Legal Can Help

The team at Safe Space Legal have extensive experience working with organisations to support and strengthen their safeguarding practices and ensure they are meeting their legal obligations when working with people with disability.  We work with organisations across Australia to meet their safeguarding needs and frequently conduct independent safeguarding investigations.  Safe Space Legal offer a large range of services including:

• Developing safeguarding policies, procedures and complaints-handling processes;
• Delivering safeguarding training to ensure organisations are aware of their obligations and sector-specific requirements;
• Conducting trauma-informed specialist safeguarding investigations into allegations of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation in the disability sector;
• Providing expert advice on safeguarding compliance and systemic issues;
• Conducting root cause analyses of critical incidents and crisis management;
• Providing sound legal advice on risk mitigation; and
• Completing policy and implementation audits to ensure compliance with legislative obligations.

Contact [email protected] or call (03) 9124 7321 to organise a complementary discussion in relation to your organisation’s child safety and safeguarding needs