Thursday, 19 March 2020

Bills

Disability Service Safeguards Amendment Bill 2020

Second reading

Debate resumed.

Mr CARBINES (Ivanhoe) (11:50): I am pleased to continue my contribution on the Disability Service Safeguards Amendment Bill 2020. In particular I wanted to draw people’s attention to some of the work that we are doing with carers, who play such a critical role in supporting those people with disabilities in our community. So many of them, whether they are family members or friends, play a critical role in advocacy and the ongoing and daily care of people with disabilities. Part of the work that our government has committed to relates to the $49.5 million over four years to fund some 100 000 extra hours of respite care each year. That is so significant and so important in looking after the welfare and the wellbeing of our carers, because carers who are fit and well can provide so much more support to the people who are their number one priority, the people who they care for, many of whom—not all, but many of whom—have a disability or an illness that affects them. The commitment of those extra funds over four years to provide so much more extra respite care really is critical, and it has been welcomed by carers and carer groups right across our state.

Can I mention also some of the other commitments we have made, including the Victorian carer card. Holders of course are eligible for concession fares, free weekend travel vouchers and free travel during Carers Week. There are particular discounts, deals and special offers at over 1500 businesses and places. They are listed on the Victorian carer card website, and I encourage people in our community to avail themselves if they are eligible for a carers card. It is so significant for people to be able to access those supports.

Can I say also that supporting carers locally is really important—in the work that they then do—to make sure that they are energised and well, to make sure that they have got an opportunity to share their experiences with other carers and also to work through a range of different issues and challenges that they face in the work that relates to their care for people with disabilities. In particular the Victorian government has committed over $1 million to carer groups and organisations this year alone as part of a four-year, $4 million program to support carers locally. For those grants there have been some 176 applications received, and some 94 organisations have been funded through that $1 million in the first year of that program.

There are really significant projects around the state in rural and regional communities and out there in the suburbs. They might be coffee catch-ups, they might be carers walks that many of us have been engaged and involved in—opportunities for carers to get together. Macedon is one community that springs to mind where they organised a bit of a coffee catch-up for carers, a chance to share their experiences, to draw a bit of strength and confidence from others, to share the load and to take the opportunity to check in with people. The only problem was that they had so many carers that wanted to come that they could not find a coffee shop big enough in Macedon to cater for everyone—not a bad problem to have. They worked through that; they are pretty creative up there in Macedon. But it goes to the point that there is a high demand to provide opportunities for carers to get together to work through a range of issues and challenges that they face in providing the very best care that they can to people that they take care of, support and advocate for in the community. We will continue with that four-year program—$1 million a year, nearly 100 organisations in this first year alone being supported for a range of activities that they want to provide to support carers.

Can I say also that I have had the opportunity to chair our carers advisory group, another organisation that does great work. The commitment of carers—when you understand the logistics that go into 20 to 30 carers that are part of our carers advisory group, that is about the implementation of our carers plan and it is about the work that we need to do to make sure that the significant funding of nearly $50 million in respite care and other services hits the ground and is effective in local communities, but also to look at the priorities of that carers strategy. What else do we need to do? How do we make sure that we have a strategy in place with funding underpinning it? What is the other work that we need to be doing to make sure those priorities are working on the ground?

We went around the table in our first carers advisory group. That was the first opportunity we had really; the best way to understand their priorities and to work through them. Over the course of 2 hours we had an opportunity for each of those carers and their very different stories and experiences with the system and with the challenges they face in rural and remote communities and inner suburbs and towns. By the time we got around the table in the 2 hours and everyone had had an opportunity to put their story, their views, their understanding about priorities, well, that really was the 2 hours done. That was the significant work that needed to be done just by getting around the table with people having a chance to introduce themselves. There were harrowing stories, really challenging, hard, distressing stories, but also some uplifting and fantastic tales and stories and lived experiences that people were prepared to share with us to make sure that our government in implementing the carers strategy is ensuring that the significant funding that we provide gets to the places it needs to so we can launch into what are the next priorities for that community. It was so important that people were able to come together to do that work. It was exhausting for everybody but so important.

I think also of the logistics that go into allowing carers to square away the time to make these further contributions to government policy, because they are doing that on behalf of not just the people they care for but so many other carers in the community. They are their voice. We are very thankful to have them with us. We know that people appreciate the opportunity to be there to tell their story to help inform the priorities for the government. I look forward to our further work together in that carers advisory group. To each and every person who sweated it out, who told their story, who explained their lived experience, their dedication and how important it was for them to be able to be part of this group, it really was very much appreciated by all of us who were there.

I know that it is really a further development of the government’s and the Parliament’s work to continue to mature and build the advocacy and the work that we are doing for carers and people with disabilities and others that need support in our community. That is just some of the background that is underpinning so much significant work that we are doing in the community. We cannot do it alone. So in particular, when we come back to some of the work in the bill before us and the amendments that are here, a lot of that work is underpinned and informed by so much of what is happening in the community, particularly in relation to carers and the people that they advocate for and support.

Of course, just coming back to those key purposes of the bill, they are to ensure that the registration scheme created by the Disability Service Safeguards Act 2018 is accessible, simple and reflects the disability sector workforce, but also to make consequential amendments for consistency with the Disability (National Disability Insurance Scheme Transition) Amendment Act 2019, so that employees and contractors have their intended rights and responsibilities under the act.

One of the key things I wanted to point out too is of course our government does have a zero-tolerance approach to abuse and neglect of people with disability, and that has been clearly outlined too in the appointment of the first disability worker commissioner, appointed back in October last year, Dan Stubbs. It is so important, that appointment.

To the people right through our community who work in disability services, so many people make a contribution—and there are very many in my electorate of Ivanhoe who provide those services, whether that is in community residential units and other accommodation or in the very significant and many health services at Austin Health, at the Warringal hospital, at Mercy Heidelberg and at Heidelberg repat. There are so many services. It really is the largest medical precinct outside of Parkville in the state—a very significant contributor and employer and supporter of people in our state right there in the heart of my electorate. So the appointment of that disability worker commissioner is significant and goes again to the values of our government to support those with disabilities, to advocate for them, but also to give voice to the carers and so many people who devote their lives to others. We need to help them and their wellbeing in our community.

Ms EDWARDS (Bendigo West) (12:00): I am very pleased to make a contribution to the Disability Service Safeguards Amendment Bill 2020. I acknowledge the presence of the Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers in the house today and thank him for the work that he continues to do in ensuring the protection and safety of many people in our community who have disabilities. I also want to, from the outset, acknowledge and thank the many workers in our disability sector. These workers give every day to supporting the most vulnerable in our community. Many of them of course are casual workers who are facing a difficult time at the moment, particularly in the face of COVID-19, and should they become ill there are some serious consequences in relation to the care of those that they are looking after.

This bill is coming directly off the back of previous acts that have come into effect in this house as a consequence of the inquiry that was done in the 58th Parliament—and that was the inquiry into abuse of people in disability services—by the former Family and Community Development Committee, of which I was very pleased to be chair. We did a lot of work within that committee—not just in this inquiry but also into the autism sector and into perinatal services—but this inquiry was the first that the committee did. It was a particularly challenging inquiry in the face of what we knew was considerable abuse of people in disability services right across not just Victoria but indeed the whole country. I am really pleased that the federal government have since then announced their royal commission into abuse of people in disability services.

The inquiry commenced with significant consultation, particularly of people with disabilities, and when you are part of a process where you hear constantly about abuse, particularly severe abuse of people who have significant disabilities, who are non-verbal, it really is heartbreaking. It is one of those things I think that probably stays with you forever, because those stories were harrowing, were really difficult for many of us, and indeed for those who told those stories to reflect and have to repeat some of the abuse that they incurred.

I am really pleased that this comes off the back of that report, as have many of the initiatives that this government has implemented since coming to office and indeed since that report. I particularly wanted to mention the zero-tolerance policy, as mentioned by the member for Ivanhoe, because this was a significant recommendation of that committee and that inquiry.

We made about 49 recommendations in that report, and I am really pleased that many of them have already been implemented or are hopefully going to be implemented in the not too distant future, but one of the important ones was in relation to the disability workforce. Despite the fact that the committee made every attempt to not use the workers in that sector as scapegoats for the abuse that occurred—and still does in some cases—across the sector, we did realise that the sector had failed to protect people with disability from abuse.

We received in that report and throughout that inquiry lots and lots of evidence of the bitter disappointment of carers and parents of people with disability who had placed their loved ones in the care of service providers only to find that in doing so they had exposed their family members to sexual and physical assaults, neglect endangering life, financial abuse and incompetence. As both the public revelations of abuse and the evidence to that inquiry demonstrated, it continues to be too easy for predators to gain access to employment in the disability sector, hence this legislation. It is so important to ensure that the people who work in this sector are of the highest quality. That is why the registration is so, so very important.

As part of our response to that inquiry the government passed the Disability Service Safeguards Act in 2018. It established a regulation scheme for the disability workforce. That will come into effect in July of this year. There was $9.5 million provided in the budget for 2018–19 to implement that scheme. That scheme is about ensuring people with disability receive high-quality services and that the workers have the necessary skills, experience and qualifications to deliver those services safely. One of the things that we found throughout that inquiry was the ability for particular workers within that sector who might have been accused of abuse or even found to have been abusive to transition to other parts of the sector where that abuse could then continue.

This scheme applies to all disability workers across the state, and that is regardless of whether the disability services are part of the national disability insurance scheme or funded through other sources. Registered workers need to be able to use a protected title and will appear on a public register, making it easier to identify competent and safety-screened workers. As the member for Ivanhoe also mentioned, the Disability Worker Registration Board of Victoria has been established. It has many powers, including setting registration and accreditation standards, registering disability workers and students, and managing notifications and complaints against workers and students. Of course Dan Stubbs was appointed as the Victorian disability worker commissioner in September last year and commenced his commissioner role in October of last year. This scheme is about providing stronger protection from unsafe disability workers who remain unregistered. All unregistered workers will be required to abide by a code of conduct.

When the Disability Service Safeguards Act was passed, clearly we had until the middle of this year before that came into effect, and making these minor amendments to this particular piece of legislation is really important before that commences in the middle of this year. The amendments are not taking anything away from that registration scheme; they are actually making it stronger and more effective. I think that is a really important point to make.

I just wanted to thank the member for Gippsland East for his contribution on this important piece of legislation. He has always been very passionate about the disability sector, and I thank him as it would appear he is the only member of those opposite who is speaking on this important legislation today.

The transitional arrangements to ensure that disability workers can register have to be based on their experience, and that is from the scheme’s commencement. Currently workers must prove that they have two years experience gained over a three-year period. There are a number of other requirements, such as expanding the time frame in which relevant experience can be gained to a 10-year period. The amendments also ensure that disability workers seeking registration under the two-year experience pathway will be eligible to register at the commencement of the scheme’s operation.

This is a really important piece of legislation that builds on what we are already doing in this space. Can I also thank the former Minister for Housing, Disability and Ageing, the member for Albert Park, because he was very passionate about ensuring that the recommendations from the inquiry into abuse of people in disability services were acted upon and enshrined in legislation. Without that commitment and the ongoing commitment of the current minister we would still be in a position where there would be people with disabilities who would be enduring significant abuse. It is unacceptable. It is a breach of human rights. We want to make sure as a government that we get this right, hence this particular piece of legislation. No-one wants to see people with disabilities harmed in any way; they have enough to endure as it is. With this particular circumstance that we are facing now with COVID-19, there are many questions being asked in relation to the protection of people with disabilities and indeed the workers who work in that space. I know we are monitoring that very, very closely.

We do not want to see people with disabilities disadvantaged in any way, whether that be through sexual abuse, whether it be through verbal abuse, financial abuse, emotional abuse. There are many forms of abuse that people with disabilities have had to endure. I commend the bill to the house.

Ms ADDISON (Wendouree) (12:10): I welcome the opportunity to speak in support of the Disability Service Safeguards Amendment Bill 2020 and thank the member for Bendigo West and also the member for Ivanhoe for their contributions today. Disability is a policy area that I have a great interest in and passion for, in part thanks to my mum, who worked as a physiotherapist looking after people with disabilities and also advocating for people in the disability services sector for over 50 years. I am so proud to be a member of the Andrews Labor government—a government that has a strong track record when it comes to advocating for, supporting and delivering for Victorians with a disability, their carers and their families.

As a part of the Andrews Labor government’s response to the 2016 parliamentary inquiry, the Disability Service Safeguards Act was passed in August 2018. This legislation established a regulation scheme for the disability workforce that will commence on 1 July 2020. In the 2019–20 state budget $9.5 million was provided to implement the scheme, which will ensure that people with disabilities receive high-quality services and workers have the necessary skills, experience and qualifications to deliver those services safely. Importantly, it will apply to all disability workers in Victoria, regardless of whether the disability services are a part of the national disability insurance scheme (NDIS) or funded through another source.

I also support the Victorian government’s zero-tolerance approach to abuse and neglect of people with disabilities. The 2016 report of the parliamentary inquiry into abuse in disability services made several recommendations to strengthen safeguards in the sector, and the government responded by legislating in 2018 to establish a regulation scheme for the disability workforce. The Andrews Labor government expanded the referral, the inspection and the investigative powers of the disability services commissioner, including a power to review all deaths in disability services. Our disability abuse prevention strategy, which was launched in April 2018, has built the capacity of individuals, of workers and of providers to prevent abuse—important protections for vulnerable Victorians.

Another example of the Andrews Labor government’s commitment to Victorians is our five-year plan to provide autistic Victorians with greater opportunities for choice and community participation. The Victorian autism plan sets out actions to improve the lives of autistic Victorians, their families and carers, backed by $7.1 million in funding.

I wish to thank and recognise the Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers, who is in the house at the moment, for his ongoing advocacy for Victorians with a disability. The minister has been a champion for the more than 91 000 Victorians who are now on the NDIS.

A member interjected.

Ms ADDISON: Well, I would also like to thank the Minister for Mental Health, but I think the Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers is really well deserving of this praise and credit because he continues to advocate for the many thousands across our state who are still waiting to be a part of the NDIS. I applaud his campaign calling on the commonwealth to release $600 million in funds committed to Victorians with a disability. This will make a big difference to the lives and families of Victorians with a disability, and I am so pleased that you are standing up for our state and for Victorians in the commonwealth arena.

I would also really like to acknowledge the work of his ministerial office, particularly Flora, Jono—who joins us today in the house—and Drew, and the departmental staff for the work they do supporting Victorians with a disability. I am pleased that this bill will benefit the disability sector workers, employers, contractors, clients and families, and once again I thank the minister and his staff for all the work they have done on this bill.

The amendment includes four technical and clarifying amendments to the Disability Service Safeguards Act 2018. Three of the amendments relate to disability worker registration, which is so important. The first one looks at encompassing registration standards, the second one looks at provisionally registered disability support workers and the third one is the transition provisions for registration in the first two years of the scheme. The fourth amendment then considers the rights and responsibilities of the Victorian Disability Worker Commission staff. By way of background as to why this amendment bill is required, it is important to understand that the original bill—the Disability Service Safeguards Amendment Bill 2018—was introduced and passed by the Andrews Labor government in August 2018 to establish the disability worker regulation scheme. However, since then, as the government has continued to consult and engage with stakeholders in the disability sector regarding the implementation of the scheme, it has become apparent that necessary changes are required. Therefore the proposed changes being made by the Disability Service Safeguards Amendment Bill 2020 will improve the operation of the scheme.

I am also pleased that the amendments put forward in the new bill will provide greater clarity for disability workers seeking registration and for people seeking information about registered disability workers, including people with a disability, their families and carers, disability employers and the general public. I wish to take this opportunity to thank the incredible workforce we have in our disability sector in Ballarat, including but not limited to McCallum Disability Services, Pinarc services, Ballarat Specialist School, Scope, and Buddies C.A.N. To all the people who provide therapy services, educational support, social work case management, adult day programs, recreation, advocacy, support groups, respite, community education and early childhood programs, thank you for the work that you do.

I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the very important role that carers play in my community. Across Victoria we have more than 736 000 Victorian carers who give their time, effort and love to look after a family member or friend who needs them. Carers come from all walks of life and stages of life, and what they have in common is the emotional, financial and physical stress that caring for a loved one can involve. I strongly believe that we need to support and recognise the very significant role that carers play in our community, because it comes at a cost. The statistics show us that 20 per cent of carers give up work to provide care and that young carers drop out of school at a higher rate than other children of the same age. As a result of this, carers often have lower household incomes, placing additional challenges on them. Carers are 40 per cent more likely to have a chronic health condition, often ignoring their own while caring for a loved one. Thank you to all our carers.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind the community about the 10th annual Victorian Disability Awards and encourage people to nominate community members that are making an outstanding contribution to the lives of people with a disability. If you know someone or an organisation who is making a real difference in the disability sector, please nominate them. It is important to recognise their hard work, their innovation and their dedication. Nominations are open for individuals and groups, including people with a disability, family members, volunteers and people working in the sector. Nominations close on Sunday, 5 April, so you have still got some time to really give recognition to people who are emerging leaders and who are providing excellence in creating inclusive communities; excellence in employment outcomes; excellence in promoting health, housing and wellbeing; and excellence in promoting rights, fairness and safety. There is also a volunteer award and a lifetime achievement honour roll. There are so many people in our community who do so much. Why not nominate them for one of these very, very important awards. To find out more about how to nominate, please visit https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/disabilityawards. It would be great to see some individuals and organisations from Ballarat nominated in this year’s award.

This bill makes minor and technical amendments to the Disability Service Safeguards Act 2018. I was going to go through each one of those, but I am running a bit short of time, so I will quickly summarise why I am supporting these important changes. It is all about creating certainty and making sure that the standards disability workers are required to have and that they are required to meet to maintain registration are available on the board’s website, so people know what the expectation is of them to provide the safety and the quality of care that is required. That will be available. This will be beneficial, as it provides greater clarity when it comes to developing assessment requirements, including exams and competencies, to become registered to work in the sector. It will also make requirements to maintain registration more transparent, which will provide certainty where regulation standards may be under the principal act, such as insurance requirements.

Another technical amendment that is included and is being proposed is to remove the provisionally registered disability support worker division of registration. This is redundant and unnecessary, and that is why it is being removed. The third amendment being put forward will address transitional provisions for registration that will apply in the first two years. Effectively this will ensure that disability workers seeking registration under the two-year work experience pathway will be eligible to register at the commencement of the scheme’s operation. I can see this will have particular benefits for many, and I commend the bill to the house.

Ms CRUGNALE (Bass) (12:20): I rise today to add my voice in support of the Disability Service Safeguards Amendment Bill 2020. I also acknowledge the presence of the Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers, and I thank him for continuing this work along with his ministerial staff, and the former minister of this portfolio, the member for Albert Park. I would like to recognise and thank the Andrews Labor government for passing the original bill in August 2018, before I entered this chamber. I also want to highlight the preparedness of this government to consult with and listen to the disability sector. Because of this honest and open approach these four amendments will improve the operation of the scheme and assist all those who implement and use disability services.

Before speaking on the amendments themselves, I wish to highlight an aspect of the consultation and design process throughout 2017–18. It was wideranging to best understand how a registration and accreditation scheme would best address the findings of the inquiry. To aid this consultation the then Minister for Housing, Disability and Ageing established a project advisory group to evaluate options to implement the scheme. This group was made up of key sector stakeholders, including employee representatives, disability advocates, peak bodies and, most important of all, people with a disability. A true co-design process, it ensured that the final design of the scheme reflected a diversity of views. Through the public consultation over 60 written submissions were received. At the same time government conducted 14 public consultation forums across the state attended by service providers, workers, people with disabilities and their families. As the minister said in his reading, and I quote:

Overwhelming feedback from consultation indicated that more needed to be done to protect the right of people with disability to be free from abuse and neglect, and to lift the standard of disability services provided in Victoria. There was broad support for a registration and accreditation scheme as the right mechanism to achieve these aims.

Consultation reaffirmed that choice and control needed to be central to the scheme and that any requirements would need to complement the NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Framework.

Briefly, amendment 1 clarifies the standards that workers are required to meet to obtain and maintain registration, the second amendment simplifies the registration process for workers and the third amendment acknowledges that career paths are multifactorial and that people committed to working in the area may need time to achieve their goal. It also acknowledges that skills are transferrable and allows for this. The fourth amendment ensures consistency in the rights and responsibilities of employees and contractors. While technical in nature, the four amendments strengthen the 2018 act and provide further protection, and it is this one word, ‘protection’, which is paramount when discussing safeguards.

This bill is not seeking to create more infrastructure, more rules, more restrictions to the way that people work. Workers will be able to choose whether to register. People who employ their services will be able to engage registered or unregistered providers. Choice is there. High-quality service will be available from qualified, skilled workers. So the changes to the registration process and the removal of provisional registration will ensure that registration is easier to understand. The limited registration category allows further flexibility and confidence. Workers who are developing skills under supervision but do not meet requirements for general registration will be able to demonstrate their commitment to their industry by applying for limited registration. Others will be able to apply for non-practising registration if they need a period of absence from the profession but wish to maintain registration.

I also want to commend the 10-year time frame. When the scheme commences on 1 July 2020, registration applicants will need to demonstrate at least two years experience between 2012 and 2020, but this will extend to a 10-year period by the end of the transitional period. We know that most disability workers are female and are more likely to have had employment breaks. We know that the disability workforce has a high rate of low-paid casual workers and that many workers move between other sectors, including aged care. The 10-year time frame acknowledges prior experience and encourages professional development. It offers a career path and recognition to people who care for others and yet are often not recognised for their contribution. It is anticipated that the ability to gain registration will support growth in the workforce as the sector acknowledges the professionalism of its workforce, and that protects some of our most vulnerable workers. It also gives confidence to prospective workers in regional and rural Victoria that they will be joining a profession that is serious about standards.

Protection comes in many ways. The Andrews Labor government has a zero-tolerance approach when it comes to the abuse and neglect of people living with disability. This government is committed to protecting the rights of people with disability to be safe from harm and to have choice and control over their lives under the national disability insurance scheme (NDIS). Irrespective of registration, mandatory reporting obligations will apply to all disability workers, and complaints can be made by anyone who believes that a standard has been breached. Complaints will be investigated, and the commissioner has the power to prohibit a worker from providing disability services. Protection will also be provided through the disability worker regulation scheme, which will also come into effect on 1 July 2020. The Disability Worker Registration Board of Victoria and the commissioner, who commenced last October, will join the Victorian Disability Worker Commission to regulate the scheme.

Let us be clear: this is not a duplication of the NDIS. This scheme will register and regulate individual workers rather than providers, and that provides protection at a grassroots level. Over 91 000 Victorians are now on the NDIS, and we know that more across the state are waiting to join. We also know that the NDIS is not the scheme that Victorians were promised, and it is certainly not the scheme that we deserve.

People in my electorate of Bass should not have to wait for months to join the scheme or get equipment that they need or find a service that they need. Their plan should reflect their personal situation. But our Andrews Labor government is delivering on our promises and commitments to all Victorians. This bill reinforces the protection that we need as a community to support both the disability providers and the clients. Can I take this opportunity to thank all those that have told their stories and experiences to our local Bass service providers and agencies, and to our carers, each and every one of them. I commend this bill to the house, because we care.

Ms COUZENS (Geelong) (12:28): I am very pleased to rise to speak to the Disability Service Safeguards Amendment Bill 2020 and acknowledge the minister in the house, the minister who is responsible, the Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers, and thank him for all his work and that of his team—really important work. I also want to acknowledge the previous minister, the member for Albert Park, and the work that he did as well, and I will get onto that a bit later. Can I also acknowledge and thank all the disability workers out in our communities, particularly in my electorate of Geelong, and the carers and families that work hard every day.

When I start to talk about what I heard during the inquiry, it is not an attack on disability workers or carers, only on those that were responsible for those horrific abuses. I do appreciate the work that disability workers do, the carers, their families. It is really significant, the role they play in our community. For me in Geelong we have a very strong disability community, and we do a lot of work together, so I am very aware of the issues that they have faced in the past, but I am also very aware of the significance of the legislation that we have introduced. The member for Bendigo talked about the recommendations that were made as a result of the inquiry. They have had a significant impact on all people with disabilities and I know certainly in my electorate of Geelong.

The original Disability Service Safeguards Bill was passed by the Andrews Labor government in August 2018 to establish a disability worker regulation scheme. As the government has continued to consult with the disability sector on the implementation of the scheme, changes have been identified that will improve the operation of the scheme. The amendments provide greater clarity for disability workers seeking registration and for people seeking information about registered disability workers, including people with disability, their families and carers, disability employers and the general public.

In the last Parliament I was a member of the Family and Community Development Committee that did the inquiry into abuse in disability services. It certainly highlighted the widespread abuse and neglect of people with disabilities. I want to thank all those members that were on that parliamentary committee for the work that they did, and in particular the member for Bendigo, who chaired that committee and took us through a very lengthy process. We did many regional hearings. We had evidence given by regional communities. People with disabilities, their family members, carers and workers in the disability sector all came and told their stories about what was happening in their communities. So I am really proud that the Andrews Labor government has taken the committee’s recommendations as seriously as it has. The zero tolerance approach and implementing safeguards are things that as a member of the committee I was determined to see.

The committee heard that the lived experiences of people with a disability, their families and carers had been ignored. That was a very clear message that came through that inquiry: people felt that they had been ignored when it came to reporting shocking abuses and neglect—all of those issues that we were hearing in taking evidence. There were many, many forms of abuse that were reported during that inquiry: criminal, physical and sexual assaults; verbal and emotional abuse; financial abuse; and neglect.

We heard from one young woman—and I am not quite sure, I cannot remember her age, but she would not have been any older than 30—who was in a wheelchair. She was telling us that she had already been sexually assaulted four times in her lifetime—four times. She was around 30 years of age and had been in a wheelchair from young childhood. She had tried to report these incidents, and it was getting swept under the carpet.

One of the things that became really clear to me and to other members of the committee was that it had become a view that abuse within the disability sector was okay. It was acceptable. There was not that urgency to do something about it. It was just accepted by the overall disability sector that these things happen—‘Let’s move on’. We were all shocked at the lack of prosecutions. From memory there were no prosecutions from the many complaints that had been lodged with police.

There were all sorts of horrific stories that we heard. I have been involved in the disability sector for many, many years—and for me, I was totally shocked. I remember thinking at the time that when we stop being shocked at hearing these stories, then we have a problem. A lot of these people in the sector had stopped being shocked. They just took it that ‘Okay, this has happened. Let’s move on. Let’s not try and deal with some of the serious issues that we are facing as a community’.

So there had been a failure to uphold the rights of people with disability and, as I said, there was this real cultural issue in the sector. Again, I reiterate there are many, many good disability workers out there. This is not an attack on disability workers as such or on the families or carers. This is about getting rid of those despicable workers that were moving from agency to agency and getting away with it and abusing people with disabilities because of their vulnerabilities. We had stories of people who were totally reliant on a carer coming in or a disability worker coming in, getting them out of bed, getting them up for the day and doing various things for them who did not even bother turning up until later in the day, if at all. That is just horrific stuff. That person then lay in their bed for hours or until the next day for someone to come and help them get out of bed and get on with the day. These are really horrific stories that in this day and age, in our community, we should not be hearing, and we have to get rid of it. This amendment actually helps to do that. We will not see individual workers who are carrying out these forms of abuse moving from service to service and being allowed to continue what they are doing.

We also heard from family members about their frustration with the system for reporting abuse and their fearfulness for their children, and the fact that they at times had reported abuses or alleged abuses but again it was swept under the table. When police became involved the police had difficulty in trying to determine whether that person was a credible witness. So there were many, many issues that were raised around that reporting side of things as well. As I said, many families and carers and people with disabilities raised significant concerns during that inquiry that they were ignored and dismissed and not dealt with, when that worker could just go to the next agency or even go interstate and work with other people with disabilities—vulnerable people who should have been protected by our community and were not.

I think there were almost 50 recommendations that we made, and many of them have been accepted by government and are being rolled out. This one is part of that, to ensure that we have those protections in place.

I just want to finish on the NDIS Reserve Fund, which I think is a really key issue. Victoria signed up for the full scheme bilateral agreement with the commonwealth in June last year in which the Victorian government contributes $2.5 billion per year—a bilateral agreement, a commitment to establishing a reserve fund by the end of 2019. The fund comprised $1.6 billion underspent from the NDIS transition period. This money was saved by the commonwealth as a result of problems with the NDIS, such as the delays that people faced trying to get an NDIS plan, and as thousands of Victorians struggled to navigate the scheme and access the services they deserve. The commonwealth gave commitments to provide a framework to the reserve fund, and I commend the bill to the house.

Mr MAAS (Narre Warren South) (12:38): It too gives me great pleasure to rise and to speak to the Disability Service Safeguards Amendment Bill 2020. The amendment bill is about continuing to support all of those with a disability and all of those who work and provide care in the sector, whether they are paid or not paid. I am talking about the workers, the carers, the families, the volunteers and the service providers as well. They perform outstanding as well as much-needed work in our community.

As it suggests, the bill amends the Disability Service Safeguards Act 2018 and supports the objectives of that act. That act implemented a registration and accreditation scheme for the Victorian disability workforce to protect the rights of people with a disability to be safe and to receive high-quality services; to enhance service quality by ensuring workers have the necessary skills, experience and qualifications; and to fundamentally enable people with disability to exercise greater choice and control in their lives.

The second objective was to update the rights of people living in specialist disability accommodation to align more closely with the rights of other tenants in the community. The premise was simple: just because you have a disability does not mean you should have a reduced amount of rights. The act gave better aligned rights. It also provided continuity of existing specialist protections, giving effect to the core tenet of the national disability insurance scheme about choice and control by separating residency rights from service provision. It ensured Victorian regulatory requirements did not conflict with those under the NDIS, so that residency rights could be enforceable.

The Victorian government has taken a zero-tolerance approach to abuse and neglect of people with disability. And we have shown that; so much has been done. The 2016 report of the parliamentary inquiry into abuse in disability services made several recommendations to strengthen safeguards in the sector, and we responded immediately by legislating in 2018 to establish a regulation scheme for the disability workforce.

The government also expanded the referral, inspection and investigatory powers of the disability services commissioner, including a power to review all deaths in disability services. Our disability abuse prevention strategy, launched in April 2018, outlines the government’s initiatives to build the capacity of individuals, workers and providers to prevent abuse. The strategy introduced a code of conduct for all disability workers. And there is no point having a code unless the back-end work is done too, so the department provided resources, facilitated workshops and training sessions for disability service providers and the disability workforce to support the code’s implementation. The department and Victoria Police have also jointly developed Responding to Allegations of Abuse Involving People with Disability guidelines to provide clear advice to people with disability, their families and carers on how disability service providers and Victoria Police respond to allegations of abuse.

Last year’s state budget provided an additional $4 million over four years to Consumer Affairs Victoria and the Department of Justice and Community Safety to regulate specialist disability accommodation to ensure residents can exercise choice and control. In 2018 we passed the Disability (National Disability Insurance Scheme Transition) Amendment Bill 2019, which amended the Disability Act 2006 to allow regulatory responsibility for NDIS providers operating in Victoria to be transitioned smoothly to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. This legislation introduced additional safeguards, including giving the senior practitioner power to prohibit regulated practices from use by registered NDIS providers in Victoria. It also expanded the functions of the secretary of the department by enabling the secretary to develop safety screening policies and share information about worker suitability. This will prevent workers currently on the disability worker exclusion list from re-entering the disability sector.

We also welcomed the commonwealth’s announcement of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability and provided evidence at the December hearings in Melbourne. As the government has continued to consult with the disability sector on the implementation of the act and the scheme, changes have been identified that will improve its operation.

The Disability Service Safeguards Amendment Bill itself will strengthen the act, and it will do so to protect advancements made in choice and control and ensure that people with disability have the right to be free from harm and abuse. It provides greater clarity for disability workers seeking registration and for people seeking information about registered disability workers, including people with disability, their families and carers, disability employers and the general public. There are four technical and clarifying amendments to the bill. Firstly, the bill clarifies that an approved registration standard is one that has taken effect and been published on the Disability Worker Registration Board of Victoria’s website.

This amendment makes clear that the standards disability workers are required to meet to obtain and maintain registration are those that are available on the board’s website. This amendment will provide certainty for areas where registration standards may be made under the act, such as in relation to exams and assessments required to become registered and requirements to maintain registration, such as insurance requirements. This amendment will ensure both disability workers and people with disability understand what it means to be a registered worker.

Secondly, an amendment removes the provisionally registered disability support worker division of registration. The Disability Service Safeguards Act 2018 has alternate options to register a disability support worker that are well defined and less complex. As a result, the provisionally registered disability support worker division of registration is not required, and this has been removed.

The third amendment concerns the transitional provisions for registration that apply to the first two years of the scheme. It ensures that disability workers seeking registration under the two-year experience pathway will be eligible to register at the commencement of the scheme’s operation. It also increases the time frame to obtain experience from a three-year up to a 10-year window. This ensures that competent and safe workers who have taken career breaks or who have gone to work in other sectors, such as aged care, are still able to register.

The final amendment ensures that rights and responsibilities of employees and contractors of the Victorian Disability Worker Commission are consistent throughout the Disability Service Safeguards Act 2018 and reflect the relevant provisions in the Disability (National Disability Insurance Scheme Transition) Amendment Act 2019. All of these amendments that I have just been through complement the fine work that has been done in the disability services sector over the last five years. I commend the bill to the house, and I wish it a very speedy passage.

Mr FOLEY (Albert Park—Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Equality, Minister for Creative Industries) (12:47): I move:

That the debate be now adjourned.

Motion agreed to and debate adjourned until later this day.