Victoria’s first disability abuse prevention strategy outlines a zero tolerance approach to abuse and provides a guide for individuals, service providers and the sector to understand promote and enhance safeguards and prevent abuse.
The following resources have been developed or funded by the Department of Health and Human Services to assist service providers embed a culture of zero tolerance of abuse in their organisations. Clear service expectations are important to ensure that people with a disability receive a high standard of support across the sector.
Achieving sustained culture change is also critical, as are workforce screening and provider regulation.
See also
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Supporting capacity building and advocacy for people with a disability
Freedom from abuse and neglect
The Victorian Advocacy League for Individuals with Disability (VALID) has developed a training package and Staying safe resources for people with a disability about identifying, preventing and responding to abuse. Service providers can support people with a disability to access these training packages which aim to empower individuals to understand and speak up for their rights as a powerful means of preventing abuse from occurring, as well as ensuring that situations can be dealt with before they escalate to abusive practice.
These resources will be available soon on the VALID website.
Speak up and be safe from abuse
SCOPE’s Communication and Inclusion Centre has developed tools and resources to assist people to identify and report abuse, which are critical to ensure people are able to speak up.
The Speak up and be safe from abuse resources are also designed to build the capacity of service providers to support people who have experience of, or are at risk of, abuse, to tell their story.
The toolkit consists of a set of communication boards, a communication book, record sheets, posters and factsheets, most of which are available on Scope's speak up and be safe from abuse webpage.
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Quality and Safety Practices
eLearning resources and tools from the NDS zero tolerance framework
The department has funded the development of resources aimed at understanding abuse to support the NDS zero tolerance framework. These resources are available at the National Disability Services (NDS) e-learning portal.
Resources for disability workers
- Reducing and eliminating restrictive practices - Recognising Restrictive Practices is a set of short films and accompanying guide that explore the use of restrictive practices and encourage disability support workers and supervisors to reflect on and talk about less restrictive ways of supporting people with disability.
- Human Rights and You – a national video-based e-learning program for disability support workers about why human rights matter when supporting people with disability.
- Understanding Abuse e-learning program – a video based program for disability support workers consisting of three modules with worksheets to help facilitate personal and group reflection and a commitment to action.
- Understanding abuse learning bites – a series of short videos and worksheets addressing eight life areas which are designed to promote discussion and personal reflection by support workers.
- Providing personal care - easy English factsheet (Word)
- Providing personal care - guide for disability services (Word)
Resources for providers
- Practice advice on supervision and safety
- Resources encouraging frontline workers to talk about abuse and neglect
- Our right to safety and respect guidelines and accompanying video, for developing resources with women with disabilities about safety from violence and abuse.
Workforce Development Program on Gender and Disability
The program is designed to change culture across organisations by working with clients, staff, managers and executives. It aims to increase awareness of how to deliver gender equitable and sensitive services to improve well-being and reduce gender-based violence
Components include:
- Train the Trainer Program – a co-facilitated training model in which women with disability and workers from the family violence sector provide training to staff of disability service providers
- Delivery of workshops – a series of workshops for disability support workers, service management leadership and senior executive leadership.
- Peer education programs – a program for women with disability that builds understanding of rights, healthy relationships, what violence is and how to seek support to feel safe.
Further information can be found at the Workforce development program section on the Women with Disabilities Victoria website.
Responding to allegations of abuse involving people with disabilities guidelines
Victoria Police and the department have jointly developed the Responding to allegations of abuse involving people with disabilities guidelines for use by disability service providers and Victoria Police members.
- Read Responding to allegations of abuse involving people with disabilities guidelines on this website.
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Leadership and engagement
Safeguarding for Boards Guide
The guide includes a checklist for Boards, recommended actions for organisations can take to embed a zero tolerance approach and a video with advice for Boards about adopting a human rights-based approach in their organisations. National Disability Services has been funded to expand and disseminate the guide, including delivering workshops for Boards.
Zero tolerance - Safeguarding for Boards can be found under Safeguarding and Quality Management section of the Not-for-profits and the NDIS: Toolkit for Directors page.
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Workforce screening
Disability Worker Exclusion Scheme
You can find out more on the expansion of the Disability Worker Exclusion Scheme (DWES) and how it works so that pre-employment screening occurs and unsuitable workers are excluded from the disability service sector workforce on this website.
Safer recruitment and screening practice
As part of its Zero Tolerance Framework, National Disability Services Victoria was funded to develop the ‘Safer recruitment and screening practice advice’ to prevent potential abusers gaining employment.
Practice advice 1: Recruitment and Supervision highlights the importance of service user involvement in recruitment, values-based recruitment and the limitations of police checks alone.
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Provider regulation
Client Incident Management System
The client incident management system (CIMS) empowers service providers to effectively respond to and manage client incidents, to be accountable for their actions and to manage the quality of their own services. The webpage contains information about the CIMS that focuses on the safety and wellbeing of clients.
Amendments to the Disability Act, including enhancement of the Disability Services Commissioner’s oversight powers
The Safer Services for People with a Disability page (DHHS Services website) outlines the changes to the Disability Act to embed the principle of zero tolerance of abuse and neglect. It strengthens the Disability Services Commissioner’s oversight of the disability sector.
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Additional links
Information that may assist you in your work
- Community Visitors on our Services website
- Disability Services Commissioner website
- Victorian Ombudsman website