Key developments
- Legislative framework for regulating the use of restrictive practices on people with disability
- Proposed Retirement Villages Regulation 2025
- Remaking the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017
- Commonwealth Data Retention Review
- Contracts and Covenants discussion paper
- Contact between children and people who care for them in ADVOs: way to improve Order 6 discussion paper
Legislative framework for regulating the use of restrictive practices on people with disability
The Elder Law, Capacity and Succession and Human Rights Committees contributed to a submission to the Department of Communities and Justice in response to its consultation paper, A Legislative Framework to Regulate Restrictive Practices (‘Consultation Paper’).
Restrictive practices are actions or interventions that restrict the rights or freedom of movement of a person, aiming to change a behaviour which is likely to place the physical safety of the person or others in serious jeopardy. In the Consultation Paper, it is proposed a Senior Practitioner would be required to authorise the use of restrictive practices in the disability service provision setting.
In our submission, we expressed concern about the proposed Senior Practitioner framework. This approach would be a significant departure from the current consent-based model, especially considering the removal of the requirement to obtain informed consent to the use of a restrictive practice. Currently, this consent comes from either the person, a substitute decision-maker appointed by the person, the NSW Supreme Court or the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (‘NCAT’). We expressed concern about the lack of oversight and potentially ineffective avenues for review and redress. We suggested the Senior Practitioner framework and the informed consent framework need not be mutually exclusive and may operate alongside each other.
