Plans to axe disability watchdogs ‘incredibly dangerous’, critics warn

The government’s plan to introduce a single super-regulator to oversee the state’s social services network has been labelled an incredibly dangerous and brutal move that will leave vulnerable Victorians exposed to danger and exploitation.

The Allan government this week pushed ahead with a plan to scrap specialist disability watchdogs and merge the Disability Services Commissioner, the Victorian Disability Worker Commission and Disability Worker Registration Board into one, set to be known as the Social Services Regulator (SSR).

The government plans to introduce a single super-regulator to oversee the state’s social services network.Credit: Christopher Hopkins

Rather than having dedicated specialists regulating the disability sector, the new SSR will oversee hundreds of community organisations ranging from family violence and sexual assault, to childcare operators, homelessness services and supported residential services.

The government maintains the reforms were influenced by feedback from the sector, citing the Association for Children with Disability, Down Syndrome Victoria, National Disability Services, Melba Support Services and the Victorian Disability Advisory Council.

An Allan government spokesperson said the state’s rapid child safety review found that children with disability faced higher risk of abuse – something the amalgamation of services would seek to improve.

“Right now, responsibilities are spread across three different agencies which means no single body can see the whole picture – and we’re fixing that by consolidating oversight into one stronger regulator,” they said.

“Protections for people with disability will be carried across in full, simplifying the process for people who find it confusing to know which agency to approach, while keeping specialist expertise through staff transitions.”

But advocates and unions from across the state argue that supporters of the change are largely providers subject to the regulation, rather than their clients.

Having opposed the proposal since it was first announced in early 2024, disability advocacy groups and unions say they were stunned when legislation for the controversial merger was introduced to parliament on Wednesday under the cover of widely supported child protection reforms.

They say the merger is also at odds with a recommendation of the mental health royal commission to establish and maintain an independent “one-stop-shop” complaint reporting body to deal with issues of violence, abuse and exploitation of people with a disability.

Disability Resources Centre chief executive Ally Scott, who is one of 20 advocacy groups which have come together to form the Disabled People’s Organisations Victoria (DPOV) and oppose the move, called the merger “an incredibly dangerous move”.

She said the scrapped regulators had been created with strong community engagement and had established trust from vulnerable people who needed strong assurance to raise allegations of abuse by service providers whose care they rely on.

“It’s brutal to rip that work up and just to screw it up and throw it away,” Scott said.

“The Social Services Regulator is already enormous, and it’s going to be incredibly hard to have the same level of scrutiny that has been possible with the Victorian Disability Workers Commission.

“They [people with a disability] will not be reaching out to a monolithic organisation like the Social Services Regulator in times of crisis, and the regulator will not have the sophistication to deal with incredibly vulnerable people in complicated, multi-care environments.”

The Disability Royal Commission handed down its report in 2023. Credit: Rhett Wyman

The Health and Community Services Union state secretary Paul Healey accused the government of dismantling the same safeguards it previously claimed were essential to safety and accountability without any regard for the voices of those relying on the disability system.

“The Allan government has once again abandoned people with disabilities and disability workers. This is a slap in the face to every worker who has fought for safety, dignity, and professionalism in this sector, and shows that this government has lost touch with its Labor values,” Healy said.

Disability Discrimination Legal Service chief executive Julie Phillips, whose organisation has also joined the DPOV, said the sector had proposed merging the three existing disability regulators into a single specialist regulator in line with the royal commission recommendation, but had been ignored.

“The royal commission said people with disabilities are being treated differently than other sectors of society, are much more susceptible to violence, abuse and neglect, and that’s why their recommendation was that we need a regulator that is specifically for people with disabilities,” she said.

“It’s been very disappointing, the misleading of parliamentarians and the public about how we have been involved when we have not.”

After being accused on Thursday of using the child safety reforms as a Trojan horse to also abolish specialist watchdogs, the government called an emergency meeting to discuss the merger with a range of health unions and stakeholders.

Opposition disability spokesman Tim Bull said the 455-page bill was provided on short notice, which was “exceptionally disappointing” for a key piece of legislation.

“Since it was introduced, I’ve received a number of emails expressing concern from disability groups that this is not the outcome they asked for from the minister,” he said.

“They want a standalone disability complaints service, as recommended by the royal commission.”

Bull said it was also disappointing the proposed changes had sat before parliament earlier this year, before being taken away and rolled into the new childcare omnibus bill which meant the changes couldn’t be debated on their individual merits.

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