Coronavirus Australia: Disabled ‘locked up’ to protect them from virus

People with disability living in supported accommodation were being locked in their rooms, denied mobility and medicated, the disability royal commission has heard.

The federal government’s COVID-19 planning failed to include provisions for disabled Australians, a royal commission has heard. Picture: istock

People with disability living in supported accommodation were being locked in their rooms, denied mobility and medicated to make it easier to ensure they weren’t exposed to coronavirus, the disability royal commission has heard.

UN disability spokeswoman Rosemary Kayess also told the commission people with disability who didn’t qualify for the NDIS were being denied appropriate personal protective equipment.

Ms Kayess’ evidence came on the first day of a week-long special hearing of the disability royal commission into the impact of COVID-19 on people with disability.

The hearing opened with counsel assisting Kate Eastman saying neither the government’s COVID-19 national plan or its emergency communicable diseases response plan make reference to the needs of people with disabilities in Australia for months after the pandemic began.

Ms Kayess said the pandemic, and the legal restrictions on movement, had led to the potential for human rights breaches, including the use of restrictive practices.

“Some people with disability were locked in their rooms for long periods of time, restricted in their external communications and stopped from going outside the facilities, even while the rest of the community was allowed to go to the shops and exercise,” Ms Kayess said in her submission.

“Even after government restrictions were eased, some facilities continued to ban visits from family and friends.

Ms Kayess, who gave evidence on behalf of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, also raised concerns about “restrictive practices … such as increases in medications, disabling mobility devices, restricting people from going to work and health appointments, confining people to their rooms for long periods of time.”

She said most people with disability who were not NDIS participants had no access to PPE, and couldn’t use the designated shopping hours as they weren’t officially eligible.

Ms Eastman told the commission it was not until mid-April that the commonwealth issued an operational management plan for coronavirus for the millions of Australians living with disability.

She said the Australian Health Sector Emergency Response Plan released in mid-February by the commonwealth, known as the COVID-19 plan, made specific references to special needs groups such as the aged care sector and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but not people with disability.

“There was no mention or reference in the COVID-19 plan for people with disability. People with disability and their advocates watched and waited to hear the commonwealth government‘s plan for people with disability,” Ms Eastman said.

Similarly, the emergency response plan for communicable disease incidents of national significance, activated at the request of the Chief Medical Officer, didn’t refer to the needs of people with disability.

She said it wasn’t until April 16 that the commonwealth issued a management and operational plan for COVID-19 for people with disability.

Around 4.4 million Australians live with a disability, commissioner Ronald Sackville said, including 2.4 million under the age of 65.

“It was clear from the very outset (of the pandemic) that people with disability were likely to be disproportionately affected when compared with people without disability,” Mr Sackville said.