New policy to safeguard NDIS participants from violence and abuse

The 585,000 Australians on the NDIS are at almost twice the risk of violence as others. A new policy is now in place to help safeguard them from violence, abuse and exploitation.

The new policy will focus on how to reduce violence, abuse and neglect of NDIS participants but also allow them the ‘dignity of risk’.

People with disability using the National Disability Insurance Scheme will have greater protection from harm after the Albanese government released a new participant safeguarding policy.

The new policy, co-designed after consultation with more than 200 people with disability and others in the sector, will focus on how to reduce violence, abuse and neglect of NDIS participants but also allow them the “dignity of risk”, which gives them the legal right to make decisions about their actions even if harm may be an outcome.

It sets out how the National Disability Insurance Agency, which administers the NDIS, will support its more than 585,000 participants to identify and manage these risks, and to safeguard themselves from harm.

This includes preventing possible abuse and neglect and if there are concerns it has occurred, clarifying who is responsible for reporting and follow up.

The Participant Safeguarding Policy, developed by the NDIA, says “research demonstrates that people with disability are more likely than others to experience violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation. The evidence shows that this cohort is 1.8 times more at risk of all types of violence in comparison to people without disability.”

NDIS Minister Bill Shorten said the new policy “represents a shift to a stronger focus on proactive identification, assessment and management of risk to minimise the likelihood of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation”.

The policy notes that informal safeguards, such as the actions of friends and family, play a large part in participant safety but formal safeguards, such as complaints processes, regulatory oversight of disability service providers, along with police and child protection services, must also operate effectively, with clear lines of responsibility, to manage the risk of harm.

Individual NDIS participants should be supported to make their own decisions about how much risk they were willing to take to enable them to maximise their quality of life, the policy says.

Mr Shorten said he was pleased the policy document was created through co-design.

“People with disability are the experts in their own lives, they understand their disability better than anyone and what they need to be safe,” he said.

NDIS Minister Bill Shorten. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The NDIS, which is the subject of a full review, due to report in October, will be one of the government’s largest commitments in the upcoming budget, at $34bn this year growing to a projected $90bn in a decade.

Mr Shorten has highlighted concerns over fraud and waste in the system, and is looking to ­ensure the money for the NDIS is spent on support and services for participants.

The safety of people with disability is also being examined by the ongoing Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with ­Disability.