Highly vulnerable residents of disability group homes are being placed at significant risk because independent monitors have not been given the power to inspect the increasing number of privately run facilities, Victoria’s public advocate has warned.

The national disability insurance scheme (NDIS) has driven an explosion in different forms of disability accommodation, including privately run group homes, which can sit outside the remit of state-based independent monitors checking for signs of abuse, neglect or assault.

In Victoria, the Office of the Public Advocate says that a number of accommodation providers also setting up properties outside the regulatory regimes.

Victoria’s public advocate, Dr Colleen Pearce, said that had left a significant regulatory gap and was leaving highly vulnerable residents without oversight and at significant risk of harm.

“With the explosion of new disability accommodation models, the ability of community visitors to be independent eyes and ears for all people with disability vulnerable to abuse is at risk,” Pearce told the Guardian.

Even where homes are within its remit, the OPA says its ability to inspect is compromised by under-resourcing and its inability to access details about properties.

The warning comes after revelations that more than 1.5m complaints were made about the NDIS in 2021-22, the majority of which related to unauthorised restrictive practices, including the use of sedatives or physical or environmental restraints. The complaints also include allegations of abuse and neglect.

In Victoria, the community visitor scheme is considered a vital protective measure against abuse and neglect, allowing unannounced visits to disability accommodation to check on resident welfare and housing conditions.

But the program was undermined by Covid, which restricted the number of in-person visits to disability accommodation.

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Source: The Guardian