OPA supports the Australian Government’s commitment to exploring options for enhanced ‘national consistency for state and territory led CVS [community visitor schemes] across Australia’, as was recommended by the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability in 2023.

OPA’s submission to the public consultation on this issue notes that this work is undermined by the lack of a national safeguarding framework for people with disability. A national framework would provide much needed clarity on the scope and safeguarding goals of CVS. Once a coherent framework is in place, the most appropriate CVS model and goals for a program of enhanced national consistency may be determined.

OPA’s submission notes that CVS all undertake a form of safeguarding that is characterised by proactive outreach (unscheduled visiting), but that the vast majority of current Australian CVS do proactive outreach to ‘risky settings’ as opposed to proactive outreach to a list of ‘at-risk’ individuals. OPA agrees that there is insufficient proactive outreach safeguarding available to ‘at-risk’ individuals more broadly but that achieving this would likely require a different model than that delivered by CVS. Shifting away from a ‘risky settings’ model would leave many people in supported accommodation unprotected from abuse. OPA recommends that CVS safeguarding models retain their current focus on ‘risky settings’ and seek national consistency at the level of principles to enable jurisdictions to continue tailor safeguarding to their unique contexts. OPA also highlights the value of CVS as part of a broader safeguarding framework which would be further promoted by better information sharing provisions with the National Disability Insurance Agency and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.

OPA made the following recommendations:

Recommendation 1

OPA recommends that a nationally consistent approach to CVS clearly define the type of safeguarding it aims to establish.

Recommendation 2

OPA recommends that CVS safeguarding models remain focused on ‘risky settings’ as opposed to starting with ‘at-risk individuals’.

Recommendation 3

OPA recommends the establishment of national principles to guide CVS practice in specific state and territory contexts.

Recommendation 4

OPA recommends that a national approach to CVS clearly delineate its role as separate yet complementary to regulatory functions.

Recommendation 5

OPA recommends that the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing engage with the National CVS Working Group to consider approaches to improving the NDIS Participant Safeguarding policy.

Recommendation 6

OPA recommends strengthening information sharing requirements between the National Disability Insurance Agency and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and CVS to enable CVS to obtain essential safeguarding information.

Recommendation 7

OPA recommends that CVS be appropriately resourced to provide effective service to undertake the role with diligence and care.

The work of OPA staff and volunteers has allowed OPA to see that people with disability face barriers when needing to access dental services in Victoria. The OPA Community Visitors Program had identified over 50 dental care issues in the period 2021-23. These issues include occasions where residents have difficulty obtaining timely and adequate dental care, such as one instance, where there was more than a two year wait for a person to attend a special needs dental clinic.

Access to a range of quality dental care services is vital for people with disability to maintain their health and wellbeing to enable them to pursue their goals and aspirations.

For improved oral health outcomes in Australia for people with disability OPA is calling for:

• community dental care clinics need to be accessible for people with disability
• dental health plans that enable access to regular dental care services each year for people with disability are important
• there should be collaboration of mainstream dental care services and disability support providers
• there should be improved education of dentists and oral hygienists on the needs of people with disability
• access to a range of quality dental care services is vital for people with disability to maintain
• their health and wellbeing to enable them to pursue their goals and aspirations.

Download a copy of our submission.