Disability Supports Quality and Safeguarding Framework submission

OPA has made a submission to the Australian Government’s consultation on developing a Disability Supports Quality and Safeguarding Framework.

OPA’s submission highlights the safeguarding needs of people with significant decision-making disability. It argues that many systems and policies which seek to promote ‘choice and control’ for people with disability end up inadvertently undermining the autonomy of people with decision-making challenges.

The submission is informed by OPA’s Lived Experience Advisory Committee, whose members expressed views that emphasise the importance of person-centred service delivery and social inclusion for wellbeing and safety.

OPA made 10 recommendations to progress the development of a comprehensive, integrated safeguarding framework that effectively responds to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation, including:

• proactive outreach to people in risky circumstances (for example, the Community Visitors Program)
• policies and practices that accommodate people with significant decision-making disability, including mitigating the impacts of undue influence
• the central role social inclusion plays in the safety and wellbeing of all people.