Pillar 3: Fairness and safety – 49 actions

Safety in emergencies – 5 actions

Emergency Recovery Victoria uses co-design in its emergency response, relief and recovery planning. This includes involving more people with disability, their families, and experts when we plan community-led emergency relief and recovery efforts.

Emergency Management Victoria created a Senior Advisor for Accessible Communications role. This role supports accessible and public communications in emergency preparation, response and recovery. The role works closely with the Principal Advisor, Accessible Communication in Department of Premier and Cabinet. Both these roles work alongside the Emergency Management Victoria Diversity and Inclusion team.

In 2023–24, the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing undertook a State Crisis and Resilience Council priority project. This led to the development of the Victorian emergency management planning toolkit for people most at risk. The Planning Toolkit supports agencies and services to identify the most at-risk groups in different types of major emergencies (floods, fires et cetera). This information is at a group and not an individual level, so it is de-identified. It can be shared with other agencies and services to support people with disability to prepare for emergencies.

All 5 actions are on track.

Disability advocacy – 6 actions

The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing is developing and co-designing the Victorian Disability Advocacy Program outcomes framework with advocacy sector agencies. Co-design and testing will ensure the measurement tool is fit for purpose. This includes making sure it captures future program directions and identifies intersectional approaches.

The Victorian Disability Advocacy Program continues to fund agencies that support systemic and self-advocacy for people with disability.

This includes funding for a diverse range of disability peer support and self-advocacy groups for 2024 and 2025. The groups’ activities contribute to implementing state disability plan priorities, including celebrating disability pride.

All 6 actions are on track.

Preventing abuse and neglect – 9 actions

From 1 July 2024, the Victorian Government introduced a robust regulatory framework for social services. This will be enforced by a new independent Social Services Regulator.

This will improve the protection of service users from harm and neglect. It includes disability service providers funded by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

We have also developed an accredited micro-credential course, which improves the capacity and capability of Behaviour Support Practitioners. This ensures the practitioner’s skill and knowledge align with the NDIS Positive Behaviour Support Capability Framework.

In addition, we are undertaking the adult safeguarding legislative review to respond to the abuse of elder Australians.

We are also strengthening compliance and reporting of safeguards for people with disability. This work includes:

• compliance with the National Framework for Reducing and Eliminating the Use of Restrictive Practices in the Disability Service Sector
• strengthening legislated frameworks under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997
• strengthening the Community Visitor Program and the role that it plays for NDIS participants.

We have completed 3 actions. A further 6 are on track.

Family and sexual violence – 8 actions

Family Safety Victoria has embedded universal design, intersectional approaches and disability confident and inclusive workforces into its policies and program planning for people with disability and their families who are victim survivors of family and sexual violence.

We have designed refuges and accommodation dwellings to take into consideration all intersecting aspects of a person’s life. This includes complexities of disability, cultural background and gender identity to support all victim survivors.

Family Safety Victoria continues to co-design with disability service providers, both state and federally funded, to develop resources, practice guidance and tools to support people with disability and their families experiencing family violence, and those seeking crisis supports.

We are also continuing to develop the resources, best practice guidance and tools that will support the workforce to be more disability confident and inclusive. This also promotes a social and human rights model of care for people seeking help.

We have completed 1 action. A further 7 actions are on track.

Justice system – 19 actions

The justice system has implemented systemic reforms of co-design, intersectional approaches, Aboriginal self-determination and disability confident and inclusive workforces in a number of programs.

The Disability Advice and Response Team (DART) is being delivered by a non-government disability organisation in partnership with an Aboriginal community-controlled organisation. It operates in select locations of the criminal division of the Children's Court and at Marram-Ngala Ganbu (Koori Family Hearing Day) in Broadmeadows and Shepparton.

The Just Voices project has strengthened the capability of frontline justice staff to respond to service users with lived experience of disability. The project engaged people who had interactions with the justice system to co-design workforce guidance materials. This included a video and engagement plan to be incorporated into policy and practice by Youth Justice and Corrections.

The Disability Justice Operational Forums held in 2022–2023 will help the Department of Justice and Community Safety to include the voice of people with lived experience into policy design and service delivery.

The Intermediary Program is for children and adults with a cognitive impairment who are the complainant in sexual offence matters or are a witness to homicide. The program operates in Children’s, Magistrates’, County and Supreme Courts in Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo and Warrnambool. It has received ongoing funding, and an impact evaluation is under way.

In 2024, Victoria Police launched the Disability Liaison Officer (DLO) program and 70 DLOs are now in place across the state. DLOs are responsible for building knowledge and skills of Victoria Police employees. They help to ensure consistent, fair, and accessible policing services for people with disability.

We have completed 6 actions. A further 12 are on track. 1 action is still to be progressed as part of phase 5 of the Aboriginal Justice Agreement (AJA5).

Right to expression of sexuality and gender identity – 2 actions

The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing has established an LGBTIQA+ Disability Inclusion Expert Advisory Group. The group will co-design and develop policies to enable people, including those living in supported accommodation, to connect and live well in all aspects of their life.

The Victorian Government continues to advocate to the Commonwealth and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to end discriminatory policies and practices. This includes practices that disadvantage people with disability in relation to their expression of sexuality and gender identity.

2 actions are on track, although the following components are still to be progressed:

• The Forensic Disability Practice Manual is being updated to include a section on gender identity and sexuality.
• The LGBTIQA+ Disability Inclusion Expert Advisory Group is assisting government with ideas to improve experiences, wellbeing and connection for LGBTIQA+ people living with disability.