There have been more than 7,000 serious incidents — including sexual misconduct, serious injury, abuse and neglect — in disability group homes over the past four years, according to a startling new report from the NDIS complaints watchdog.
Some of the incidents detailed in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Quality and Safeguards Commission's report involved:
- a person with disability being exposed to pornography by a support worker
- the alleged sexual assault of a person with disability by a support worker
- the emotional or psychological abuse of a person with disability through coercion or undue influence.
The report examined the running of disability group homes in Australia by seven providers, revealing more than 7,340 reportable serious incidents in a supported accommodation setting between July 2018 and September 2022.
That figure is particularly notable, given fewer than 20,000 people with disability live in group homes.
The authors of the report found there were 122 reportable incidents of unlawful sexual contact of an NDIS participant in a group home, with some of those involving a person with disability being exposed to pornographic material by a support worker.
There were also 960 reportable incidents of unlawful physical contact, with some including the alleged sexual assault of a person with a disability by another person with a disability or a support worker.
And there were a further 1,700 reportable incidents of serious injury, 1,700 reports of abuse and 1,300 of neglect of a person with disability in a group home setting.
NDIS Minister Bill Shorten conceded that the figures were extraordinary, saying people who lived in supported accommodation often had profound intellectual or physical disability and complex support needs.
"We seem to be learning the same lessons that we should have already learned," he told the ABC.
"We've got to be much better at communicating directly with people with disability in supported accommodation, otherwise they're vulnerable."
The report followed an inquiry into disability group homes, set up to identify trends among issues occurring in the sector and how best to address them.
It found the "negative attitude and aptitude" by some in the workforce was driving a high number of issues in group home settings.
It also observed that people living in group homes often had less choice and control over their NDIS supports than other NDIS participants and, as a result, needed more support in exercising choice and control.
The report concluded that there was a need for changes to the regulation of group home settings, a recommendation that Mr Shorten said he supported.
"We've got to do much better at educating the individuals in the homes, about their rights, and making sure that we check in on them.
"It's important to make sure that they're not getting ignored by the systems, and obligations to make sure that they're safe."
The NDIS Commission said further detailed consultation with people with disability is now planned to inform how best to implement changes arising from the report.
