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TRANSCRIPT
Issues Paper Restrictive practices
Easy Read version
26 May 2020
Page 2
How to use this issues paper
The Disability Royal Commission
(the Royal Commission) wrote this issues paper.
When you see the word ‘we’, it means
the Royal Commission.
We have written this issues paper in an
easy to read way. We use pictures to explain
some ideas.
We have written some words in bold.
We explain what these words mean.
There is a list of these words on page 39.
This Easy Read issues paper is a summary
of another issues paper.
You can find the other issues paper on
our website.
You can ask for help to read this issues paper.
A friend, family member or support person may
be able to help you.
Page 3
An issue is a subject or problem that people
are thinking and talking about.
We have written this issues paper to find out what
you and the community think about some issues.
There are some questions in this issues paper.
You don’t need to answer all our questions.
Our questions are just a guide.
Page 4
What’s in this issues paper?
What is the Royal Commission about? 5
What is this issues paper about? 6
Where are restrictive practices used? 11
Why are we looking at restrictive practices? 14
What we want to know more about 16
The rights of people with disability 20
Laws, policies, standards and ways of working 23
What affects the experience of people with disability? 27
New and better ways to keep people safe 31
Other questions to think about 35
How to tell us your answers 36
How will we use your answers? 38
Word list 39
Page 5
What is the Royal Commission about?
This Royal Commission is called the Royal
Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect
and Exploitation of People with Disability.
We call it the Royal Commission.
We need the Royal Commission because we
know that people with disability experience:
• violence – if someone is hurting
you physically
• abuse – if someone is treating you badly
• neglect – if someone is not helping you
the way they are supposed to help you
• exploitation – if someone is taking
advantage of you.
Page 6
What is this issues paper about?
This issues paper is about restrictive practices.
Restrictive practices are actions that stop
people from:
• moving
• doing what they want.
Restrictive practices are used to stop or prevent
behaviours of concern.
Behaviours of concern are things someone does
that might put:
• themselves in danger
• other people in danger.
Restrictive practices include:
• seclusion
• using restraints.
Page 7
Seclusion is when you put someone alone in a
room or a space and stop them from leaving.
An example of seclusion is locking someone
in a room for a period of time.
Restraints are ways to stop someone from doing
what they are doing.
A restraint might be:
• physical – you hold someone’s body so they
can’t move
• chemical – you use medicine to change
their behaviour
• environmental – you lock a:
o space so nobody can get in
o fridge or cupboard so nobody can
open it and take anything out
Page 8
• mechanical – you stop someone using
equipment they need.
• psychosocial.
When you use a psychosocial restraint, you tell
someone over and over that they can’t do
something but don’t give them a good reason.
Examples of mechanical restraints might be:
• turning off the power on an electric wheelchair
• taking away a communication device.
Page 9
Some people believe restrictive practices keep
people safe.
Not everyone agrees that restrictive practices:
• keep people safe
• should be used.
Restrictive practices are allowed to be used
anywhere in Australia.
But there are rules about when restrictive practices
can be used.
Page 10
Questions to think about
Do you agree with the way we have explained
restrictive practices?
Why are restrictive practices used?
What restrictive practices do you know are used
with people with disability?
Are some restrictive practices used more
than others?
Do restrictive practices cause people with disability
to experience more violence, abuse, neglect and
exploitation? How?
Page 11
Where are restrictive practices used?
Restrictive practices are used in:
• places where people with disability live
or visit
• places people with disability go for medical
care and treatment
• places people with disability go for mental
health treatment
• places people with disability are forced to go
for mental health reasons
• schools and other places people go to learn
• workplaces
Page 12
• Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs) –
workplaces just for people with disability
• detention settings.
Workplaces are any place you work, such as:
• an office
• a factory
• a shop.
Detention settings are places where people:
• are locked in
• can’t leave.
They include:
• youth justice centres
• prisons and jails.
Page 13
Questions to think about
Where are restrictive practices used?
When are restrictive practices used?
How often are restrictive practices used on people
with disability?
Are restrictive practices used in any other places
we have not talked about?
Page 14
Why are we looking at restrictive practices?
Some people believe restrictive practices are
a type of violence.
People also think it is a type of violence that only
people with disability experience.
Restrictive practices might seriously hurt
someone’s body.
People can even die.
Restrictive practices might affect someone’s
mental health.
Restrictive practices might make someone feel:
• worried all the time
• afraid
• bad about themselves
• sad.
Page 15
Restrictive practices might affect the relationship
someone has with people who use them,
such as their:
• support workers
• medical and health care workers
• teachers.
Restrictive practices can take away someone’s
independence.
When you have independence, you can do things:
• by yourself
• on your own.
You are in control of:
• your own life
• the choices that you make.
Questions to think about
How does using restrictive practices affect
people with disability?
Page 16
What we want to know more about
We want to know more about how we can avoid
using restrictive practices.
We want to hear about what we can do instead of
using restrictive practices.
We want to understand how we can use laws,
policies and different ways of working to help us
stop using restrictive practices.
Policies are government plans for how to
do things.
Page 17
We want to hear about different ways we can:
• look after people with disability who have
behaviours of concern
• keep everyone safe.
We want to hear from:
• people with disability
• family members
• support workers
• organisations.
Page 18
We want you to tell us about different times in your
life when you might have experienced restrictive
practices, such as:
• when you were a child
• while you were growing up
• being an adult.
Things that happen to people with disability when
they are young can affect them their whole life.
We want to understand how we can better support
people with disability across their lives.
Page 19
Questions to think about
When do restrictive practices need to be used?
What rules should there be to keep people safe?
Should the same rules apply to everyone?
Page 20
The rights of people with disability
Rights are rules about how everybody should be
treated fairly.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities (UN Convention)
is an international agreement.
It applies in many different countries around
the world.
The UN Convention sets out the rights of people
with disability.
It explains how people with disability should be
treated fairly.
The UN Convention says people with disability
have the right to live free from:
• violence
• abuse.
Page 21
The UN Convention says people with disability
have the right to be treated:
• kindly
• with respect.
The UN Convention says people with disability
have the freedom to live their life the way they
want to.
If we use restrictive practices, we might take away
these rights.
There is a group of people who work on the
UN Convention.
They are called the United Nations Committee
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(CRPD Committee).
Page 22
The CRPD Committee says we need a plan
to stop using restrictive practices in Australia.
The CRPD Committee says we must stop using:
• physical restraints
• chemical restraints
• seclusion.
The CRPD Committee says we must stop using
restrictive practices on children with disability,
including at school.
Page 23
Laws, policies, standards and ways of working
When it comes to restrictive practices, each state
and territory of Australia has its own:
• laws
• policies
• standards
• ways of working.
Governments across Australia have tried to find
1 way that works for everyone.
Governments across Australia have written
agreements about ways to:
• use restrictive practices less
• stop using restrictive practices.
But we still don’t have 1 set of laws for all
of Australia.
Page 24
This makes it hard to understand when and
how restrictive practices are used in different
parts of Australia.
In some states and territories, disability service
providers can:
• apply to use restrictive practices
• be approved to use restrictive practices.
Some people with disability have guardians.
A guardian is a person who acts and makes
decisions for you.
Your guardian might be:
• a member of your family
• a friend
• chosen for you by the government.
Page 25
Some guardians for people with disability might
have the power to decide if restrictive practices
can be used.
In some places, there are laws that say how
restrictive practices can be used when people
with disability have mental health treatment.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme
(NDIS) also has rules about the use of
restrictive practices.
States and territories have different laws and
policies about how restrictive practices can be
used in:
• schools
• other places people go to learn and study.
But some states and territories don’t have any
laws or policies about using restrictive practices
in schools and education settings.
Page 26
Questions to think about
Do the laws, policies, standards and ways of
working we have now work well?
Are any laws or policies missing? If so, how does
that affect people with disability?
Do the laws, policies, standards and ways of
working we have now need to change? How?
Page 27
What affects the experience of people with disability?
People with disability can have different
experiences with restrictive practices based on:
• their age
• their sex – whether their body is male
or female
• their gender identity
• who they love or are attracted to.
Your gender identity is what you feel and
understand about who you are as a person.
It isn’t about whether your body is male or female.
We often say LGBTIQ when we talk about people
with different:
• gender identities
• sexual orientations.
The letters stand for lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, intersex, queer and questioning.
Page 28
People with disability can also have different
experiences if they:
• come from other cultures and backgrounds
• speak languages other than English
They might be refugees.
A refugee is someone forced to leave their country:
• because of violence
• so they can stay safe.
They might have already had bad experiences of:
• seclusion
• restraint.
Page 29
People with disability can also have different
experiences if they are First Nations people.
First Nations people are also known as Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people.
First Nations people have experienced
discrimination for a very long time.
Discrimination is when you treat someone
badly because of something about them they
can’t change.
Page 30
Questions to think about
Thinking about restrictive practices, what are the
experiences of:
• children and young people with disability?
• older people with disability?
• women with disability?
• LGBTIQ people with disability?
Thinking about restrictive practices, how different
are the experiences of people with disability:
• from other cultures?
• who speak languages other than English?
Thinking about restrictive practices, how different
are the experiences of First Nations people
with disability?
Page 31
New and better ways to keep people safe
Many people, including people with disability,
believe we:
• don’t need restrictive practices
• must stop using restrictive practices.
Other people believe we do need
restrictive practices.
But they think you should only use restrictive
practices when you have already done
everything you can.
Page 32
People have done research that shows we can:
• stop using restrictive practices
• avoid using restrictive practices.
They say there are better ways to:
• stop someone from hurting themselves
or others.
• stop or protect someone with behaviours
of concern.
Instead of using restrictive practices, we could:
• give people with disability better support
• make plans for people with disability that
are based on what they really need
Page 33
• take away the risks in places people
with disability:
o live
o go for support
o go for health care
• give people with disability a chance to say
what they want
• give service providers and support workers
better training.
Page 34
Questions to think about
What can we do to:
• stop using restrictive practices?
• avoid using restrictive practices?
What other things could we do instead of using
restrictive practices?
How does the community need to change?
How do organisations need to change?
What will stop things from changing?
Page 35
Other questions to think about
Have we missed anything?
What else do we need to know about
restrictive practices?
Page 36
How to tell us your answers
You can send us your answers to our questions:
• by email
• in the mail
GPO Box 1422
Brisbane
QLD 4001.
Or you can speak to us on the phone:
1800 517 199
(07) 3734 1900
We are available to talk from Monday to Friday
between 9am and 5pm.
We can make a time with you to take your response
over the phone.
Page 37
You can tell us:
• in writing
• in a video
• as an audio recording.
You can use:
• English
• another language you speak
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages
• Auslan.
We would like to have everyone’s answers by
28 August 2020.
But we will still accept answers after this date
if you need more time.
Page 38
How will we use your answers?
All the answers people give us will help the
Royal Commission with our work.
We might share your answers:
• on our website
• in reports we write.
If you let us share your answers, you can ask
us not to include:
• your name
• any information about you.
You must tell us if you don’t want us to share
your answers.
Page 39
Word list
Behaviours of concern
Behaviours of concern are things someone
does that might put:
• themselves in danger
• other people in danger
• the safety of other people at risk.
Detention settings
Detention settings are places where people
who have broken the law:
• are locked in
• can’t leave.
They include:
• youth justice centres
• prisons.
Discrimination
Discrimination is when you treat someone
badly because of something about them
they can’t change.
Page 40
Gender identity
Your gender identity is what you understand
about who you are as a person.
It isn’t about whether your body is male or female.
Guardian
A guardian is a person who acts and makes
decisions for you.
Your guardian might be:
• a member of your family
• a friend
• chosen for you by the government.
Independence
When you have independence, you can
do things:
• by yourself
• on your own.
You are in control of:
• your own life
• the choices that you make.
Page 41
Issue
An issue is a subject or problem that people
are thinking and talking about.
Policies
Policies are government plans for how to
do things.
Psychosocial
When you use a psychosocial restraint, you tell
someone over and over that they can’t do
something but don’t give them a good reason.
Refugee
A refugee is someone forced to leave
their country:
• because of violence
• so they can stay safe.
Page 42
Restrictive practices
Restrictive practices are actions that stop
people from:
• moving
• doing what they want.
Rights
Rights are rules about how everybody should
be treated fairly.
Workplaces
Workplaces are any place you work, such as:
• an office
• a factory
• a shop.
The images in this Easy Read document may not be reused without permission.
