issue paper - restrictive practices › system › ... · sho uld the same rules apply to everyone?...

Issues Paper Restrictive practices

Easy Read version

26 May 2020

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.

https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

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.

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

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.

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.

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

• 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.

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.

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?

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

• 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.


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?

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.

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.


How does using restrictive practices affect

people with disability?

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.

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.

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.


When do restrictive practices need to be used?

What rules should there be to keep people safe?

Should the same rules apply to everyone?

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.


have the right to be treated:

• kindly

• with respect.


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).

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.

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.

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.

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.


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?

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.

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.

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.


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?

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.

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

• 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.


What can we do to:

• stop using restrictive practices?

• avoid using restrictive practices?

What other things could we do instead of using


How does the community need to change?

How do organisations need to change?

What will stop things from changing?

Other questions to think about

Have we missed anything?

What else do we need to know about


How to tell us your answers

You can send us your answers to our questions:

• by email

[email protected]

• 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.

mailto:[email protected]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

issue paper - restrictive practices › system › ... · sho uld the same rules apply to everyone?...

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