Why is the ndis commission not regulating the use of restrictive practices in disabilities? They barely punish providers if at all! All they do is watch and record but do not penalize, or send them to the police for charging...they do not help protect our vulnerable enough and do not practice punishing those who hurt our non verbal helpless children and harm them. It is despicable! All abuses and assaults have increased over the last year as well as restrictive practices which were unauthorized and usually occur in group homes. No wonder parents are scared of what will happen to their grown up disability children when they can no longer look after them.
The federal government last year (Guardian 2021) said said the commonwealth and states had agreed to “work to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, the use of restrictive practices on people with disability”. Yet there has been a 240% increase in those practices of hold people down, locking in rooms they cannot get out of in seclusion, strapping them in chairs. For shame.
However restrictive practices have also occurred not only in group homes but to students in schools - our most vulnerable children treated like this noted by the Guardian "Children and Young People with Disability Australia has reported students experiencing restraints including seclusion and being restrained with belts, while a high-profile 2015 case involved an autistic student being placed in a specially made cage."
Our children are human beings they are not animals that should be put in cages! or tied up! This is wrong and Lynda Reynolds the minister for the ndis has said it is a complex matter she will look into these unauthorized restrains - what would she know coming straight from defence where its all about war and prisoners that you lock up she should not be in disabilities with no understanding of disabilities!
Unauthorized Restrictive Practices - used in disabilities have gone over the top in the last year - and should not have been used at all! Information according to the reports by NDIS quality commission...
We need to change this situation here in Australia where there have been up to 7000 incidents of harm this year increased from last year as noted in an article from the Guardian by Luke Henriques-Gomes (10 May 2021) today
Noting that under the heading statistics from NDIS Commission that alleged abuse and neglect in Australia against those in disabilities had increased from 3,637 incidents to 5971 incidents in the last year 2020-2021
Also, allegations of unlawful sexual/physical contact had increased against those in disabilities from 1,671 allegations to 2030 allegations.
Note they are allegations because parents or those concerned had reported it but cannot be proven and charged without camera evidence!
Included in the stats are alleged sexual misconduct which would have been reported but again probably not bringing prosecution these incidents went from 350 incidents in the last year to 418 incidents.
Even worse again are restraints unauthorized being used on those in group homes mainly – such as drugs, tying up or physically restraining those persons with disabilities, locking them in rooms. The numbers went from in the last year 302,690 incidents to 1,032, 064 over a million incidents!
Note these are unauthorized restraints! Meaning they were not authorized to do this (the organizations and workers in these care places, or classrooms) it was illegal - yet they got away with it.
In the Guardian article (2021) it notes that the NDIS commission or watchdog’s compliance register shows it has issued only eight compliance notices and two fines to providers that have failed to comply with restrictive practice rules. Only eight notices out of all those thousands of reports!? Spare me and only two fines to providers who are raking in all the money from Parents hard fought for funding from the NDIS what a corrupt conflict of interests is that?
NDIS doesnt even punish the ones who take their funding off the parents and are NDIS providers. Yes a conflict of interests. We need an independent body for the monitoring of providers in disabilities the NDIS itself does not watch itself or its providers enough!
The article states that In 2020-21, there were 585,847 (56%) reports of unauthorised “chemical” restraint, such as the use of sedatives to manage client behaviour, a 229% increase on the 2020-21 figure. The ndis commission itself says“an over-reliance for the use of medication to address behaviours of concern in people with disability” and warns of the possibility of long-term negative side-effects.
The statistics show the worse state in Australia for using restrictive practices is New South Wales with a big jump in the last year.
The Guardian notes that 'The commission said there were also 376,575 reports of the unauthorised use of “environmental” restraints, which can refer to restricting a client’s access to part of their own home or denying access to personal possessions like a mobile phone or television.
It was notified of 63,795 instances where an unauthorized “mechanical” restraint was used (for example strapping a person down, or forcing them to wear splints, gloves, a helmet or other equipment) and 4,794 instances of unauthorized physical restraint. This might include physically holding a person down while they display “behaviours of concern”.'
If they are unauthorized then why are the providers and workers not punished for these practices? Why do organizations continue to do what they like with no penalties. Even violence and abuse is allowed with little done about it by the NDIS who are a watchdog that only watches but does not do anything to stop these chemical, environmental, physical, and mechanical practices even seclusion which amounts to abuse by disabilities providers - which is really what it is. Abuse of human rights. Including emotional, physical and mental abuse by those workers who attack those in their care never prosecuted because there is no camera evidence.
Are these carers or the mafia organizations in disabilities? They seem to be criminals. This is a crime against humanity for those who are most vulnerable and unable many times to speak or articulate what has happened to them to be assaulted attacked and treated worse then animals, restrained against their will, hurt and cruelly treated how can we allow this to go on as a civilized society we are uncivilized in our treatment of those with disabilities.
Those who cannot defend themselves! WE must step up and demand the use of CCTV Cameras in disabilities so that the perpetrators of these crimes against the vulnerable and non verbal can be prosecuted and stopped from working in disabilities and punished with imprisonments and other penalties as they should be!
Sign my petition: change.org/disabilitycameras
Stand with me on 3rd December 2021 at Sydney Town Hall on International disability day and create public awareness of the crimes being done against our vulnerable children and change the future for those who have disabilities from one of bleakness and no justice to one of care and justice for their lives and most of all protection!
Anndrea Wheatley
Phone 0409042765      #disabilitylivesmatteroz

#cctvcameras4disabilities           #ifjamescouldtalkactiongroup