Recommendation 1
9.11 The
committee recommends the Australian Government work with state and territory
governments on the implementation of initiatives to improve access to justice
for people with disability contained in the reports by the Law Reform
Commission, Equality, Capacity and Disability in Commonwealth Laws, the
Human Rights Commission, Equal Before the Law and Productivity
Commission, Access to Justice Arrangements, with particular focus on:
- better intervention
and support services;
- expanded Community
Visitor's schemes;
- improved witness
support services to people with disabilities;
- creation of an
assessment protocol that assists police, courts, and correctional institutions
in identifying people with disabilities. Where identified, a trained officer
will provide support;
- transparent,
effective and culturally appropriate complaints handling procedures;
- training for police,
lawyers and others in justice in needs of people with disability; and
- where a person who
has been found unfit to plead is to be held in detention, demonstrate that all
reasonable steps have been taken to avoid this outcome, and that person must be
held in a place of therapeutic service delivery.
Recommendation 2
9.12 The
committee also recommends that each state and territory implement a Disability
Justice Plan.
Recommendation 3
9.13 The
committee believes that there is a need for further investigation of access to
justice issues, with a focus on:
- the implementation
requirements for supported decision-making;
- investigating the potential
for the UK system of registered intermediaries; and
- the indefinite
detention of people with cognitive impairment or psychiatric disabilities.
Recommendation 4
9.15 The
committee recommends the Australian Government work with state and territory
governments on a nationally consistent approach to existing state and territory
disability oversight mechanisms, to include;
- increased funding for
community visitor schemes, with consideration these schemes be professionalised
in all jurisdictions and with a mandatory reporting requirement for suspected
violence, abuse or neglect; and
- greater crossover in
oversight and complaints mechanisms between aged care and disability.
9.16 A
nationally consistent approach to disability oversight mechanisms is best
overseen by the national disability watchdog.
Recommendation 5
9.18 The
committee recommends that the Australian Government drive a nationally
consistent move away from substitute decision-making towards supported
decision-making models.
Recommendation 6
9.19 The
committee recommends that the Australian Government work with state and
territory governments to implement the recommendations of the Australian Law
Reform Commission report Equality, Capacity and Disability in Commonwealth
Laws, in relation to legal capacity and supported decision-making.
Recommendation 7
9.20 The
committee recommends the Australian Government work with state and territory
governments to create national consistency in the administration of
guardianship laws to ensure:
- public advocate and
guardianship functions are separate to ensure independent oversight;
- mandatory training on
supported decision-making for guardians;
- that service delivery
organisations or accommodation providers are never given guardianship;
- automatic increased
oversight where service delivery organisations or accommodation providers
recommend families lose guardianship; and
- that Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander peoples' particular circumstances are taken into account
in developing guardianship systems.
Recommendation 8
9.24 The
committee recommends that the forthcoming national statement of principles
adopt the position that indefinite detention is unacceptable and that state and
territory legislation be amended in line with this principle.
- The committee
recommends that the LCCSC endorse and adopt the National Principles at its
earliest opportunity.
Recommendation 9
9.25 The
committee recommends that the LCCSC complete its data collection project at its
earliest opportunity.
Recommendation 10
9.27 The
committee recommends that the COAG develop and implement a disability screening
strategy (including hearing assessments) for all Australian jurisdictions. This
screening strategy would apply to all people (adults and minors) who engage
with the criminal justice system. The strategy would be applied at multiple
points throughout the criminal justice system such as first contact with
police, courts, prisons and related facilities.
Recommendation 11
9.29 The
committee recommends that the COAG work together to ensure that recently
developed tools such as the FASD diagnosis tool are provided as a supported
resource to police, courts, legal aid and other related groups.
Recommendation 12
9.31 The
committee recommends that the Australian Government, through the COAG, actively
encourage support worker programs which assist people with cognitive and
psychiatric impairment to engage with and participate in the court process. The
Australian Government should work closely with the states and territories to identify
suitable programs to be funded for expansion where they are currently being
trialled, and establish new programs where they currently do not exist.
Recommendation 13
9.33 The
committee recommends that COAG develop a range of culturally appropriate
resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that can be
deployed to service providers, police and the judiciary. These resources will
assist the service providers, police and the judiciary to communicate more
effectively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples engaged in the
criminal justice system.
9.34 The
committee recommends that the Australian Government, through COAG, fund a
number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identified support worker
positions across a number of population centres, particularly in the NT and WA.
This would include positions or funding for signing and translation services.
9.35 The
committee recommends that Aboriginal controlled organisations should be
resourced to provide specialised and culturally appropriate support to
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with cognitive and psychiatric
impairments in detention and community care.
Recommendation 14
9.37 The
committee recommends that the COAG work together to modify guidelines for police
interrogation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in each state
and territory to include a requirement that a hearing assessment be conducted
for any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person who is having
communication difficulties, irrespective of whether police officers consider
that the communication difficulties arise from language and cross-cultural
issues.
Recommendation 15
9.40 The
committee recommends that the COAG consider an appropriate mechanism for
jurisdictions with specialist courts to share their expertise and experience
with other jurisdictions.
9.41 The
committee recommends that the COAG develop and implement appropriately
resourced mobile courts for remote parts of WA and the NT.
Recommendation 16
9.43 The
committee recommends that the COAG ensures a consistent legislative approach
across all Australian jurisdictions to provide a range of options for the
placement of forensic patients beyond unconditional release and prison.
Recommendation 17
9.45 The
committee recommends that the COAG ensures a consistent legislative approach
with respect to limiting terms for forensic patients in all Australian
jurisdictions.
Recommendation 18
9.46 The
committee recommends that the COAG works together to cease the use of mandatory
sentencing.
Recommendation 19
9.49 The
committee recommends that the LCCSC extend its data collection project to
identify and quantify the supply shortfall for forensic accommodation
placements in secure care facilities and supported accommodation in the community.
Recommendation 20
9.51 The
committee recommends that the Australian Government work closely with the NT
Government to plan, fund and construct non-prison forensic secure care
facilities and the acquisition of supported accommodation options in communities
across the NT.
9.52 The
committee recommends that the Australian Government work closely with the NT
Government to ensure that all forensic facilities are appropriately staffed.
Recommendation 21
9.54 The
committee recommends that the COAG ensure that ISPs in all Australian
jurisdictions have consistent objectives and are clear on who is responsible
for delivery of services, regardless of where a forensic patient is housed.
Recommendation 22
9.56 The
committee recommends that the Australian Government work closely with the NT
Government to ensure that its ISP (or equivalent) for forensic patients have
clear objectives of transitioning a forensic patient from prison to secure
care, and where appropriate, from secure care to the community.
Recommendation 23
9.58 The
committee recommends that COAG establish a working group:
- to review existing
early intervention programs for people with cognitive and/or psychiatric
impairment; and
- develop and implement
programs which engage with people with cognitive impairment at the youngest
appropriate age.
Recommendation 24
9.60 The
committee recommends that the COAG develop and implement a series of justice
reinvestment projects across the country to showcase the long-term social and
economic benefits of justice reinvestment.
Recommendation 25
9.62 The
committee recommends that the Joint Standing Committee on the National
Disability Insurance Scheme conduct an inquiry into the issue of eligibility
and access to the NDIS for people held in prisons and the criminal justice
system more broadly.
Recommendation 26
9.64 The
committee recommends that the WA and NT Governments transition forensic
patients currently held in prison to the relevant secure care forensic facility
in each state as a matter of urgency.
Recommendation 27
9.67 The
committee recommends that state and territory governments facilitate improved
first responses to incidents involving people with cognitive or psychiatric
impairment by ensuring:
- Police and ambulance
officers are provided with appropriate frontline training to recognise and
respond to situations involving cognitive or psychiatric impairment issues.
- Police and ambulance
officers are provided with specialist resources, such as state-wide 24/7 access
to mental health teams to provide immediate advice during first response
incidents.
- Increased funding for
health transport to ensure that police resources are not used to transport
people for mental health assessments.
Recommendation 28
9.69 The
committee recommends that state and territory governments investigate the
appropriateness of early intervention mental health treatment, with a specific
goal to reduce 'risk-induced' treatment-related detention.
Recommendation 29
9.71 The
committee recommends the Australian Government work with state and territory
governments to create national consistency in the approach to compulsory
treatment orders, to ensure:
- appropriate 'risk of
harm' levels are set for assessments that can result in detention for the
purposes of therapeutic intervention;
- mandated requirements
for 'least restrictive' treatment;
- regular reviews,
including assessment of treatment against therapeutic benchmarks; and
- independent
oversight.
Recommendation 30
9.73 The
committee recommends that state and territory governments consider and
implement legislative change to strengthen the effect of supported
decision-making tools such as Advance Directives.
Recommendation 31
9.75 The
committee recommends the state and territory governments consider adopting
elements of the Victorian disability frameworks.
Recommendation 32
9.77 The
committee recommends that state and territory governments proactively fund the
construction or acquisition of a range of appropriate supported accommodation
options across metropolitan and regional locations for people with cognitive
and/or psychiatric impairments.
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