We also care about the health safety and wellbeing of other vulnerable people. These people include:
- people with disabilities
- people requiring support with their mental health and wellbeing
- people with drug or alcohol dependence
- older people
- victims and survivors of family violence
- victims and survivors of sexual abuse
- homeless persons and those at risk of homelessness
We refer to these people as ‘vulnerable people’ because numerous inquiries, inquests and royal commissions have found that we all need to do better to provide for their health, safety and wellbeing.
For example:
People with disabilities
The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability found that people with disabilities experienced:
- higher rates of violence particularly physical assaults, sexual assaults and family violence
- higher rates of socio-economic disadvantage, poverty, financial hardship, and unemployment
- over-representation in the criminal justice system
- barriers to accessing services and supports including education and health services
- segregation in education, homes and living arrangements, employment and day programs
- the use of various restrictive practices in educational, residential, health and detention settings
- complaints and incidents being minimised, ignored or going unreported.
Commonwealth of Australia, Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, September 2023
Older people
The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety found that older people experienced:
- problems accessing home care, respite care and allied health care resulting in declining function, preventable hospitalisation, carer burnout, premature entry to residential aged care, and death.
- physical and sexual abuse in residential care committed by staff and other residents
- inappropriate and unsafe use of restrictive practices
- failure to provide basic needs such as diet, nutrition, hydration, oral health, skin care, mobility, medication management, incontinence management and infection control
- failure to deliver, facilitate or coordinate care to meet the complex needs of older people in residential care.
Commonwealth of Australia, Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, March 2021
People requiring support with their mental health and wellbeing
The Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System found that people with mental illness or psychological distress experienced:
- barriers to accessing appropriate treatment, care and support
- poor service integration
- over-reliance on medication rather than therapeutic support
- excessive use of restrictive practices and compulsory treatment
- over-representation in the criminal justice system
- stigma and discrimination such as difficulties accessing health care or being unsupported in the workplace.
State of Victoria, Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, February 2021
Victims and survivors of family violence
In March 2016, the Royal Commission into Family Violence made 227 recommendations to improve the way in which we prevent and respond to family violence. Although significant improvement has been made to our systems and services, family violence continues to devastate our community. The Crimes Statistics Agency has reported that between July 2023 and June 2024:
- Victoria Police attended 98 816 family incidents (6.1% increase). Of these incidents:
- 73 619 affected family members were female.
- 73 596 alleged perpetrators were male.
- This resulted in:
- 11 757 Family Violence Safety Notices being issued.
- 14 418 applications for intervention orders.
- 23 332 incidents of criminal charges being laid.
State of Victoria, Crime Statistics Agency, September 2024
We are committed to supporting individuals and organisations to:
- learn from these findings and recommendations; and
- understand and comply with various recent legislative reforms including:
- the introduction of the Social Services Regulator in Victoria
- recent and ongoing reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme
- changes to aged care services set out in the Aged Care Act 2024 (Cth).
We are also passionate about supporting individuals and organisations to reduce the risk of harm, abuse and neglect of vulnerable people; and to appropriately respond to these incidents when they do occur.