Disability Royal Commission Progress Report 2025

Recommendation 11.16 – National agreement on disability death reviews

Read progress on recommendation 11.16 of the Disability Royal Commission.

Responsibility: Australian, state and territory governments

Joint response: Subject to further consideration

Status: Subject to further consideration

What has been achieved to date

All governments remain committed to considering this recommendation further. 

The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (NDIS Commission) continues to progress its program of work to address the number of early deaths among people with disability and adopt a preventative, risk-based systemic approach. This includes longitudinal monitoring of potentially avoidable deaths (PADS) of National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants. The NDIS Commission has developed a PADS screening tool to enhance data and evidence on PADS, provide a basis for longitudinal reporting, inform, and improve regulatory practice.

What the Disability Royal Commission said in the final report

The Australian Government and state and territory governments should enter into a national agreement that:

a) reflects the functions, powers and definitions outlined in recommendations 11.14 and 11.15

b) defines the respective roles of state and territory death review schemes and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (NDIS Commission) in relation to the deaths of people with disability

c) articulates the relationship between the functions of the disability death review schemes and the NDIS Commission and ensures the appropriate operational processes are in place to facilitate this

d) provides for information sharing between the death review schemes and the NDIS Commission

e) commits to nationally consistent disability death data collection and reporting requirements, and the inclusion of disability death data within the proposed National Disability Data Asset.

Joint Government response July 2024

The Australian Government and state and territory governments recognise the importance of systemic reviews of the deaths of people with disability in understanding and addressing factors that contribute to the disproportionate rates of deaths and potentially avoidable deaths of people with disability.

All governments will work together to further consider the appropriateness of a national agreement on disability death reviews alongside state and territory consideration and development of disability death review schemes consistent with recommendations 11.14 and 11.15 of the Disability Royal Commission.

More recommendations

View progress on other recommendations made by the Royal Commission.

Date last updated:

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