Responsibility: State and territory governments
Response:
ACT, VIC, NT: Accept in principle
NSW, QLD, SA, TAS, WA: Subject to further consideration
Australian Capital Territory
Response: Accept in Principle
Status: Further work required
What has been achieved to date
The ACT Government has not yet commenced work to establish a disability death review scheme. The ACT Government is taking a considered approach to the staged implementation of the disability reform agenda, to ensure a holistic and strategic response. Consideration to implementation opportunities for a death review scheme may be included in further phases of work once the reform implementation approach is settled.
ACT government response July 2024
The ACT Government accepts this recommendation in principle, recognising that the development of a disability death review scheme presents an important opportunity to better understand factors contributing to risk of death among people with disability in the territory. A disability death review scheme has the potential to enable robust evidence-based prevention measures. In working on the development of a death review scheme, the ACT Government will consider information sharing barriers and strategies to overcome these, with a view to determine appropriate approaches to implement a disability death review scheme in an ACT context.
New South Wales
Response: Subject to further consideration
Status: Subject to further consideration
What has been achieved to date
The NSW Department of Communities and Justice has commenced work to evaluate the recommendations to establish a disability death review scheme in NSW.
Consideration will be informed by consultation with other governments, the disability community and other stakeholders.
NSW government response July 2024
The NSW Government shares the Royal Commission’s concerns about the disproportionate rate of preventable deaths for people with disability. The NSW Government will carefully consider the recommendations for a Disability Death Review scheme to provide for systemic death reviews in collaboration with other governments, the disability community and other stakeholders.
Northern Territory
Response: Accept in principle
Status: Further work required
What has been achieved to date
Further consideration is required to progress this recommendation.
NT government response July 2024
The Northern Territory recognises 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.
The Northern Territory will consider whether a review of the Coroner’s Act 1992 is required in accordance with this recommendation.
Queensland
Response: Subject to further consideration
Status: Subject to further consideration
What has been achieved to date
The Queensland Government will carefully consider recommendations 11.14 and 11.15 related to the establishment of a disability death review scheme, including considering approaches in other jurisdictions, the existing Queensland legislative framework, and any interactions with other recommended reforms in relation to safeguarding and oversight.
QLD government response July 2024
The Queensland Government acknowledges the benefits that systemic death review schemes can offer in identifying and understanding the factors that contribute to the deaths of people with disability at the highest risk of poor outcomes.
The Queensland Government will further consider this recommendation, in collaboration with other jurisdictions, including interactions with other death review schemes and the coronial reportable death framework that already operate in Queensland.
South Australia
Response: Subject to further consideration
Status: Subject to further consideration
What has been achieved to date
The South Australian Government remains committed to considering this recommendation further, and will provide a response in due course.
SA government response July 2024
The South Australian government acknowledges the need for a greater understanding of potentially avoidable deaths for people with disability. The South Australian government is committed to working with the Australian Government and other state and territory governments to further scope how a disability death review scheme could work, in alignment with Recommendation 11.16, which calls for a national agreement on disability death reviews.
Tasmania
Response: Subject to further consideration
Status: Subject to further consideration
What has been achieved to date
This recommendation is currently being considered in the context of ongoing work in reviewing the Coroner’s Act 1995 (Tas).
TAS government response July 2024
We need to further consider what this recommendation means for Tasmania.
In Tasmania, we do not have a specialist disability focussed death review mechanism to consider relevant information about how a person with disability has died.
The death of a person with disability is not a reportable death under the Coroners Act 1995 (Tas), however the Coroners Act does cover deaths that have occurred in custody, deaths in mental health facilities, deaths in relation to a medical procedure or deaths that have occurred whilst a person was escaping or attempting to escape from prison, a detention centre, a secure mental health unit, police custody or was in the custody of a person for the purposes of taking that person to or from a court.
Given our current position, we will need to consider how we would establish a disability death review scheme in Tasmania.
Victoria
Response: Accept in principle
Status: Further work required
What has been achieved to date
Progress on this recommendation is dependent on further work by the Commonwealth Government in relation to Recommendation 11.16.
The Victorian Government remains committed to accepting this recommendation in principle and has commenced preparatory work, including scoping existing processes and systems in place to guide Victoria's response to the recommendation and to enable a positive and productive working relationship with the Commonwealth and other states and territories.
VIC government response July 2024
We accept this recommendation in principle.
We will work with other states and territories to develop an appropriate scheme that will fulfil recommendations 11.14, 11.15 and 11.16.
We will also work with the Commonwealth, states and territories to achieve a nationally consistent approach in the review and development of the legislation needed to meet this recommendation.
Western Australia
Response: Subject to further consideration
Status: Subject to further consideration
What has been achieved to date
As part of an analysis of the state’s broader statutory and disability policy frameworks, the WA Government will consider measures in place to protect people with disability and prevent avoidable deaths, including existing and new mechanisms.
WA government response July 2024
The WA Government recognises the importance of systemic reviews of the deaths of people with disability to better understand and address potentially avoidable deaths. Further consideration is required for this recommendation to determine an appropriate mechanism to operate this scheme, with integration across an overarching safeguarding approach.
What the Disability Royal Commission said in the final report
States and territories should establish and appropriately resource disability death review schemes. These schemes should include:
a) functions to:
- receive, assess and record ‘reviewable deaths’ of people with disability, as defined in recommendation 11.15
- monitor and review reviewable deaths
- formulate recommendations about policies and practices to prevent or reduce reviewable deaths
- maintain a register of reviewable deaths
- formulate strategies to reduce or remove potentially avoidable risk factors for reviewable deaths
- establish and support the work of an expert advisory committee
b) powers to:
- scrutinise systems for reporting reviewable deaths
- undertake detailed reviews of information relating to reviewable deaths
- conduct own motion investigations into individual or groups of deaths
- analyse data on the causes of reviewable deaths to identify patterns and trends
- consult with, and obtain information from, any person or body with relevant information or appropriate expertise
- invite and consider information from the deceased person’s family or guardian or advocate when reviewing and/or investigating a death
- notify the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission of matters relevant to the exercise of its functions
- refer identified concerns about conduct or service provision to relevant regulatory bodies for their consideration and appropriate action
- publish reports periodically on systemic findings and recommendations arising from all reviewable deaths
- make a special report to the relevant state or territory parliament about any matter that the scheme operator considers to be in the public interest.
More recommendations
View progress on other recommendations made by the Royal Commission.