Disability Services (Amendment) Act 2000 (Vic)

Disability Services (Amendment) Act 2000

Act No. 19/2000

TABLE OF PROVISIONS

Section	Page
PART 1—PRELIMINARY	1

1.	Purposes	1
2.	Commencement	2

PART 2—AMENDMENTS TO THE DISABILITY SERVICES ACT

1991   3

3.	Principal Act	3
4.	Division into Parts	3
5.	Definitions	3
6.	Insertion of new Part 3	4
PART 3—COMMUNITY VISITORS	4

7.            Functions of community visitors with respect to

residential service providers 4
8.	Visiting a residential service provider 4
9.	Powers of inspection 5
10.	Request to see a panel of community visitors 6
11.	Record of visits 6

PART 3—AMENDMENTS TO THE INTELLECTUALLY

DISABLED PERSONS' SERVICES ACT 1986 8

7.	Principal Act	8
8.	Repeal of reference to aversive therapy	8
9.	Functions of community visitor	8
10.	Persons deemed to be community visitors	8

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NOTES 9

i

Victoria

No. 19 of 2000

Disability Services (Amendment) Act

2000†

[Assented to 16 May 2000]

The Parliament of Victoria enacts as follows:

PART 1—PRELIMINARY

1. Purposes

The purposes of this Act are—

(a) to amend the Disability Services Act 1991 to provide for community visitors and to make other minor amendments to that Act;

Disability Services (Amendment) Act 2000

s. 2 Act No. 19/2000

(b) to amend the Intellectually Disabled Persons' Services Act 1986 to make further provision for community visitors and to make other minor amendments to that Act.

2. Commencement

(1) This Part comes into operation on the day after the

day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.

(2) Subject to sub-section (3), the remaining

provisions of this Act come into operation on a

day or days to be proclaimed.

(3) If a provision referred to in sub-section (2) does

not come into operation before 1 July 2001, it

comes into operation on that day.

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Disability Services (Amendment) Act 2000

Act No. 19/2000 s. 3

PART 2—AMENDMENTS TO THE DISABILITY SERVICES

ACT 1991

3. Principal Act No. 80/1991. Reprint No. 1

In this Part the Disability Services Act 1991 is	as at 30 April 1998. Further
called the Principal Act.	amended by No. 46/1998.

4. Division into Parts

(1) Before section 1 of the Principal Act insert

"PART 1—PRELIMINARY".

(2) After section 3 of the Principal Act insert

"PART 2—FUNDING".

5. Definitions

In section 3 of the Principal Act insert the
following definitions—

' "community visitor" means a person appointed

or deemed to be a community visitor under
Division 5 of Part 5 of the Intellectually

Disabled Persons' Services Act 1986;

"region" has the same meaning as in the

Intellectually Disabled Persons' Services

Act 1986;

"residential service provider" means a person or

body who has received funding under section 4 for the purpose of providing residential services to persons with

disabilities;

"senior staff member" means a person appointed

by a residential service provider to carry out
the functions specified in this Act;'.

Disability Services (Amendment) Act 2000

s. 6 Act No. 19/2000

6. Insertion of new Part 3

After section 6 of the Principal Act insert—

'PART 3—COMMUNITY VISITORS

7.  Functions of community visitors with respect to residential service providers

In respect of a residential service provider, the functions of a community visitor are, if the provider is within the region for which the visitor is appointed, to visit the provider

and inquire into—

(a) facilities for the accommodation,

the appropriateness and standard of residents; and

(b)

the adequacy of opportunities and education and training of residents; and

(c)

whether services are being provided in specified in Schedule 2; and

(d) any complaint made to a community visitor by a resident.

8. Visiting a residential service provider

(1) A community visitor or a panel of

community visitors may visit a residential
service provider with or without any
previous notice at such times and for such
periods as the community visitor or panel

thinks fit.

(2) The Minister may direct a community visitor

or a panel of community visitors to visit a

Disability Services (Amendment) Act 2000

Act No. 19/2000 s. 6

residential service provider at such times as

the Minister directs.

9. Powers of inspection

(1) A community visitor is entitled, when

visiting a residential service provider, to— (a) inspect any part of the premises; and (b) see any resident; and

(c)	make enquiries relating to the admission and care of residents; and
(d)	inspect any document relating to any resident and any records required to be kept by or under this Act.

(2) Where a community visitor wishes to

perform or exercise or is performing or
exercising any power, duty or function under
this Act, the senior staff member of the
residential service provider must provide the
community visitor with such reasonable
assistance as the community visitor requires
to perform or exercise that power, duty or

function effectively.

(3) Any member of the staff or management of a

residential service provider, who—

(a)

unreasonably refuses or neglects to so under sub-section (2); or

(b)	does not give full and true answers to the best of that person's knowledge to any questions asked by a community visitor in the performance or exercise of
any power, duty or function under this Act; or

Disability Services (Amendment) Act 2000

s. 6 Act No. 19/2000

(c) assaults, obstructs, hinders, threatens, intimidates or attempts to obstruct or intimidate a community visitor visiting

a residential service provider—

is guilty of an offence against this Act and
liable to a penalty of not more than
25 penalty units.

10.  Request to see a panel of community visitors

(1) Any resident in a residential service

provider, or any person on behalf of the
resident, may request the senior staff
member to arrange for the resident to be seen
by a community visitor.

(2) The senior staff member must within 7 days of receiving a request under sub-section (1) advise one of the community visitors for the region that a request has been made.

Penalty: 2 penalty units.

(3) After seeing a resident requesting to be seen, the community visitor may submit a report to the Secretary containing such

recommendations as he or she considers

appropriate.

11. Record of visits

(1) The senior staff member must keep a record

in the prescribed form of visits by
community visitors.
Penalty: 2 penalty units.

Disability Services (Amendment) Act 2000

Act No. 19/2000 s. 6

(2) In this section, "prescribed form" means a

form to the same effect as the form
prescribed for the purposes of section 59 of
the Intellectually Disabled Persons'
Services Act 1986.'.

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Disability Services (Amendment) Act 2000

s. 7 Act No. 19/2000

PART 3—AMENDMENTS TO THE INTELLECTUALLY

DISABLED PERSONS' SERVICES ACT 1986

No. 53/1986.	7. Principal Act
Reprint No. 4
as at
8 October	In this Part the Intellectually Disabled Persons'
1998. Further	Services Act 1986 is called the Principal Act.
amended by No. 12/1999.

8. Repeal of reference to aversive therapy

In section 51(f) of the Principal Act, for
", seclusion or aversive therapy" substitute "or

seclusion"

9. Functions of community visitor

(1) In section 54(d) of the Principal Act, for

", seclusion and aversive therapy" substitute "and

seclusion".

(2) At the end of section 54 of the Principal Act

insert—

"(2) In addition to the functions set out in sub-

section (1) the functions of a community
visitor include any functions conferred on

community visitors under any other Act.".

10. Persons deemed to be community visitors

In section 55(1) of the Principal Act, after "Act" (where twice occurring) insert "or the Disability Services Act 1991".

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Disability Services (Amendment) Act 2000

Act No. 19/2000 Notes

NOTES

†

Minister's second reading speech—

Legislative Assembly: 4 April 2000

Legislative Council: 9 May 2000

The long title for the Bill for this Act was "to amend the Disability
Services Act 1991 and the Intellectually Disabled Persons' Services
Act 1986 to make provision for community visitors and for other
purposes."