Changes to the Disability Services Act by the Queensland Government, apparently in the wake of COVID-19, allow people with disabilities in care to be locked in their homes if a service provider deems it necessary for them to comply with health directions.
An independent watchdog has warned that the changes to disability laws were rushed through by the government as restrictions have been placed which would otherwise have been considered criminal and violation of rights.
Going out into the community and even access to services can also be frozen if they pose a risk to the health and safety of a person or others under changes to another made to act.
Queensland’s Public Advocate, Mary Burgess, told a parliamentary committee hearing into the state’s pandemic health response this was done “inexplicably” as restrictions were easing back.
“And yet, they are now in place and able to be used lawfully against a person’s disability until the 31st of December this year and possibly beyond that if they are extended,” she said.
Ms. Burgess added there had been “no consultation” with disability service providers or advocates, no “demonstrated need” for the changes, and no requirement for reporting, monitoring, or oversight of the use of the new powers.
It also raised “genuine questions” about what it meant for the state to be a human rights jurisdiction.
“The authorization of actions that would otherwise constitute criminal or tortious acts against a group of vulnerable Queenslanders is a significant infringement of their fundamental human rights,” she said.
The amendments came as part of a sweeping bill passed through Parliament in May, which included changes to bail laws and the threat of jail for breaching public health directions.
