Protecting Clients From Violence, Abuse, Neglect, Exploitation and Discrimination

Any client receiving care - regardless of age, gender or disability - should be able to access support without experiencing (or fearing) violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation or discrimination.

Abusive behaviour of any kind towards clients (from staff, residents or others) is a violation of basic human rights and unacceptable in any setting (Better Health Channel 2016).

A client’s right to access support without suffering abuse is set out under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Practice Standard 1: ‘Violence, Abuse, Neglect, Exploitation and Discrimination’ and the Aged Care Quality Standard 8: ‘Organisational Governance’ for disability and aged care services respectively.

The following article provides an outline of different forms of abusive behaviour so that you can recognise the signs and take action.