Work-related violence in residential disability care

Workers' experience of WRV in the residential disability sector

WorkSafe Victoria partnered with the National Disability Services (NDS) and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) to better understand the problem and identify solutions to drive systemic change.

A large cross-sectional survey of residential support workers in Australia (n = 261) found:

• 84% of survey participants reported they’d experienced WRV in the past 12 months
• 33% experienced WRV every week, every day, or several times per day
• 76% who experienced WRV reported that it was primarily perpetrated by residents
• 47% reported they did not receive adequate post-incident support

Little is known about the factors contributing to WRV in the residential disability sector, or the broader systemic changes required to prevent WRV. A recent systematic review found that most interventions to prevent WRV in care settings focus on the immediate work environment (QUT , 2023). No studies had considered prevention strategies in the broader regulatory and government environment.

Project: A Systems Thinking Analysis of Work-Related Violence in the Australian Residential Disability Sector

Project Aims

• To understand disability residential support workers' experience of WRV in Australia.
• Identify the actors who share responsibility for WRV in the residential disability sector in Victoria.
• Identify the multiple, interacting factors contributing to WRV incidents in the Victorian residential disability sector.
• Identify strategies to prevent and reduce the risk of WRV incidents in Victoria.

Project Steering Committee Organisational Membership

• Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH)
• DFFH Office of Professional Practice
• National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
• NDIS Quality & Safeguards Commission
• Health and Community Services Union
• Yooralla
• Scope Australia
• People with Lived Experience
• National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)

Project Outcomes

The research indicated options for consideration to reduce the prevalence of WRV within the residential disability sector. These options can be found in the below resource.