Disability Services Act 1991

This Act is the Disability Services Act 1991.

The dictionary at the end of this Act is part of this Act.

Note 1 The dictionary at the end of this Act defines certain terms used in this Act.

Note 2 A definition in the dictionary applies to the entire Act unless the definition, or another provision of the Act, provides otherwise or the contrary intention otherwise appears (see Legislation Act, s 155 and s 156 (1)).

A note included in this Act is explanatory and is not part of this Act.

Note See the Legislation Act s 127 (1), (4) and (5) for the legal status of notes.

The objects of this Act are—

to enable people with disabilities to receive the services necessary to enable them to achieve their maximum potential as members of the community; and

to enable people with disabilities to receive services that—

further their integration into the community and complement services available generally to people in the community; and

enable them to achieve a better quality of life including increased independence, employment opportunities and integration in the community; and

are provided in ways that promote in the community a positive image of people with disabilities and enhance their self-esteem; and

to ensure that the quality of life achieved by people with disabilities as the result of the services provided for them is taken into account in the granting of financial assistance for the provision of those services; and

to promote the provision of high quality and innovative supports to enable people with disabilities to maximise independent lifestyles and full inclusion in the community; and

to provide a system to administer funding for people with disabilities that is flexible and responsive to the needs and aspirations of those people.

Part 1A Specialist disability services

A specialist disability service is a service that—

is provided specifically for people with disability; and

is of a type declared by the Minister under subsection (2).

The Minister may declare a type of service to be a specialist disability service.

Examples—service types

 accommodation support services

 advocacy services

 case management services

 personal care services

 respite care services

A declaration may apply, adopt or incorporate an instrument as in force from time to time.

A declaration is a disallowable instrument.

A specialist disability service provider is a person or entity (other than the Territory) that provides specialist disability services, whether or not for profit, but does not include—

a close relative of a person with disability who provides specialist disability services to the person other than as an agent or employee of a specialist disability service provider; or

a person or entity prescribed by regulation.

In this section:

close relative of a person means the person’s—

domestic partner; or

Note Domestic partner—see the Legislation Act, s 169.

father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, stepfather, stepmother, father-in-law or mother-in-law; or

son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, stepson, stepdaughter, son-in-law or daughter-in-law; or

brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, stepsister, brother-in-law or sister-in-law; or

uncle, aunt, uncle-in-law or aunt-in-law; or

nephew, niece or cousin.

The Minister may approve standards about the provision of specialist disability services by specialist disability service providers.

Examples—matters standards may be about

 quality of services

 qualifications and training for staff

 criminal history checks

 protection of personal information

 allowing reasonable access to premises to inspect the operation of services

Note Power to make a statutory instrument includes power to make different provision in relation to different matters or different classes of matters, and to make an instrument that applies differently by reference to stated exceptions or factors (see Legislation Act, s 48).

An approved standard may apply, adopt or incorporate an instrument as in force from time to time.

An approved standard is a disallowable instrument.

Part 2 Financial Assistance

The Minister may approve grants of financial assistance to—

a provider of services; or

a person with a disability; or

a researcher;

subject to the prospective grantee entering into an agreement with the Minister under section 7.

The Minister must not approve a grant unless satisfied—

that the grant would further the principles set out in schedule 1 and comply with any guidelines referred to in section 10 (1) (a); and

that the programs and services funded by the grant would comply with the requirements set out in schedule 2.

A person or an organisation may not receive a grant unless the person or organisation enters into an agreement with the Minister in writing about the conditions on which the grant is to be made.

The reference in subsection (1) to an agreement between the Minister and an organisation includes, for an unincorporated association, an agreement between the Minister and a person on behalf of the organisation.

An agreement mentioned in subsection (1)—

if it relates to the provision of services—must state the objectives to be achieved by or in relation to the person receiving the services; and

may include provisions relating to the payment by the grantee to the Minister of an amount equal to the amount of the grant or part of the grant if there is a contravention of a condition.

An agreement mentioned in subsection (1) is subject to the condition that the grantee complies with guidelines (if any) mentioned in section 10 (1) (a) that apply to the grantee.

A reference in an agreement mentioned in subsection (1) to a condition includes the condition mentioned in subsection (4).

At intervals not exceeding 5 years, the Minister must review the extent to which—

a grantee has fulfilled the conditions of grants received by the grantee; and

the objectives stated in the conditions of a grant have been achieved.

Part 3 Official visitors

Note At least 1 official visitor must be appointed for this Act under the Official Visitor Act 2012 (the OV Act).

The OV Act sets out the functions of official visitors which includes visiting visitable places, handling complaints from entitled people and reporting on those matters.

This part defines what is an entitled person and a visitable place for the OV Act. This part also prescribes other matters for the OV Act.

In this part:

associated—a specialist disability service provider is associated with a visitable place if the provider—

is the operating entity for the place; or

owns or rents the place; or

provides a specialist disability service at the place.

entitled person means a person with disability.

official visitor, for a visitable place—see the Official Visitor Act 2012, section 6.

operating entity, for a visitable place—see the Official Visitor Act 2012, dictionary.

In this part:

visitable place—

means accommodation provided to an entitled person for respite or long-term residential purposes; and

includes—

accommodation that is owned, rented or operated by a specialist disability service provider; and

accommodation at which a specialist disability service provider provides a specialist disability service; and

a residential care home that accommodates the entitled person.

However, a visitable place does not include the following accommodation provided to an entitled person:

a private home if the person receives a specialist disability service at the home only from a person who is not a specialist disability service provider;

a private home if the person lives in the home with at least 1 adult family member who does not receive a specialist disability service from a specialist disability service provider at the home;

accommodation if the only specialist disability service the person receives at the accommodation is a type of service declared by the Minister not to require visitation;

a residential care home if the person is 65 years old or older when they first receive a specialist disability service (whether at the facility or elsewhere).

A declaration for subsection (2) (c) is a disallowable instrument.

In this section:

family member, of a person, means—

a domestic partner of the person; or

a relative of the person; or

a child of a domestic partner or former domestic partner of the person; or

a parent of a child of the person.

Note A domestic partner need not be an adult (see Legislation Act, s 169).

relative, of a person—

means the person’s—

father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, stepfather, stepmother, father-in-law or mother-in-law; or

son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, stepson, stepdaughter, son-in-law or daughter-in-law; or

brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, stepsister, brother-in-law or sister-in-law; or

uncle, aunt, uncle-in-law or aunt-in-law; or

nephew, niece or cousin; and

if the person has or had a domestic partner (other than a spouse or civil union partner)—includes someone who would have been a relative mentioned in paragraph (a) if the person had been married to or in a civil union with the domestic partner; and

if the person is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, includes the following people:

someone the person has responsibility for, or an interest in, in accordance with the traditions and customs of the person’s Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community;

someone who has responsibility for, or an interest in, the person in accordance with the traditions and customs of the person’s Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community.

residential care home means a residential care home under the Aged Care Act 2024 (Cwlth).