We are here to help protect the rights of people with disability in Tasmania.

Under the Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act 2024 (the Act), our role is to prevent harm, promote inclusion, and ensure that people with disability are treated with dignity and respect. We do this by listening, investigating, educating, and working with others to create safer, more inclusive communities.

Here is how we do that:

Preventing and reducing violence, abuse, neglect, coercion and exploitation

Everyone with disability has a right to be safe and treated with dignity.

We are committed to helping prevent and reduce violence, abuse, neglect, coercion and exploitation of people with disability. We do this by:

  • Receiving and investigating reports of harm;
  • Investigating systemic concerns affecting many people with disability;
  • Promoting the rights and voices of people with disability;
  • Promoting greater inclusion and access for Tasmanians with disability;
  • Making recommendations to government and services to improve safety and inclusion; and
  • Raising awareness and educating the community about disability rights.

For more information, visit Understanding violence, abuse, neglect, coercion and exploitation.

Reports

Anyone can make a report to us. You can work with us to determine the best way to make a report to us, because it does not need to be in writing. The Act says a report should be about things that mean a person with disability is or might be experiencing violence, abuse, neglect coercion or exploitation.  You can also tell the Commissioner about other things affecting people with disability but this information may not be considered a report under the Act. See the Make a report page for more information

We assess all reports against the risk of harm to the person. This means we start by asking questions about the person and the incident (if it is relevant). This is so we can determine what the risk is to the person now and in the future. Knowing this risk helps us to determine what action we can take and how quickly we will take that action.

Some reports will be investigated. An investigation means we take the allegations in a report and gather evidence to determine the facts. Once we have all of the facts about the allegations, the Commissioner might make recommendations about how to change or make a situation better, either now or in the future.

Referrals

If you make a report to the Commissioner that can be managed by another authority, the Act says we must refer it to them to manage. We will always tell you when we make these referrals, and we will do our best to be kept informed about the outcome of a referral. The other authorities we must refer to are:

  • Anti-Discrimination Commissioner: This Commissioner investigates and addresses complaints of discrimination to promote equality and prevent discriminatory practices.
  • Health Complaints Commissioner: This Commissioner handles complaints about health services and providers, aiming to resolve issues and improve the safety and quality of health care.
  • Commissioner for Children and Young People: This Commissioner advocates for the rights and well-being of children and young people, ensuring their voices are heard in matters affecting them.
  • Independent Regulator: This Regulator oversees the implementation of child and youth safety standards and manages the reportable conduct scheme to protect children and young people.
  • NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission: The Commission regulates and improves the quality and safety of services funded by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) across Australia. They can do this in different ways. They also accept complaints about services provided to NDIS participants.
  • Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA): AHPRA works with National Boards to regulate health practitioners, ensuring they are qualified and practising safely.
  • Tasmania Police: We will refer any evidence of criminal activity to the Police.

We may also refer you to other services to help. Some of these are listed on our Find Help page.