Dignity, respect and trauma-informed service

Dignity and respect. A Code duty holder must treat each person with inherent worth, courtesy, honesty and respect, and must protect the person’s privacy, bodily and psychological integrity, autonomy and right to pursue a grievance.

Recognition of expertise. A duty holder must recognise that a person with disability is the primary expert in their own life and must listen to, accurately record and genuinely consider the person’s account, goals, circumstances, experience of disability, support needs and assessment of risk.

Prohibited treatment. A duty holder must not communicate or behave in a manner that is humiliating, patronising, intimidating, coercive, dismissive, sarcastic, accusatory, threatening, stigmatising or dehumanising, or that treats the person as a burden, problem or administrative inconvenience.

No prejudgment from presentation. A duty holder must not infer dishonesty, exaggeration, lack of capacity, lack of insight, non-cooperation or lack of need solely or substantially from a person’s tone, affect, eye contact, body language, memory gaps, distress, shutdown, agitation, repetition, delayed response, use of scripted language, inconsistent presentation or need for communication support.

Trauma-informed preparation. Before a material interaction, the responsible worker must, so far as practicable:

1. identify themself, their role and the purpose of the interaction;

2. explain any decision or consequence that may result from the interaction;

3. check the person’s communication preferences and required adjustments;

4. offer a reasonable choice of time, channel and presence of a nominee, advocate, interpreter, communication partner or support person; and

5. give enough information in advance for the person to prepare without being unfairly surprised.

Trauma-informed conduct. During a material interaction, the duty holder must:

1. use clear, non-judgmental language and explain why sensitive information is needed before asking for it;

2. allow the person time to process, respond, ask questions, use communication support and take breaks;

3. avoid requiring repeated disclosure of distressing or traumatic information where reliable information is already available;

4. check understanding without treating agreement, eye contact, speed of response or emotional presentation as proof of understanding; and

5. pause, reschedule or change the method where continuing would be unsafe, ineffective or likely to cause avoidable retraumatisation, unless an immediate safety issue requires action.

Response to distress or dysregulation. Where a person becomes distressed, overwhelmed, dysregulated, withdrawn or unable to continue, the duty holder must respond calmly, seek to understand what has occurred, offer adjustments and support, and agree or clearly explain the next safe step. The response must not be punitive.

Safety and immediate risk. Nothing in this section requires a worker to tolerate violence, threats or an immediate risk to any person’s safety. A response to immediate risk must be necessary, proportionate, disability-informed and no more restrictive than required to make the situation safe.

Restrictions on contact or access. The Agency must not restrict, alter or channel a person’s contact with the Agency unless:

1. there is specific and recorded conduct that creates a genuine service, safety or resource risk;

2. the Agency has considered whether disability, trauma, communication barriers, unresolved error or previous Agency conduct contributed to the situation;

3. reasonable adjustments and less restrictive responses have been tried or are demonstrably inadequate or unsafe;

4. the restriction is necessary, proportionate, time-limited and approved by an appropriately senior officer;

5. the person and any authorised supporter have been consulted where practicable;

6. the person receives accessible written notice of the conduct relied on, the restriction, reasons, duration, review date and complaint rights; and

7. the person retains an effective accessible channel for urgent issues, new matters, complaints, review rights and information required to prevent harm.

Conduct that is not enough by itself. Disagreement with an Agency decision, repeated pursuit of an unresolved issue, making a complaint, requesting records or reasons, using an advocate, emotional expression or disability-related communication is not, by itself, a sufficient basis for a contact or access restriction.

Review of restrictions. A contact or access restriction must be reviewed at intervals proportionate to its effect and at least every three months. It must end immediately when it is no longer necessary or proportionate.

Repair after service harm. If an Agency interaction causes avoidable distress or breaches this section, the Agency must acknowledge what occurred, correct any inaccurate or stigmatising record, apologise where appropriate, offer a safe way to continue the process and take reasonable steps to prevent repetition.