Submission No 22

SUPPORTED DECISION-MAKING IN NSW

Organisation: Disability Council NSW

Date Received: 13 March 2026

Our ref: D26/617186 13 March 2026

NSW Parliament Committee on Ageing and Disability Parliament House Macquarie Street Sydney NSW 2000

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RE: Inquiry into Supported Decision-Making for Adults with Disability and Older People in NSW

Dear NSW Parliament Committee on Ageing and Disability

Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback into the inquiry into supported decision making in NSW.

Introduction

This submission is made by the Disability Council NSW (the ‘Council’), an independent statutory body advising the Minister for Disability Inclusion on matters affecting people with disability, their families, and carers across NSW.

The Council welcomes the Committee’s inquiry into supported decision-making. People with disability and older adults often lack structured opportunities to have their lived experience inform the design, delivery, and evaluation of decision-making supports. This inquiry is therefore critical to ensuring that supported decision-making is implemented effectively, that substitute decision-making remains a last resort, and that systems uphold autonomy, dignity, and rights.

Supported decision-making also reflects Australia’s obligations under Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which recognises the equal right of people with disability to enjoy legal capacity and to receive the support they may require in exercising that capacity. Legislative and policy frameworks should therefore enable people with disability and older people to exercise their legal capacity with appropriate supports.

The Council particularly acknowledges the importance of including Aboriginal and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, rural and remote populations,

and older adults with cognitive or complex health needs in the design of supported decision-making processes.

Importantly, while the Ageing and Disability Commissioner Act 2019 (NSW) provides mechanisms to protect people with disability and older adults, there is currently no comprehensive supported decision-making framework codified in NSW law. Legislative reform is therefore needed to ensure that supported decision-making is explicitly recognised, standardised, and embedded across government systems and services.

Victoria has enacted the Supported Decision-Making (Recognition) Act 2019, which legally recognises supported decision-making arrangements as an alternative to substitute decision-making. This legislation provides a practical example of how NSW could codify supported decision-making, including clear duties for supporters, documentation requirements, and safeguards to protect the autonomy and rights of people with disability. Currently, NSW lacks a comparable law, highlighting a gap that legislative reform could address to embed supported decision-making across government systems.

Principles of Supported Decision-Making

Supported decision-making reflects the fundamental human rights of people with disability and older adults to exercise choice, control, and autonomy over their lives. Supported decision-making frameworks should prioritise the person’s will and preferences, rather than substituting a “best interests” judgment made by others. The Council emphasises that:
People have diverse support needs, and effective supported decision-making requires personalised, flexible approaches that respect individual preferences, culture, and communication styles.
Substitute decision-making should only occur when necessary, with clear safeguards, transparent documentation, and independent oversight.
Safeguards should ensure that supporters assist individuals to express their own will and preferences and do not exert undue influence or substitute their own judgement.
Supported decision-making must be accessible through plain language communication, Easy Read materials, and culturally and linguistically appropriate resources.
NSW legislation should explicitly recognise supported decision-making as a rights-based alternative to substitute decision-making, providing clear duties for service providers, safeguards, and review processes.
People with disability have a lot of difficulty with policy language and this is often a barrier to supported decision making. It is important that the people helping with supported decisions also understand policy and the language that government policies and documents use.
Even with more accessible language, some people will still need help with making decisions.

Decision-making ability should not be viewed as fixed. With appropriate support, many people can strengthen their ability to make and communicate decisions over time.
Sometimes supported decision making also includes having someone who can help to communicate choices and decisions on the person’s behalf (writing, speaking, interpreting meaning etc) – this is a DIFFERENT role to an advocate.
There should be training so that more people can learn how to help people with disability and older people to understand, make, and communicate their decisions.
There should be funding to support people, agency staff, and families to learn how to help with supported decision making.
There should be funding to help people with disability and older people to know about and how to access support for making decisions – especially when there is no family or if they do not want or can’t ask family to help.
Supported decision making includes helping people to understand the information and to understand what decisions there are available. For some people, it may also include helping to know how to decide.
Supported decision making is made more difficult for people who find communication hard – this might need more, or a different kind of help.
Funding should be available for people to access supported decision makers if they need it, perhaps in the same way that they can access interpreters.
People helping with supported decision making need to have a good understanding of the different cultural backgrounds and other demographic characteristics of people with disability and older people that intersect with disability and may influence the decisions they want to make.
Co-design is hard for people with disability who have communication difficulties. People will need support to have input into co-design about supported decision making, as well as information in easier formats/languages etc. to fully participate in co-design processes.
Communication is hard – so people should be able to provide their input/feedback to development and review in different ways that are easier for them.
Guardians and substitute decision makers should always help people to make their own decisions as much as they can, even though there is an appointed substitute decision maker in place.

Current Challenges and Barriers

The Council observes that barriers to effective supported decision-making persist across NSW, including:

Awareness and Understanding: Evidence from the Disability Royal Commission and specialist research1 show that many people with disability, along with their families

and support networks, are unaware of supported decision-making options or their rights under the Ageing and Disability Commissioner Act 2019. This knowledge gap prevents informed participation and can lead to unnecessary reliance on substitute decision-making. 2) Access to Lived Experience Expertise: Services and decision-makers often lack structured mechanisms to meaningfully incorporate the perspectives of people with disability in decisions that affect them. Research from the Disability Royal Commission2 demonstrates that supported decision-making frameworks are most effective when co-designed, implemented, and evaluated with people with lived experience, particularly those with cognitive disability. Embedding lived experience ensures decisions reflect the person’s will and preferences, uphold dignity, and are practical and inclusive. 3) Cultural Safety and Inclusion: Evidence demonstrates that Aboriginal people and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities with disability, particularly those living in rural and remote areas, report limited availability of services and a lack of cultural safety. The evidence also reflects other challenges relating to equity and inclusion, including socio-economic factors and barriers to school and community integration3. The Council acknowledges the frequent intersection and compounding of these challenges, restricting access to supports essential for exercising autonomy. 4) Continuity of Support: Where supports are inconsistent or fragmented—particularly in interactions with multiple agencies—people may be unable to exercise informed choice, potentially leading to reliance on substituted decision-making unnecessarily. Australian disability research resources emphasise that sustained, collaborative support structures are necessary for realising supported decision‑making in practice, not only isolated moments of assistance.4 5) Documentation and Transparency: Australian disability research underscores both the frequent absence of, and the critical need for transparent documentation and clear records in supported decision‑making to uphold accountability and ensure that the person’s will and preferences are accurately recorded and reviewable. Resources such as the La Trobe Supported Decision‑Making practice framework (as

summarised by Inclusion Australia)5, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission’s Evidence‑Informed Practice Guide 6 and the Disability Royal Commission’s supported decision‑making research 7 all affirm that documentation, reflection, review, and integration into everyday supports are central to effective supported decision‑making practice. Legislative reform should codify clear documentation and review requirements across NSW agencies.

Opportunities for Improvement

The Council recommends that the NSW Government consider the following measures to strengthen supported decision-making:

Legislative and Policy Reform a) Develop and codify a comprehensive supported decision-making framework in NSW law, recognising supported decision-making as a legal alternative to substitute decision-making. The framework should apply consistently across key life domains including health care, housing, financial matters, disability services, and interactions with government systems. b) Embed clear duties for service providers and government agencies to facilitate supported decision-making and provide accessible, culturally safe support. c) Mandate documentation, regular review, and independent oversight through the Ageing and Disability Commission or another independent body. d) Use Victoria’s Supported Decision-Making (Recognition) Act 2019 as a model, adapting its duties, safeguards, and documentation standards to the NSW context.
Education and Capacity-Building a) Implement mandatory training for service providers, support workers, and relevant agencies on supported decision-making principles, communication strategies, and cultural safety. b) Develop co-designed, scenario-based training modules with people with lived experience of disability to ensure practical relevance.
Accessible Information and Resources

a) Ensure all relevant information is available in multiple accessible formats, including Easy Read, audio, and translated resources. b) Promote public awareness campaigns to increase understanding of supported decision-making rights and options. c) Provide identified and obvious channels for complaints and feedback in all public institutions for individuals who have concerns about their treatment or engagement in relation to supported decision-making. 4. Integration with Existing Services a) Align initiatives with the NSW Disability Inclusion Plan 2026–2029, particularly in relation to upholding rights, creating safe communities, and improving access to mainstream services. b) Strengthen coordination between the Ageing and Disability Commission, disability services, and other government agencies to deliver wraparound support. 5. Prioritising Aboriginal and CALD Communities a) Develop culturally safe frameworks for supported decision-making, including culturally validated assessment tools and engagement with community elders or cultural advisors. b) Actively involve Aboriginal and culturally and linguistically diverse people with disability in the design, delivery, and evaluation of supported decision-making services. 6. Monitoring, Data, and Accountability a) Collect and publish disaggregated data on supported decision-making usage, outcomes, and barriers, including by disability type, age, gender, and cultural background. b) Establish clear accountability mechanisms, including regular reporting to the Minister for Disability Inclusion and independent oversight by the Ageing and Disability Commission. 7. Safeguards for Substitute Decision-Making a) Ensure that substitute decision-making is clearly documented, reviewed regularly, and only used when absolutely necessary. b) Promote transparent review processes to ensure the rights and preferences of the person remain central.

Conclusion

The Disability Council NSW recognises supported decision-making as a cornerstone of human rights and disability inclusion. Effective, person-centred supported decision-making reduces reliance on substituted decision-making, promotes autonomy, and strengthens social inclusion. These reforms would help ensure that the will,

preferences, and rights of people with disability remain central to decisions affecting their lives.

The Council urges the Committee to recommend measures that:

Prioritise lived experience in policy and practice development;
Provide accessible, culturally safe, and person-centred supports;
Ensure robust monitoring, transparency, and accountability; and
Embed supported decision-making across government systems in a way that is practical, sustainable, and rights-based.
Implement legislative reform to codify supported decision-making as a legal framework, addressing current gaps in NSW law, and consider Victoria’s legislative example in designing NSW reforms.

The Disability Council NSW welcomes the opportunity to further contribute to this inquiry and supports reforms that uphold the rights, safety, and agency of adults with disability and older people in NSW.

Thank you once again for the opportunity to provide feedback.

Yours faithfully

redacted: s47F - Personal privacy

Jane Spring AM Chair