Reports of mistreatment, assault and neglect in the New South Wales disability sector spiked last year, while complaints about disability services reached their highest level in more than a decade.
The figures, released by the NSW ombudsman, have prompted new warnings about the looming loss of funding to the disability advocacy groups, which give a voice to the most vulnerable.
The state’s ombudsman received a total of 838 complaints, 402 formal and 436 informal, about disability services in 2015-16, according to its annual report.
It’s the highest number of complaints the ombudsman has received about disability in a decade, and represented a 42% increase on the previous year.
The ombudsman was also notified of 785 “reportable incidents”, an increase of 14%. About 400 of those involved clients, and were mostly allegations of neglect, physical assault and ill-treatment.
Allegations of client neglect increased by 175%.
There was a 31% jump in complaints about disability accommodation providers, which are operated, funded or licensed by the Department of Family and Community Services.
The NSW government is currently moving out of the disability sector as the nation transitions towards a fully operating national disability insurance scheme.
The NSW opposition seized on the statistics as evidence the state government had failed to address the “endemic abuse and mistreatment of some of the most vulnerable members of our community”.
The shadow disability services minister, Sophie Cotsis, said the government had “clocked off” ahead of the NDIS transition.
“This report has again highlighted the NSW government’s complete lack of care or understanding when it comes to people with disability,” she said.
“The increasing number of reportable incidents of abuse against people with disability is particularly horrific, given many have simply been dismissed without facing criminal charges.”
The NSW government is planning to end funding to disability advocacy groups in the state, arguing they can now be supported by the federal government through the NDIS.
But at least 50 groups in NSW say the loss of state funding would cause their closure.
The Physical Disability Council of NSW executive officer, Serena Ovens, said advocacy groups were crucial in giving a voice to people who were abused or neglected in group homes.
The closure of advocacy groups would deny a voice to people with a disability, particularly the most vulnerable.
“It’s not unless they have access to an advocate that these things get picked up, and that people work out that actually what’s happened to them isn’t right, and isn’t acceptable,” Ovens told Guardian Australia.
“The government’s message is that the NDIS will cover it. The state government is completely wiping its hands of anything to do with disability in NSW, and suggesting the NDIS is the be-all-and-end-all with anything to do with disability,” she said.
Guardian Australia approached the disability services minister, Ray Williams, for comment about the ombudsman’s report. A response was provided by the Department of Family and Community Services, which said the increased number of complaints “do not necessarily mean people are more vulnerable”.
A spokesman said the department and the ombudsman had invested heavily in client and consumer rights training, which helped people with a disability to understand safeguard and complaint mechanisms.
People with a disability, he said, now felt more confident in making a complaint.
“FACS monitors the data on complaints in the disability services sector closely to ensure any trends relating to the quality of service provision are recognised and addressed,” he said.
“More complaints do not necessarily mean people are more vulnerable. NSW safeguards have been maintained throughout NDIS transition and service transfer. These safeguards are among the strongest nationally.”
