Advocacy
See below some of our key policy asks and the changes we want to see. In the yellow boxes there are plain english explanations of the blue boxes.
The Independent Third Person Program is a volunteer service that helps people living with disabilities when they being interviewed by police.
It can help to make sure they are treated fairly during the process.
Policy ask 1: Change the Crimes Act to require an Independent Third Person for those with intellectual disability
The Independent Third Person Program is a volunteer service.
It helps people living with disabilities when they are being interviewed by police. This makes sure they are not disadvantaged during the process.
The Office of the Public Advocate runs this program. However, the program is currently under-funded.
The Victorian Government should change the Crimes Act. There should be a requirement to have an independent person available when police interview a person with a cognitive impairment or mental illness.
The Victorian Government should properly resource and professionalise The Independent Third Person Program.
The program should support people with disability from their first contact with the police all the way through court or tribunal processes. The program should also refer people to service and support agencies.
Too many people with disabilities don’t get to use this service – so we think it needs to be better funded.
It should also be against the law for the police to interview a person with an ABI without making this service available.
Policy ask 2: ABI awareness campaign
The Victorian Government should fund a campaign to raise awareness about ABI, including its causes, risk factors, symptoms and referrals for support.
This should be informed by consultation with self-advocates who have lived experience of ABIs.
More people need to know and understand what an ABI is.
We think the government should make sure this information available to everyone!
Policy ask 3: Integrated family violence and ABI service
The Victorian government should follow a recommendation from Brain Injury Australia to trial an integrated brain injury and family violence service. This service would better meet the needs of family violence victim-survivors who have an acquired brain injury, or who are at risk of one
Supports in the service should include:
A formal system for recording and following through with brain injury concerns,
Including a risk assessment framework with red flags for brain injuryPre-screening for ABIs through questions regarding a person’s potential to have experienced a brain injury
A screening assessment that involves a brief assessment of short-term memory, as used in many hospital emergency departments Diagnosis support.
This should involve access to specialist healthcare and neuropsychology services to provide:
An accurate diagnosis, including a clear explanation of the nature of the injury and what is needed to cope and recover
Ongoing connection with services and supports
Access to funding for treatment and recovery
There is a big relationship between family violence and ABI.
Many people who are victims of family violence can end up with an ABI because of that violence.
This means that Family Violence support services need to work together with brain injury services to make sure victim/survivors get the support they need.
Policy asks 4: Expand the ARC model
The Victorian government has committed to establish the Assessment and Referral Court Model at all 12 headquarter magistrates courts across Victoria over the next three years.
This is a welcome change, but the courts can do more to make their processes accessible for people with ABIs. They can also do more to address underlying conditions behind offenses, such as ABIs and alcohol and drug use.
Every court in Victoria should introduce a key element from the ARC model, which is judicial monitoring. Judicial monitoring is a is a process in which a judge actively monitors a defendant's progress and compliance with their sentence. It focuses on rehabilitation rather than punishment.
It helps address the root causes of offending, which can include ABIs and drug and alcohol use. In this process, the judge will set goals with the person for positive behaviour change. This can include participation in treatment and support programs. Throughout this process, it helps when judges use informal seating arrangements to help with communication, which is especially important for people with ABIs.
Judicial monitoring focuses on rehabilitation rather than punishment.
Judicial monitoring means that the judge supports you once you have been given a sentence. We think that this should be expanded to all courts in Victoria.
This would mean that the judge sits at your level, sets goals with you, and connects you to treatment and support programs.