BackThe Queensland Ombudsman’s report, The Forensic Disability Service report: An investigation into the detention of people at the Forensic Disability Service, was tabled by the Honourable Curtis Pitt MP, Speaker of the Queensland Parliament on Thursday 22 August 2019.
The Queensland Ombudsman, Mr Phil Clarke, said he started the investigation after he received information that raised serious concerns about the treatment of persons detained at the Forensic Disability Service (FDS), a facility for the involuntary detention and care of people found unfit to stand trial as a result of an intellectual or cognitive disability.
The Ombudsman’s report includes opinions about administrative actions by the Department of Communities, Disability Services and Seniors and the Director of Forensic Disability (the department and the director share responsibility for FDS operations) and makes 15 recommendations, under the Ombudsman Act 2001, for improved decision-making and administrative fairness.
“The implementation of these recommendations will support care for the very vulnerable people detained at the FDS, to protect their human rights and to promote their early transition to supported care in the community,” Mr Clarke said.
“This investigation found a wide range of problems in the care of people detained at the FDS including the length of detention, their care during detention, the lack of adequate programs and the use of seclusion and other regulated behaviour controls.”
The investigation found one person detained at the FDS, referred to by the pseudonym ‘Adrian’ in the report, has been subject to back-to-back three-hour seclusion orders for more than six years.
“Upon reviewing the circumstances of Adrian’s case, the investigation found that he had been secluded 99% of the time between admission at the FDS in 2012 and September 2018,” Mr Clarke said.
“Having carefully examined evidence obtained from the FDS, the director and the department, the investigation concluded that the approach to secluding Adrian has been contrary to law, unreasonable, oppressive and improperly discriminatory.
“Overall, the investigation found the FDS was significantly non-compliant with legislation designed to safeguard the care, protection and rehabilitation of the vulnerable persons it accommodated,” he said.
Source: Queensland Ombudsman, Australia
