Restraint and Seclusion

Violence through restraint and seclusion is used primarily against people with disabilities in accommodation services, schools, mental health facilities and prisons/detention.

When people with disabilities are subjected to violence rather than appropriate supports, especially in settings marked by incompetence, negligence, or harmful conduct, the use of restrictive practices amounts to abuse, assault, and false imprisonment.

Previous commitments to reduce and eliminate restraint and seclusion have not eventuated. Past and current approaches have failed.

The disability community sees no genuine or expert attempts to address the high rates of violence against people with disabilities. We are particularly alarmed at the widespread and increasing use of these abusive practices on children with disabilities in the education system.

Engagement with the disability community, long ignored on this issue, is essential if restraint and seclusion are to be reduced and eliminated.

Recent changes to mental health legislation signal the government’s unwillingness to ensure that the disability community, in line with self-determination, leads the shift away from violence against our peers.

DPOV endorses Recommendation 6.35 of the Disability Royal Commission, Recommendations 54 and 55 of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, and Recommendation 75 from the Yoorrook Justice Commission. Legal frameworks must be strengthened. Restrictive practices must be eliminated.

We call upon the Victorian government to urgently engage with the disability community to protect the safety and lives of its members by fundamentally reforming its approach to restrictive practices.

Updated February 2026