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Disability Legislation
Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act 2024
An Act for all Tasmanians with Disability
The Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act 2024 was passed by the Tasmanian Parliament on 17 October 2024 and commences on 1 July 2025.
The Act will advance and safeguard the human rights of all people with disability and will advance the inclusion of all people with disability.
We extend our sincere thanks to everyone who has contributed to development of the Act, and we especially thank Tasmanians with disability whose voices and experience have guided and informed the creation of the Act.
We are producing additional resources to communicate key messages about the Act in Easy Read and other accessible formats. These will be added to this website in the next few weeks and beyond – Watch This Space.
How to read the Act
The Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act 2024 is available on the Tasmanian Legislation website: https://www.legislation.tas.gov.au/view/pdf/asmade/act-2024-021/lh
An Accessible Version of the Act is available here (attached document, MS Word)
See Fact Sheets for further information on parts of the Act:
- Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act 2024 (MS Word)
- Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act 2024 – easy read version
- Defined Entities (MS Word)
- What is a disability services provider? (MS Word)
- Disability Commissioner (MS Word)
- Senior Practitioner (MS Word)
- Restrictive Practices - What’s Changing (MS Word)
- What is a Restrictive Practice? (MS Word)
- Authorisation of Restrictive Practices (MS Word)
- Appointed Program Officers (MS Word)
- Independent Persons (MS Word)
Disability Services Regulations
The Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Regulations 2025 (the Regulations) create the link between Tasmania’s legislation and the National Standards for Disability Services. The Regulations also outline practices which are prohibited.
An Accessible Version of the Regulations is available here (attached document, MS Word)
See Fact sheets for further information:
- Disability Services Standards (MS Word)
- Prohibited Practices (MS Word)
For more information
Department of Premier and Cabinet – Disability and Reform
Office of the Senior Practitioner
Marita O’Connell, Senior Practitioner
Disability Commissioner Tasmania
Catherine Whitington, Disability Commissioner
Overview of Act
Overview of Act
- The Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act 2024 implements a number of new measures for Tasmania, including:
- creating the position of a Tasmanian Disability Commissioner – the first for Tasmania;
- establishing a mechanism for the formal inclusion of people with disability in leadership through the creation of a Disability Inclusion Advisory Council;
- promoting a social model of disability and the human rights expressed within the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (UNCRPD) and Australia’s Disability Strategy (ADS);
- formalising requirements relating to consultation, planning and reporting of progress in delivering actions through a legislated Tasmanian Disability Inclusion Plan and associated action plans for defined entities such as Government Departments and GBEs;
- elevating the role of the Senior Practitioner to that of decision maker for the authorisation of restrictive practices used by disability service providers and regulates the use of restrictive practices by disability service providers; and
- making provision for a Community Visitor Scheme to be established in the future in response to a recommendation from the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability.
- Many measures in the Act align with the recommendations handed down by the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability.
- Consultation on the Disability Inclusion and Safeguarding Bill was conducted in 2022 and over August and September in 2023. Thank you to people with disability, their carers, disability advocates and supporters who provided valuable feedback during the consultation.
Resources to help understand the Act
Over the next few months DPAC will be updating resources to assist with reading and understanding the new Act.
For now, the resources below talk about the Act when it was still a Bill before Parliament. These resources are still relevant because the Bill did not change after these documents were created.
Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Bill - Easy Read Factsheet (attached document, PDF)
Tasmanian Disability Services Act 2011
The Disability Services Act 2011 remains in force until the Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act 2024 commences.
The Disability Services Act (DSA) is an Act of the Tasmanian Parliament that sets out how individuals with disability, disability service providers, and researchers are funded. It also provides the rules for the approval and conduct of restrictive practices.
The DSA began operating from 1 January 2012 and will be repealed following the commencement of the Disability Rights, Inclusion and Safeguarding Act 2024.
More information about DSA is available here: https://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/divisions/cpp/community-and-disability-services/tasmanian-disability-services-act-2011.
Tasmanian Disability Services Act 2011 Factsheets