Consultation open: nationally consistent Community Visitor Schemes

Tis’ the season for consultations (though honestly who’s to say when that season starts and ends these days). The latest is a consultation from the new Department of Health, Disability and Ageing on a nationally consistent Community Visitors Scheme (CVS). It builds on the Australian Government’s initial response to the Disability Royal Commission (DRC) in July 2024, which called for consistent CVS across all states and territories. As part of that response, the government committed $4.4 million over two years (2024–25 to 2025–26) to advance national approaches.

To support the consultation process, the government has released a paper with a characteristically long title: Discussion paper 1: Nationally Consistent Approaches to Community Visitor Schemes - Discussion Paper: Strengthening Community Visitor Schemes in Australia.

Let’s take a look.

Firstly, what is a Community Visitor Scheme?

CVS are independent oversight programs where trained community visitors (sometimes called official visitors) conduct announced or unannounced visits in congregate accommodation settings such as group homes, psychiatric facilities and supported residential services (or boarding houses). They can meet privately with residents, inspect conditions and documents, and escalate any concerns they observe or learn from residents. For people with disability, particularly those with limited informal supports, CVS can be a critical layer of protection against abuse and neglect.

These schemes operate in most jurisdictions and started before the NDIS, but they vary significantly. Some states use paid staff, others rely on volunteers and some have additional visit functions like out of home care and day programs. At the moment, only Western Australia and Tasmania don’t operate CVS for disability services.

The impact of the NDIS on CVS

With the introduction of the NDIS in 2013, disability accommodation shifted from mostly government-run facilities to a largely privatised system. This created more home and living options for people, such as smaller group homes supported under Supported Independent Living (SIL) and other personalised arrangements. Each state and territory has its own laws that define where community visitors are allowed to visit. This means that people who live in accommodation settings outside of those defined in legislation can’t receive CVS visits, leaving gaps in oversight. The supported accommodation settings that are visited vary across different schemes, with some visiting NDIS disability accommodation, others government-run disability accommodation and some visiting specialist disability accommodation (SDA) settings. Currently, CVS do not generally visit people living in private dwellings (with some exceptions in some jurisdictions). As a result, CVS now face the challenge of ensuring their legislative functions are suited to the contemporary landscape.

Another issue facing CVS programs is resourcing. With the rapid growth in disability housing options, there are far more sites to visit than before. Jurisdictions manage this in different ways, some schemes use a rolling schedule, prioritising homes that have never been visited, while others visit only when concerns are raised. This can create gaps which mean people may go without the protection of regular, independent oversight.

There is also confusion about the role of CVS in relation to the NDIS Commission. The Commission regulates providers, responds to complaints and enforces compliance. While CVS focus on human rights and person-centred safeguarding inside closed settings. This means CVS can escalate concerns to the most relevant body, including and beyond the NDIS Commission. For example, if there was a concern with a person’s housing, they might escalate the issue to a landlord or state government housing department. If there were concerns about the quality of support provided in the home, they might escalate the concern to the provider, a state regulator or safeguarding unit, and/or the NDIS Commission, depending on the situation.

The DRC found that CVS struggle to share information effectively with the NDIS Commission and the NDIA. Current processes are unclear and often require community visitors to frame issues as formal complaints when sometimes this is not appropriate. Privacy rules also mean community visitors rarely receive feedback on what happens after they raise concerns, making it harder to ensure issues are resolved. Although CVS are a critical safeguard, their role is not formally recognised in the NDIS Act or the NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Framework. This creates a mismatch, because while state laws empower visitors, at the national level, there is no official acknowledgement of their function. Without this recognition, CVS are less integrated into the broader disability safeguarding system.

If you want to go deeper, there has already been a number of reviews into the CVS scheme that have highlighted the value of CVS and the need for reform including:

• Westwood Spice CVS Review (2018)
• Robertson Review (2020)
• South Australian Safeguarding Task Force Report (2020)
• Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS Inquiry (2021)
• Disability Royal Commission Final Report (2023)
• NDIS Review Final Report (2023)
• Melbourne Disability Institute Study (2023)

Have your say

Since March 2025, the federal government, together with its research partner Whereto has been working with state and territory governments to explore how to make CVS more consistent across Australia. They have also started discussions with disability representative organisations.

The government also wants to hear from the general public, people with disability, their families, carers and disability service providers about CVS, with a focus on the following questions:

1. What aspects of CVS do you find most supportive or beneficial?
2. Have there been any challenges or barriers you've faced when engaging with community visitors? If so, how were they addressed?
3. How effectively do community visitors communicate on behalf of people with disability within the broader community or service systems?
4. What qualities or skills should community visitors have to best meet the needs of people with disability needs?
5. Can you suggest any changes that would make CVS more accessible or responsive to the needs of people with disability?
6. What do you believe are the most important functions of CVS?
7. What types of accommodation settings should community visitors be able to attend? What settings should be prioritised? What factors should be prioritised when determining who should be visited?
8. Should community visitors be able to enter a private home? What considerations are needed to ensure the safety of people with disability in these settings? (Such as consent, privacy and or opt-in restrictions)

There are a number of targeted workshops running at the moment, as well as a survey. Find out more on the Community Visitor Scheme Public Consultation Page. Submissions close on the 12th September.