Victorian Numbered Acts Victorian Numbered Acts(1) In this Act—
"ACC" means the Australian Crime Commission established under section 7 of the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 of the Commonwealth;
"accreditation standard", for disability workers, means a standard used to assess whether a program of study provides persons who complete the program with the knowledge, skills and attributes necessary to practise as a disability worker;
"adjudication body" means—
(a) a panel; or
(b) VCAT; or
(c) a court;
"appropriate professional indemnity insurance arrangements", in relation to a registered disability worker, means professional indemnity insurance arrangements that comply with the relevant approved registration standard for that disability worker;
"approved accreditation standard " means an accreditation standard that has taken effect in accordance with section 147;
"approved area of practice", for disability workers, means an area of practice approved under section 175;
"approved code of conduct" means any prescribed code of conduct in relation to unregistered disability workers;
"approved program of study" means—
(a) in relation to a disability worker, an program of study approved under section 149(1) by the Board for the purposes of registration or endorsement of registration; and
(b) in relation to a disability student, a program of study approved by the Board and required by the Board for the purposes of registration of persons as disability students;
"approved qualification" means—
(a) a qualification obtained by completing an approved program of study; and
(b) in the case of endorsement of registration, a qualification obtained by completing an approved program of study relevant to the endorsement;
"approved registration standard " means a registration standard approved by the Minister under section 141(2);
"authorised officer " means a person appointed under Division 1 of Part 14;
"Board " means the Disability Worker Registration Board of Victoria established under section 8;
"Chief Commissioner" has the same meaning as it has in the Victoria Police Act 2013 ;
"Commission" means the Victorian Disability Worker Commission established under section 21;
"Commissioner" means the Victorian Disability Worker Commissioner appointed under section 26;
"complaint" means a complaint made in relation to an unregistered disability worker, a registered disability worker or a disability student under Part 3;
"criminal history", of a person, means the following—
(a) every conviction of the person for an offence, in Victoria or elsewhere, and whether before, on or after the commencement of this section;
(b) every plea of guilty or finding of guilt by a court of the person for an offence, in Victoria or elsewhere, and whether before, on or after the commencement this section and whether or not a conviction is recorded for the offence;
(c) every charge made against the person for an offence, in Victoria or elsewhere, and whether before, on or after the commencement of this section;
"criminal history law " means a law that provides that spent or other convictions do not form part of a person's criminal history and prevents or does not require the disclosure of those convictions;
disability has the meaning given in section 4;
"disability" service means—
(a) a service (other than a prescribed exempt service) which involves more than incidental contact with a person with a disability and is specifically provided to the person for the principal purpose of caring for, or treating, the person or supporting the person to manage the person's limitations in undertaking one or more of the following activities—
(i) communication;
(ii) social or economic participation;
(iii) social interaction;
(iv) learning;
(v) mobility;
(vi) self-care;
(vii) self-management; or
(b) a prescribed service;
"disability" student means an individual whose name is on the Disability Students Register;
"Disability Students Register " means the register kept under section 249 by the Board;
"disability worker" means, subject to subsection (2), a person (other than a disability student) who—
(a) directly provides a disability service to a person with a disability; or
(b) supervises or manages another person who directly provides a disability service to a person with a disability;
"education provider" means—
(a) a university; and
(b) a tertiary education institution, or another institution or organisation, that provides vocational training;
family member has the meaning given in section 5;
"health assessment " means an assessment of a person (including but not limited to a medical, physical, psychiatric or psychological examination or test) for the purpose of deciding whether the person has an impairment that detrimentally affects, or is likely to affect detrimentally—
(a) in the case of a person who is a disability worker, the person's capacity to practise as a disability worker; and
(b) in the case of a person who is a disability student, the person's capacity to undertake supervised practice;
"health complaints entity" means—
(a) the Health Complaints Commissioner appointed under section 111 of the Health Complaints Act 2016 ; and
(b) the Mental Health Complaints Commissioner appointed under section 226 of the Mental Health Act 2014 ;
"health, conduct or performance action " means action that the Board or an adjudication body may take in relation to a registered disability worker or a disability student under Part 8;
"health panel " means a panel established under section 103;
"health practitioner" has the same meaning as in the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law;
"impairment" means a loss or abnormality of structure or function of an intellectual, cognitive, neurological, sensory, psychological or physical nature, whether permanent or temporary;
"interim bar" has the same meaning as in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (Practice Standards—Worker Screening) Rules 2018 of the Commonwealth;
"investigator " means a person appointed under section 80(1);
"NDIS " means the National Disability Insurance Scheme within the meaning of the NDIS Act;
NDIS Act means the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 of the Commonwealth;
"NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission " means the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission established under section 181A of the NDIS Act;
"NDIS worker screening agency" means an agency operating in Victoria, or in another State or a Territory of the Commonwealth, that conducts risk assessments of disability workers proposing to provide disability services to persons with a disability under the NDIS;
"NDIS worker screening check clearance" means the assessment of whether a person who provides disability services, or seeks to provide disability services poses a risk to persons with a disability;
"notifiable conduct"—see section 58;
"notification" means a notification made under Part 7;
"notifier " means a person who makes a notification;
"panel " means—
(a) a health panel; or
(b) a professional standards panel;
"party", in relation to a complaints means—
(a) the complainant; or
(b) the disability worker about whom the complaint is made; or
(c) the person who received or sought the relevant disability service, if that person is not the complainant;
"performance assessment " means an assessment of the knowledge, skill or judgement possessed, or care exercised, by a person practising as a registered disability worker;
"professional standards panel " means a panel established under section 104;
"professional misconduct" of a registered disability worker includes—
(a) conduct that is substantially below the standard reasonably expected of a registered disability worker of an equivalent level of training or experience; and
(b) more than one instance of conduct that, when considered together, amounts to conduct that is substantially below the standard reasonably expected of a registered disability worker of an equivalent level of training or experience; and
(c) conduct of the registered disability worker, regardless of whether it occurs in connection with the provision of disability services, that is inconsistent with the disability worker being a fit and proper person to hold registration under this Act;
"program of study " means a program of study provided by an education provider;
"psychologist "has the same meaning as it has in the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law;
"Register" means the Register of Disability Workers kept under section 244;
"registered disability worker" means a disability worker who is registered under this Act and (other than in Parts 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 13 and 14 and section 188) does not include a disability worker whose registration is suspended;
"registered health practitioner "has the same meaning as in the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law;
"registered NDIS provider" has the same meaning as in the NDIS Act;
"relevant fee", for a service provided by the Board, means the fee set by the Board in accordance with this Act;
"review period", for a condition or undertaking, means the period during which the condition may not be changed or removed, or the undertaking may not be changed or revoked, under this Act;
"type of registration" means a kind of registration being one of the following—
(a) general registration;
(b) limited registration;
(c) non-practising registration;
"unprofessional conduct", of a registered disability worker, means conduct that is of a lesser standard than that which might reasonably be expected of the disability worker by the public or the disability worker's peers in relation to the provision of disability services, and includes—
(a) a contravention of this Act by the disability worker, whether or not the disability worker has been prosecuted for, or convicted of, an offence in relation to the contravention; and
(b) a contravention by the disability worker of—
(i) a condition to which the disability worker's registration is subject; or
(ii) an undertaking given by the disability worker to the Board; and
(c) the conviction of the disability worker for an offence under another Act, the nature of which may affect the disability worker's suitability to continue to provide disability services; and
(d) providing a person with disability services of a kind that are excessive, unnecessary or otherwise not reasonably required for the person's wellbeing; and
(e) influencing, or attempting to influence, the conduct of another disability worker in a way that may compromise the support, treatment or care of a person with a disability; and
(f) accepting a benefit as inducement, consideration or reward for referring a person to a disability worker or for recommending a person use or consult a disability worker; and
(g) offering or giving a person a benefit, consideration or reward in return for that person referring another person to the disability worker or recommending another person to use a disability service provided by the disability worker; and
(h) referring a person to, or recommending a person use or consult, another disability service worker, disability service or health product if the disability worker has a pecuniary interest in giving that referral or recommendation, unless the disability worker discloses the nature of that interest to the person before or at the time of giving the referral or recommendation;
"unregistered disability worker" means a disability worker who is not registered under Part 11;
"unsatisfactory professional performance", of a registered disability worker, means the knowledge, skill or judgement possessed, or care exercised, by the disability worker is below the standard reasonably expected of a disability worker of an equivalent level of training or experience.
(2) For the purposes of the definition of "disability worker", a person is not a disability worker if—
(a) the person—
(i) is a family member of a person with a disability; and
Note
See definition of family member in section 5.
(ii) provides disability services to the person with a disability; and
(iii) does not receive a fee or reward for providing those disability services; or
(b) the person voluntarily provides disability services, unless the person provides the disability services on behalf of an organisation or agency.