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Case Studies

Person living in public housing avoids possible eviction after death of the tenant

Tenants Union of Victoria, March 2009

People living in public housing who are not tenants (on the lease) can apply in certain circumstances to have the tenancy created in their own name, but this requires an application to VCAT. One person applied for such an order after the actual tenant, with whom they had been living for some time, passed away. The person’s advocates raised a range of human rights concerns with the relevant government department, which subsequently granted the tenancy on the day before the case was due to be heard by the tribunal, thereby saving the person the unnecessary stress of having to appear in court.

Relevant Charter sections:

Man with a physical disability gains access to additional care funds

ABC Radio National, Australia Talks with Paul Barclay, Charter of Human Rights, January 29 2009

A man with a physical disability was living independently with the support of a personal attendant carer, funded through a government department. As the man’s disability support dollars dried up, his ability to take part in community activities was whittled away to the point that he had been unable to leave his house for several months. The department told the man he had already used more than his allocated resources and could not access any more, but after his advocate raised human rights concerns a more senior person within the department offered additional resources to enable the man to leave his house and participate in the community.

Relevant Charter sections:

Children with autism gain entitlement to disability assistance

Human Rights Law Resource Centre Bulletin, Number 33, January 2009, p.27

A 13 year old boy with Asperger Syndrome was ineligible to receive disability support services because autism spectrum disorders were not considered to be a disability by the relevant department. The boy’s mother applied to VCAT for a review of the decision, advocating for an inclusive interpretation of ‘disability’ in light of the rights contained in the Charter. Before the application reached VCAT, the Victorian Government advised it would acknowledge autism spectrum disorders as a disability and committed to an additional $2.75 million in funding.

Relevant Charter sections:

Human rights inform primary school redevelopment

Human Rights Law Resource Centre Case Studies: How a Human Rights Act can Promote Dignity and Address Disadvantage

A medium-sized primary school used human rights principles to inform the re-design and development of its school building. Input was sought from all relevant stakeholders, including students, parents and teachers. For example, feedback was sought from all students taking into account their literacy levels, the needs of people with disabilities were given special consideration, and a local Indigenous co-operative was consulted. The principal noted that the process had a positive effect on students and the broader school community through the development of strong relationships and a positive, supportive community culture.

Relevant Charter sections:

Young man with a disability supported to live with his family

Youth Affairs Council of Victoria: reported in Human Rights Law Resource Centre Case Studies: How a Human Rights Act can Promote Dignity and Address Disadvantage

A 23 year old Iraqi refugee with a severe intellectual disability and autism was placed in supported accommodation where there were no Arabic speaking workers, and his ability to observe his religion (for example by eating Halal food) and contact his family were significantly limited. After a visit home it also became apparent that he was frightened of another resident with whom he shared a room and was lonely, bored and unhappy. After his advocate raised the Charter with the relevant public authority, he was allowed to continue living in his family home where he wished to be.

Relevant Charter sections:

Young woman gains access to disability support services

Youth Affairs Council of Victoria: reported in Human Rights Law Resource Centre Case Studies: How a Human Rights Act can Promote Dignity and Address Disadvantage

A 19 year old woman with cerebral palsy was left housebound and alone after her request for disability support services was being slowly responded to. The woman’s advocate noticed that her mental state was deteriorating as a result and wrote to the relevant department citing a range of rights that were being impacted by the department’s slow decision making processes, and soon after the young woman was deemed eligible for support services and placed on a waiting list for case management.

Relevant Charter sections:

Maximising consent in compulsory treatment

Villamanta Disability Rights Legal Service: reported in Human Rights Law Resource Centre Case Studies: How a Human Rights Act can Promote Dignity and Address Disadvantage

A number of people with mental illnesses complained to a disability rights service about compulsory treatment plans they felt were not specific enough to allow them to understand what treatment they were receiving and why. When their advocate raised Charter arguments with the relevant government authority, the authority undertook to improve the quality of the plans.

Relevant Charter sections:

Promoting flexible decision-making

Darebin Community Legal Centre: reported in Human Rights Law Resource Centre Case Studies: How a Human Rights Act can Promote Dignity and Address Disadvantage

A woman who was the sole carer for her elderly parents - one of whom had recently suffered a stroke, the other had dementia - was notified by the local council that the accommodation she had arranged for them did not comply with planning approvals. The woman’s advocate wrote to the council asking them to consider her parent’s rights with the result that the council granted her extra time to make other arrangements for her parents.

Relevant Charter sections:

Appropriate care for young people with acquired brain injury

Human Rights Law Resource Centre Bulletin, Number 33, January 2009, p.27

Several young people with acquired brain injuries had been living in a rehabilitation unit of a public hospital for two years, but having reached their maximum stay the hospital was planning to discharge them from its care. However the only available accommodation options were aged care facilities that would not provide the social environment or support services (such as speech therapy) that the young people needed to continue their recovery. A disability advocate argued that moving the young people would be detrimental to their health and well-being and that they should not be moved until the rehabilitation centre had properly considered their rights and its own obligations under the Charter.

Relevant Charter sections:

Local council decides against “move on” local laws

Bendigo Advertiser, Eugene Duffy, Move on Powers Rejected, 22 August 2008

Business vendors in a regional city were calling on the local council to introduce a ‘move on and stay away’ by-law that would apply to people displaying a range of antisocial behaviours. After considering the human rights impact of such a law, the council rejected the proposal on the grounds that it would disproportionately affect already marginalised groups such as homeless people and Indigenous groups, and that it would restrict people’s right to be in a public place.

Relevant Charter sections:

Service provider considers the rights of a difficult client

VCOSS (2008) Using the Charter in policy and practice: action taken and planned in response to the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities

A welfare organisation experiencing problems with a client who had been violent and threatening towards staff initially responded by excluding the client from the premises and its services. A direct care worker objected on the basis that while staff had a right to be safe at work, the client’s rights should also be considered. The care worker negotiated with management to allow the client to access some services and instituted a method for monitoring the client’s behaviour to prevent safety risks to staff.

Relevant Charter sections:

Protecting the rights of people with a disability to vote

VCOSS (2008) Using the Charter in policy and practice: action taken and planned in response to the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities

After initiating a system in which all new clients were assessed against a mandatory Human Rights Checklist, a disability service discovered that a number of people with intellectual disabilities had had their right to vote unnecessarily restricted. The service took immediate steps to support their clients to make individual decisions about how they would vote, even though this was often against the wishes of their carers.

Relevant Charter sections:

Preventing eviction into homelessness

Public Interest Law Clearing House, PILCH Matters, Issue 20, July 2008

A single parent living in transitional housing with her 18-month-old child was offered housing by the Office of Housing on the fourth floor of a large block without a lift, but when she rejected the offer because she considered it inappropriate, the transitional housing provider served her with an eviction notice. The woman’s advocates argued that the accommodation provider was bound by the Charter as a public authority and had been unreasonable in effectively making the woman and her child homeless. Before the matter could be heard in VCAT, the eviction notice was withdrawn and the woman was put back on the urgent public housing waiting list.

Relevant Charter sections:

Including human rights in local government planning

Following the release of a draft four-year community plan by a local council, a local community group raised concerns that nowhere in the plan was there mention of human rights or the council’s obligations in relation to rights. The council agreed to most of the group’s recommendations in relation to its Charter obligations, including to review its decision-making processes; ensure equality in the provision of, and access to council services and facilities; review its code of conduct for staff and councillors; and proactively promote consultation and feedback opportunities via a range of accessible means.

Relevant Charter sections:

Access to health care for an older woman

Human Rights Law Resource Centre Bulletin, Number 20, December 2007, p.14 2

A middle-aged woman with an acquired brain injury needed treatment for a severe condition in her hand that caused her considerable pain and suffering. Without treatment she was likely to require far more radical surgery including a possible amputation. Although she had been waiting over three years, she was not considered a priority by the health authority because she was aged over 50. Using human rights arguments her advocates were able to obtain one-off funding for urgent treatment, while other options for a longer-term support package were explored.

Relevant Charter sections:

Access to health care for a mental health patient

Human Right Law Resource Centre Bulletin, Number 19 – November 2007, p.14

A man with a mental health condition was being held in a secure facility where he was unable to access the treatment he needed for a liver condition. The man’s advocates argued that the unit’s failure to ensure access to treatment impacted on a number of the man’s rights and were able to successfully negotiate a medical appointment at the local hospital.

Relevant Charter sections:

Access to justice for a man in prison

Human Right Law Resource Centre Bulletin, Number 19 – November 2007, p.14

Whilst being transferred from one prison to another, a man had a number of his personal belongings stolen, and so decided to take civil action against the prison officers who had been responsible for safeguarding his things. The man was told that while the prison security firm would provide him with an escort to the hearing, it would come at a personal cost of $1380 to him. The man’s advocates argued that with no way of being able to pay the cost the man was effectively prevented access to justice and were able to negotiate with the security firm to cover transfer costs in full.

Relevant Charter sections:

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