DHS home > Disability Services > Improving supports > Disability Act 2006

Disability Act 2006

Summary: Information about the Act and how it is provided.

About the Disability Act 2006

The Disability Act 2006 ('the Act') commenced on 1 July 2007. It replaced the Intellectually Disabled Persons' Services Act 1986 and Disability Services Act 1991.

The Act provides for:

a stronger whole-of-government, whole-of-community response to the rights and needs of people with a disability, and
a framework for the provision of high quality services and supports for people with a disability.

Regulations have been developed to support the Act in the areas of residents' funds and residential charges, and restrictive interventions and supervised treatment. The Disability Regulations 2007 were subject to a Regulatory Impact Statement and public submission process.

The Act and Regulations can be viewed on the Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents website in the Victorian Statute Book section (external link.)

The major areas of the Act and key points for disability service providers are outlined in a guide for disability service providers (PDF 413KB). The Policy and information manual (PDF 510 KB) provides further information for disability service providers including an overview of the Act, the policy context, information privacy, culturally appropriate practice and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT external link.)

Information sheet 1 - Overview (PDF 229KB) provides an overview of the Act and the principles that underpin the new legislation.

About the Disability Act 2006 (PDF 148KB) provides an overview of the Act and is available in audio format and video format

Providing information

The Disability Act (external link) requires that people with a disability be given information that explains their rights.

For example, when a person starts to use a disability service, the disability service provider must give them information about the services to be provided and their rights under the Act.

The information given to a person under the Act must:

use the language and type of communication they are most likely to understand
where possible, be both explained to the person and given in writing.

If the person with a disability cannot understand the information, it can be given to another person of their choosing, who can assist them with understanding their rights.

These requirements are outlined in the provision of information policy, that is contained in the Policy and information manual (PDF 510 KB). The provision of information policy also contains a template that can be used by disability service providers.

Information sheet 10 - Provision of information (PDF 141KB) contains an overview of information to be provided under the Act and some frequently asked questions.