Novalee and Lake
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
Novalee, in her late teens, has significant cognitive and physical disabilities. She requires full-time support and lives in a care facility.
Lake, her mother, is concerned about the quality of care Novalee receives at the home. She is meant to receive ‘around the clock care’ with four support workers caring for her at times, she said.
‘This is the furthest thing from the truth. She is fed budget non-creative repetitive food. The same music is played on repeat 24/7 as a way to brainwash and control her emotions. My daughter deserves so much better than this.’
Novalee is legally under the care of the child services department, which Lake views as a grab for her NDIS funding. The department has treated Novalee with ‘utter disrespect’.
‘They have denied her request for continuing schooling and deemed it not necessary.’
Lake outlined numerous concerns with the way Novalee has been treated.
For a year, she didn’t leave her room, eating and sleeping in the same space. She shared it with another teenager with unpredictable behaviours that were troubling for Novalee. For a while she was moved to another room, but Lake understands she is soon to be moved back in with the teenager. Lake has seen the teenager assault another resident and worries about Novalee’s vulnerability.
As well, Novalee has had only male support workers at times, which Lake said is ‘extremely inappropriate considering Novalee requires full assistance with going to the toilet and showering’.
She believes staff deliberately under stimulate Novalee, to avoid engaging in activities with her.
‘They constantly say she is "tired" but make no effort to communicate with her. They treat Novalee as if she were in a vegetative state, but she understands everything.’
Lake explained that because of unresolved childhood trauma she has made ‘poor choices in the past’ that have led to the department’s guardianship over Novalee now.
‘I am a little older and wiser and have taken responsibility for the past and I am dealing with it so that I can be there for my daughter now and into the future,’ she said.
She believes the department and the services provider are ‘turning a blind eye’ to Novalee’s neglect.
‘I will not stand by and let this happen,’ she said. ‘My daughter deserves the best care and most importantly love.’
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.