Dusty
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.
Dusty is in her 40s and has hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy.
‘I have poor coordination and balance,’ Dusty told the Royal Commission. ‘I have difficulty with tasks that require fine motor skills and I can fail to notice things that are in my peripheral vision or where there’s a lack of contrast.’
The NDIS supports Dusty and a service provider sends support workers to help her around the house. Dusty said one support worker ate her food while preparing meals and another hid items they’d been told to throw away around the house.
‘When I asked why she was stashing things under my laundry cupboard she said she’d intended to take them home to use herself.’
One day a support worker approached her from behind.
‘As she put her arm around me she said rhetorically, “Can I give you a hug?” I just froze. As she let go she said, “I've been wanting to do that for a long time.” There was no reason for her to hug me.’
When Dusty reported the incident, the provider admitted removing the worker from other clients ‘because she had been touching them’.
‘We’re surprised you put up with it for this long,’ they told Dusty.
Dusty said service providers may be reluctant to admit abuse is happening in their organisations because they're ‘afraid of losing government funding’.
‘It’s not going to be the support workers at the bottom of the pile who really lose because they get paid peanuts. It’s going to be the bosses at the top and their pay packets are huge. And so there's a lot of incentive to keep the organisations going no matter what.’
Dusty said assaults and pilfering might be related to low pay.
‘Because they get paid so little I suspect that’s some of the rationalisation … She would be thinking, “Well I don’t get paid much so it’s okay for me to do this because I don’t have the money” … or to say “Well, you know, besides the money I want some other gratification so I'm going to touch up my clients” or whatever is their gratification of choice.’
‘I think they need to be paid better. And I don’t think the recent steps to increase pay to low-paid workers is enough. I think they need to get paid properly to just completely remove that low pay as an incentive.’
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.