Work-related violence in the residential disability sector

New research

WorkSafe Victoria has partnered with National Disability Services (NDS) and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) to better understand the problem.

A 2024 survey of 261 residential support workers in Australia found:

• 84% had experienced work-related violence in the past 12 months
• 33% experienced incidents every week, every day, or several times per day
• 76% who experienced work-related violence reported that it was primarily perpetrated by residents
• 47% said they did not receive adequate support following an incident

A preliminary phase of the study found that factors contributing to work-related violence in the sector are not well understood. QUT's 2023 literature review also established that most measures to address the issue in care settings focus on the immediate work environment.

Phase 2 of the research project aimed to explore prevention strategies in the broader regulatory and government environment.

A systems thinking analysis of work-related violence in the Australian residential disability sector

Project aims

The collaborative project sought to understand support workers' experience of work-related violence.

It also looked to identify the following as it relates to the sector.

• The actors who share responsibility for the prevention of work-related violence.
• The multiple, interacting factors contributing to work-related violence.
• Strategies to prevent and reduce the risk of work-related violence.

Project findings

Actors

The systems analysis identified 73 actors that share responsibility for preventing work-related violence.

Contributing factors

Interviews with stakeholders identified 135 contributing factors for work-related violence.

The contributing factors centred around four key themes.

• Staff capability.
• Physical environment.
• Safety culture and safety leadership.
• Resident compatibility.

Strategies

Options for reducing and preventing work-related violence in the sector were divided into:

• options for government and regulators to consider
• options for organisations such as support providers to consider
• options for frontline staff to consider

The following resources contain a detailed overview of the project's findings and conclusions.