Own-initiative investigation related to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability
12 February 2024
On 5 September 2023, the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (Disability Royal Commission) published a report about public hearing 33, which was a case study of two young men with disability, Kaleb and Jonathon (pseudonyms).
The Disability Royal Commission’s public hearing examined the violence, abuse, neglect and deprivation of human rights experienced by Kaleb and Jonathon over 20 years. The report made a number of recommendations, including that the State of Queensland conduct an independent review into the powers and responsibilities of all the departments and agencies that engaged with Kaleb, Jonathon and their late father, Paul Barrett.
The Ombudsman has commenced an investigation on his initiative under s 18(1)(b) of the Ombudsman Act 2001. This investigation accepts the Agreed Facts as presented in the Disability Royal Commission’s public hearing report. In keeping with recommendation 5.2 of that report, the focus of the investigation will be on the relevant agencies’ current practices and procedures. This means individual incidents across the 20-year history of agency involvement with Kaleb, Jonathon and Paul Barrett, and the agencies’ responses to those incidents, will not be the focus of the investigation.
Given the significant public interest in this investigation, the Ombudsman may publish information on this website from time to time throughout the course of the investigation.
The Ombudsman has obtained the permission of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly to publish this information in accordance with s 54 of the Ombudsman Act.