Incidents of abuse, neglect and violence against some of Victoria's most vulnerable are on the rise, volunteer advocates say.
In one case, a terminally ill aged care resident had all their finances and decision-making rights seized by a support worker who was caring for them.
The worker had been administering the resident with more medication than their doctor had prescribed, leaving them drowsy, lethargic, and spending most of their time in bed.
The worker then exhausted the resident's funding by providing many additional hours of support and eventually took over managing the patient's NDIS plan.
They employed family members as extra support workers before seizing control of the resident's finances and decision-making by appointing a member of their family as the resident's Power of Attorney.
In another incident, disability support recipient Remy was reported to be under the strict financial control of a relative.
He was unable to buy essentials including deodorant or take taxis because his relative considered them too expensive.
The NDIS participant does not go out much and dreams of one day going on holiday, but his relative will not allow it.
He has refused attempts by his support workers to talk to his relative, fearful they will cut him off.
The 2022/23 Community Visitors annual report released this week by the state's Public Advocate indicated an overall increase in abuse, neglect and violence for the vulnerable people they visit.
Community visitors are trained independent volunteers with the power to visit and inspect Victorian accommodation facilities where people with disability or mental illness live.
More than 380 community visitors and 110 trainees made more than 3700 visits to services.
The volunteers filed a total of 596 reports of abuse, neglect and assaults in the 2022/23 year, the highest number since pre-pandemic times.
"Community Visitors directly observed the negative impacts of the congregation and segregation of people with disability and mental health issues in the places they visit," Public Advocate Colleen Pearce wrote.
The most common types of abuse among disability residents included physical assault, property damage and ongoing neglect where violence between residents had become normalised.
"This year, as they do every year, community visitors held particular concerns about the high prevalence of violence between residents who live with people they do not choose to live with and who have few options to find safety elsewhere," Ms Pearce said.
Community visitors report mental health patients are often subjected to significant limitations on their human rights.
"There is still a long way to go," the public advocate said.
In the residential care sector, which comprises mostly for-profit businesses community visitors reported numerous incidents of assaults, property damage, aggression, and animal cruelty.
The report made 27 findings across the three divisions including addressing staff shortages, passing new laws to provide better protections for vulnerable people and increasing compliance checks.
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Australian Associated Press
