The living arrangements of people with disability are a key area of inquiry for the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (the Royal Commission). People’s homes or places of living are a setting where violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation may take place.

The Royal Commission wants to understand the experiences of people with disability, where they live, and who they live with. We recognise that the vast majority of people with disability live in their own homes, some with families and some on their own. However, about 17,000 people with disability live in group homes in Australia and around 30% of those residents have mild intellectual disability.

This issues paper focuses on ‘group homes’, which is a form of accommodation where services and supports are provided to four to six long-term residents with disability. The Royal Commission is publishing this paper to invite further information and discussion on group homes from the public. We are interested in finding out about key issues that the Royal Commission should explore and examples of good practice in group homes.

The experiences of people with disability who live in other forms of accommodation will be addressed in future issues papers.