04. Disability

Taha v Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court & Ors; Brookes v Magistrates’ Court of Victoria & Anor [2011] VSC 642 (16 December 2011)

Charter requires consideration of ‘special circumstances’ of alleged infringement offenders Taha v Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court & Ors; Brookes v Magistrates’ Court of Victoria & Anor [2011] VSC 642 (16 December 2011) Summary The Supreme Court has held that infringements officers and courts may have a duty to inquire whether a person has ‘special circumstances’ – [...]

Cheshire West and Chester Council v P [2011] EWHC 1330 (Fam) (9 November 2011)

When will restrictions on autonomy amount to a deprivation of liberty? Cheshire West and Chester Council v P [2011] EWHC 1330 (Fam) (9 November 2011) Summary The Court of Appeal has found that the care plan of a man lacking capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (UK) did not involve a deprivation of liberty within the [...]

Collier v Austin Health & Ors [2011] VSC 344 (27 July 2011)

Charter should be interpreted beneficially but not applied retrospectively Collier v Austin Health & Ors [2011] VSC 344 (27 July 2011) Summary The Supreme Court of Victoria’s recent decision in Collier v Austin Health [2011] VSC 344 confirms that section 32 of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic) will not operate [...]

P J B v Melbourne Health & Anor (Patrick’s case) [2011] VSC 327 (19 July 2011)

Charter Promotes and Protects Rights of Person with Disability P J B v Melbourne Health & Anor (Patrick’s case) [2011] VSC 327 (19 July 2011) Summary In this case, the Supreme Court of Victoria held that the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal had both failed to interpret law consistently with human rights and had itself [...]

R (on the application of McDonald) v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea [2011] UKSC 33 (6 July 2011)

Human rights at what cost? Balancing human dignity and economic constraints R (on the application of McDonald) v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea [2011] UKSC 33 (6 July 2011) Summary The UK Supreme Court has held that the failure to provide an elderly woman with night-time care assistance to help her use the toilet, [...]

London Borough of Hillingdon v Neary & Anor [2011] EWHC 1377 (COP) (09 June 2011)

The right to family life and liberty of persons affected by disability London Borough of Hillingdon v Neary & Anor [2011] EWHC 1377 (COP) (09 June 2011) Summary In this case, a 21 year old man with autism and severe learning disabilities who was institutionalised, rather than being permitted to return to his home under [...]

P & Q v Surrey County Council [2011] EWCA Civ 190 (28 February 2011)

Care Arrangements and the Right to Liberty: When will Restrictions on a Person with Disability Amount to a Deprivation of the Right to Liberty? P & Q v Surrey County Council [2011] EWCA Civ 190 (28 February 2011) Summary This case in the England and Wales Court of Appeal considered what constitutes a deprivation of [...]

Caserta v Director of Public Transport [2011] VCAT 98 (27 January 2011)

VCAT Considers Disability Discrimination Under the Charter Caserta v Director of Public Transport [2011] VCAT 98 (27 January 2011) Summary The applicant sought a review of the decision of the Director of Transport (‘Director’) refusing to grant him an application for driver accreditation for a commercial passenger vehicle. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (‘VCAT’) [...]

British Columbia (Ministry of Education) v Moore, 2010 BCCA 478 (29 October 2010)

Disability Discrimination in Access to Education British Columbia (Ministry of Education) v Moore, 2010 BCCA 478 (29 October 2010) Frederick Moore filed a human rights complaint against the Board of Trustees School Division and the Ministry of Education.  He alleged the Board and the Ministry had discriminated against his dyslexic son Jeffrey and other severely [...]

McDonald, R (on the application of) v Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea [2010] EWCA Civ 1109 (13 October 2010)

Protection of Elderly Persons and People with Disability McDonald, R (on the application of) v Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea [2010] EWCA Civ 1109 (13 October 2010) The England and Wales Court of Appeal has held that the failure to provide an elderly individual with disability with a carer to assist her to use [...]

Michelle Dawson v Transport Accident Commission [2010] VCAT 796 (13 May 2010)

VCAT Considers Relevance of Charter to Availability of Payments for Childcare from Transport Accident Commission Michelle Dawson v Transport Accident Commission [2010] VCAT 796 (13 May 2010) Facts Ms Dawson was seriously injured in a car accident on 13 October 2005.  As a result of her injuries Ms Dawson received a number of therapies in [...]

Conroy v Yooralla Society of Victoria [2009] VCAT 1873 (7 September 2009)

The Disability Act and the Right to Housing Conroy v Yooralla Society of Victoria [2009] VCAT 1873 (7 September 2009) The Applicant, Mr Conroy had a physical disability and had lived in a community residential unit operated by the Respondent (Yooralla Society of Victoria) for 12 years before receiving two notices to vacate under the [...]

AC (Guardianship) [2009] VCAT 1186 (8 July 2009)

Supervised Treatment and Limitations on the Rights of Persons with Disability under the Charter AC (Guardianship) [2009] VCAT 1186 (8 July 2009) This case concerns AC, a 26 year old man with a mild intellectual disability who has been living at Sandhurst since 2000.  Due to a history of assaultive and sexualised behaviours, AC was [...]

Kracke v Mental Health Review Board [2009] VCAT 646 (23 April 2009)

Failure to Review Involuntary Treatment a Breach of Human Rights Kracke v Mental Health Review Board [2009] VCAT 646 (23 April 2009) On 23 April 2009, Justice Bell, President of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, handed down a significant decision which discussed in detail important aspects of the application and operation of the Charter.  [...]

Nichoson & Ors v Knaggs & Ors [2009] VSC 64 (27 February 2009)

Disability Convention, Legal Capacity and Domestic Law Nichoson & Ors v Knaggs & Ors [2009] VSC 64 (27 February 2009) The Victorian Supreme Court adopted a human rights approach to the issue of legal capacity for those who have disabilities.  In accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the ‘CRPD’), [...]

Wright & Ors v Secretary of State for Health & Anor [2009] UKHL 3 (21 January 2009)

Balancing the Right to a Fair Hearing with the Protection of Vulnerable Persons Wright & Ors v Secretary of State for Health & Anor [2009] UKHL 3 (21 January 2009) The House of Lords has recently issued a declaration of incompatibly under the Human Rights Act 1998 (UK) (‘HR Act’) in relation to the Care [...]

LM (Guardianship) [2008] VCAT 2084 (9 October 2008)

This case raises issues in relation to the scope of human rights and the contradictions which will necessarily exist between statutory provisions such as s 191 of the Disability Act and the Charter. It is ultimately the case that decisions made under many of these provisions will be considered under the test for demonstrably justified [...]

MM (Guardianship) [2008] VCAT 1282 (26 June 2008)

VCAT has imposed a supervised treatment order on a man with an intellectual disability, requiring him to be kept in detention to ensure his compliance with a treatment plan – despite his willingness to consent to the plan – to reduce the risk that he could cause harm to others.  The Tribunal referred to, but [...]