This paper summarises the key findings of a review by The Honourable W J Carter QC of the implementation of the recommendations of the 1995 Basil Stafford Centre Inquiry Report (‘the Stewart Report’).
Background
In the early 1990s, the Basil Stafford Centre (BSC) — a government-run facility providing accommodation and care for intellectually disabled people (including children) — came under fire in the media for alleged abuse and neglect of its clients.
A Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) investigation into the allegations uncovered evidence of serious wrongdoing and the subsequent report by The Honourable D G Stewart (published March 1995) recommended the Centre’s closure ‘at the earliest possible opportunity’. During the course of the lengthy investigation into this matter, these facts emerged:
- staff of the Centre were directly or indirectly implicated in allegations of assault, client abuse and neglect
- conventional methods of investigation undertaken by the State Government, the QPS, and the CJC itself, had experienced difficulty in identifying wrongdoers or in stemming the tide of allegations of abuse and neglect
- the alleged occurrences of assault and client abuse were seen to be linked to what the Stewart Report called an ‘insidious institutional culture’ characterised by a regime of non-reporting of such behaviour and the fear of reprisals and harassment being visited upon those who ‘broke ranks’.
