{"id":"sl-2023-41","name":"Senior Practitioner Regulation 2023","slug":"senior-practitioner-regulation-2023","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"act","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"41 of 2023","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":173817,"registerId":"act-sl-2023-41-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Senior Practitioner Regulation 2023","content":"Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nSenior Practitioner Regulation 2023\nSL2023-41\nmade under the\nSenior Practitioner Act 2018\nRepublication No 1\nEffective: 22 December 2023\nRepublication date: 22 December 2023\nRegulation not amended\n\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAbout this republication\nThe republished law\nThis is a republication of the Senior Practitioner Regulation 2023, made under the Senior\nPractitioner Act 2018 (including any amendment made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3\n(Editorial changes)) as in force on 22 December 2023. It also includes any commencement,\nrepeal or expiry affecting this republished law.\nThe legislation history and amendment history of the republished law are set out in endnotes 3\nand 4.\nKinds of republications\nThe Parliamentary Counsel’s Office prepares 2 kinds of republications of ACT laws (see the ACT\nlegislation register at www.legislation.act.gov.au):\n• authorised republications to which the Legislation Act 2001 applies\n• unauthorised republications.\nThe status of this republication appears on the bottom of each page.\nEditorial amendments\nThe Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 authorises the Parliamentary Counsel to make editorial\namendments and other changes of a formal nature when preparing a law for republication.\nEditorial changes do not change the effect of the law, but have effect as if they had been made by\nan Act commencing on the republication date (see Legislation Act 2001, s 115 and s 117). The\nchanges are made if the Parliamentary Counsel considers they are desirable to bring the law into\nline, or more closely into line, with current legislative drafting practice.\nThis republication does not include amendments made under part 11.3 (see endnote 1).\nUncommenced provisions and amendments\nIf a provision of the republished law has not commenced, the symbol U appears immediately\nbefore the provision heading. Any uncommenced amendments that affect this republished law\nare accessible on the ACT legislation register (www.legislation.act.gov.au). For more\ninformation, see the home page for this law on the register.\nModifications\nIf a provision of the republished law is affected by a current modification, the\nsymbol M appears immediately before the provision heading. The text of the modifying\nprovision appears in the endnotes. For the legal status of modifications, see the Legislation\nAct 2001, section 95.\nPenalties\nAt the republication date, the value of a penalty unit for an offence against this law is $160 for an\nindividual and $810 for a corporation (see Legislation Act 2001, s 133).\n\nR1\n22/12/23\nSenior Practitioner Regulation 2023\nEffective: 22/12/23\ncontents 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nSenior Practitioner Regulation 2023\nmade under the\nSenior Practitioner Act 2018\nContents\nPage\n1 Name of regulation 2\n3 Prohibited restrictive practices not to be used—Act, s 10 (b) (ii) (A) 2\nSchedule 1 Prohibited restrictive practices 3\nPart 1.1 Physical restraints 3\nPart 1.2 Punitive approaches 4\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes 5\n2 Abbreviation key 5\n3 Legislation history 6\n\nContents\nPage\ncontents 2 Senior Practitioner Regulation 2023\nEffective: 22/12/23\nR1\n22/12/23\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n4 Amendment history 6\n\nR1\n22/12/23\nSenior Practitioner Regulation 2023\nEffective: 22/12/23\npage 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nSenior Practitioner Regulation 2023\nmade under the\nSenior Practitioner Act 2018\n\nSection 1\npage 2 Senior Practitioner Regulation 2023\nEffective: 22/12/23\nR1\n22/12/23\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n1 Name of regulation\nThis regulation is the Senior Practitioner Regulation 2023.\n3 Prohibited restrictive practices not to be used—Act,\ns 10 (b) (ii) (A)\n(1) The kinds of restrictive practices that may be used do not include\nprohibited restrictive practices.\n(2) In this section:\nprohibited restrictive practice means—\n(a) a physical restraint mentioned in schedule 1, part 1.1; or\n(b) a restrictive practice mentioned in schedule 1, part 1.2\n(a punitive approach).\n\nProhibited restrictive practices Schedule 1\nPhysical restraints Part 1.1\nR1\n22/12/23\nSenior Practitioner Regulation 2023\nEffective: 22/12/23\npage 3\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nSchedule 1 Prohibited restrictive practices\n(see s 3 (2))\nPart 1.1 Physical restraints\ncolumn 1\nitem\ncolumn 2\ndescription of restraint\ncolumn 3\nshort description\n1 subdue a person by forcing them into a face-down\nposition\nprone restraint\n2 subdue a person by forcing them into a face-up position supine restraint\n3 subdue a person by holding down their limbs or any part\nof their body\npin down\n4 subdue a person by wrapping arms around their upper or\nlower body\nbasket hold\n5 subdue a person by forcing them to free-fall to the floor\nor fall to the floor with support\ntakedown technique\n6 physically restrain a person for the purpose of, or that\nhas the effect of, restraining or inhibiting a person’s\nrespiratory or digestive functioning\n7 physically restrain a person for the purpose of, or that\nhas the effect of, pushing the person’s head forward\nonto their chest\n8 physically restrain a person for the purpose of, or that\nhas the effect of, compelling a person’s compliance\nthrough the infliction of pain, hyperextension of joints,\nor by applying pressure to the chest or joints\n\nSchedule 1 Prohibited restrictive practices\nPart 1.2 Punitive approaches\npage 4 Senior Practitioner Regulation 2023\nEffective: 22/12/23\nR1\n22/12/23\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nPart 1.2 Punitive approaches\ncolumn 1\nitem\ncolumn 2\ndescription of approach\ncolumn 3\nshort description\n1 use a practice that a person experiences as noxious or\nunpleasant and potentially painful, for example, give the\nperson an unwanted cold bath, put chilli powder on their\nfood or squirt liquid in their face\naversive practice\n2 require a person to respond disproportionately to an\nevent, beyond that which may be necessary to restore a\nsituation to its original condition, for example, make a\nperson clean the whole dining room floor for spilling a\ndrink\novercorrection\n3 withhold supports or basic needs, for example, deny a\nperson access to toilet paper or period products,\nwithhold food or drink or deprive them of sleep\ndenial of key needs\n4 degrade or vilify a person\n5 limit or deny access to a person’s culture, for example,\nlimit opportunity to participate with a person’s\ncommunity or access artworks or reading material\nimportant for developing or maintaining their cultural\nheritage\n6 punish a person by requiring them to give up a positive\nitem or activity because of their behaviour\nresponse cost\n7 engage in verbal or gestural conduct of a coercive\nnature to compel someone to do something they do not\nwant to do\n8 use a spithood\n9 use a restraint chair\n\nEndnotes\nAbout the endnotes 1\nR1\n22/12/23\nSenior Practitioner Regulation 2023\nEffective: 22/12/23\npage 5\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\nAmending and modifying laws are annotated in the legislation history and the\namendment history. Current modifications are not included in the republished law\nbut are set out in the endnotes.\nNot all editorial amendments made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 are\nannotated in the amendment history. Full details of any amendments can be\nobtained from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.\nUncommenced amending laws are not included in the republished law. The details\nof these laws are underlined in the legislation history. Uncommenced expiries are\nunderlined in the legislation history and amendment history.\nIf all the provisions of the law have been renumbered, a table of renumbered\nprovisions gives details of previous and current numbering.\nThe endnotes also include a table of earlier republications.\n2 Abbreviation key\nA = Act NI = Notifiable instrument\nAF = Approved form o = order\nam = amended om = omitted/repealed\namdt = amendment ord = ordinance\nAR = Assembly resolution orig = original\nch = chapter par = paragraph/subparagraph\nCN = Commencement notice pres = present\ndef = definition prev = previous\nDI = Disallowable instrument (prev...) = previously\ndict = dictionary pt = part\ndisallowed = disallowed by the Legislative r = rule/subrule\nAssembly reloc = relocated\ndiv = division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired R[X] = Republication No\nGaz = gazette RI = reissue\nhdg = heading s = section/subsection\nIA = Interpretation Act 1967 sch = schedule\nins = inserted/added sdiv = subdivision\nLA = Legislation Act 2001 SL = Subordinate law\nLR = legislation register sub = substituted\nLRA = Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 underlining = whole or part not commenced\nmod = modified/modification or to be expired\n\nEndnotes\n3 Legislation history\npage 6 Senior Practitioner Regulation 2023\nEffective: 22/12/23\nR1\n22/12/23\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n3 Legislation history\nSenior Practitioner Regulation 2023 SL2023-41\nnotified LR 21 December 2023\ns 1, s 2 commenced 21 December 2023 (LA s 75 (1))\nremainder commenced 22 December 2023 (s 2)\n4 Amendment history\nCommencement\ns 2 om LA s 89 (4)\n© Australian Capital Territory 2023","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulation appears tightly scoped to its original purpose of listing prohibited restrictive practices under the Senior Practitioner Act 2018. It does not expand beyond this specific delegated function."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short document — only 2 operative sections plus a schedule","Minimal cross-referencing — only references back to the parent Senior Practitioner Act 2018","Simple structure — straightforward prohibition with a defined term and two-part schedule","No conditional logic or exceptions — absolute prohibitions without 'unless' or 'however' clauses","Plain language descriptions in the schedule — uses everyday terms like 'pin down' and 'basket hold' rather than technical medical or legal terminology","Only 1 defined term ('prohibited restrictive practice') in the body of the regulation"],"plain_english_summary":"The Senior Practitioner Regulation 2023 creates a blacklist of prohibited restrictive practices in the ACT, banning dangerous physical and punitive methods used on people with disability, mental health conditions or other vulnerabilities. It affects service providers and workers who support these people and protects recipients from abusive “behaviour management.”\n\nBy drawing a clear line on what is never acceptable, the regulation gives the Senior Practitioner enforcement powers to hold services accountable and prevent harm."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This regulation operationalises the existing prohibition power by listing prohibited practices; it does not appear to expand the statutory purpose beyond what the Senior Practitioner Act allows. It narrows application by specifying concrete banned techniques and approaches (Schedule 1, Parts 1.1 and 1.2) rather than changing the target population or creating new regulatory duties."},"complexity_factors":["Short regulation: single operative provision (s 3) and one schedule","Single defined phrase: \"prohibited restrictive practice\" (s 3(2))","Schedule 1 contains 17 listed items (Part 1.1: 8 items; Part 1.2: 9 items)","Cross-reference to Senior Practitioner Act 2018 (s 10(b)(ii)(A) referenced in heading and s 3)","Several entries use subjective or effects‑based language (e.g. \"experienced as noxious or unpleasant\", \"has the effect of\"), increasing interpretive discretion","No enforcement or penalty rules in the regulation itself — requires cross‑reference to the Act for sanctions","Mix of concrete physical techniques and broad behavioural descriptions increases application complexity despite short text"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this instrument does (mechanically)\n\n- The regulation names a list of \"prohibited restrictive practices\" that cannot be used under the Senior Practitioner Act 2018 framework. (See s 3(1)–(2) and Schedule 1.)\n\n- Section 3 says that the kinds of restrictive practices that may be used do not include any practice listed as a \"prohibited restrictive practice.\" The regulation defines that term by reference to the items in Schedule 1, Part 1.1 (physical restraints) and Part 1.2 (punitive approaches).\n\n\nWho this affects\n\n- Service providers, staff and other people who design or implement restrictive-practice responses (for example, behaviour support plans) in the jurisdictions covered by the Senior Practitioner Act. These persons must not use the listed practices.\n\n- The people receiving services: the listed practices are prohibited from being applied to them.\n\n- The regulator and authorised decision‑makers under the Senior Practitioner Act, because this list is the concrete specification they will use when assessing compliance.\n\n\nWhat is prohibited (Schedule 1 — key entries, short form)\n\n- Physical restraints (Part 1.1) — includes: prone restraint (forcing someone face‑down), supine restraint (face‑up), pin‑down (holding limbs or body down), basket hold (wrapping arms around upper/lower body), takedown techniques (forcing or supporting a fall to the floor), restraints that inhibit breathing or digestion, forcing head forward onto chest, and restraints that compel compliance by pain, hyperextension or pressure to chest/joints (see Schedule 1, items 1–8).\n\n- Punitive approaches (Part 1.2) — includes: aversive practices (e.g. unwanted cold baths, chilli on food, squirting liquid), overcorrection (disproportionate responses), denial of key needs (withholding food, sleep, menstrual products, toilet paper), degrading or vilifying a person, restricting cultural access, response cost (taking away a positive item/activity), coercive verbal/gestural conduct, use of a spithood, and use of a restraint chair (see Schedule 1, items 1–9).\n\n\nWhy it matters (claimed purpose, and practical effects)\n\n- The regulation turns a general prohibition into a concrete list of banned practices. That makes it clearer for providers and regulators which methods are never permissible (mechanical effect: specification and prohibition; see s 3 and Schedule 1).\n\n- Practical effects for providers: they must remove these practices from policies and behaviour support plans, change staff training and incident-response options, and document use of any allowed alternatives. Those are compliance and implementation costs borne by providers.\n\n- Practical effects for regulators: complaints, audits and investigations will be assessed against this fixed list. The regulation itself does not set out penalties; enforcement and any sanctions are handled under the Senior Practitioner Act and other applicable law.\n\n\nTrade‑offs, incentives and implementation risks (concrete mechanisms)\n\n- Substitution: prohibiting a set of techniques narrows available responses. Providers will substitute other techniques or environmental/staffing changes; that can shift costs into training, staffing levels, or different restrictive options unless those are also regulated.\n\n- Compliance burden: providers must update written plans, train staff, and document changes. These are immediate administrative and training costs.\n\n- Ambiguity and decision discretion: several entries use subjective or effects‑based language (for example, \"a practice that a person experiences as noxious or unpleasant and potentially painful\" — Part 1.2 item 1; \"degrade or vilify\" — item 4; or \"for the purpose of, or that has the effect of\" — Part 1.1 items 6–8). These phrases require evaluative judgments by front‑line staff and regulators and can produce inconsistent application.\n\n- Risk of perverse incentives: where an expressly banned practice was previously relied on in crisis responses, staff may avoid intervention or delay it while deciding whether alternatives are lawful, unless clear authorised alternatives and training are supplied.\n\n\nCosts and who pays\n\n- Direct compliance costs are borne by providers (policy revision, training, alternative arrangements). The regulated individuals (service users) are the intended recipients of the protection; any financial cost to deliver safer alternatives may be borne by providers, funders, or government depending on funding arrangements.\n\n- Administrative/enforcement costs are borne by the regulator and agencies that investigate or enforce the Act.\n\n\nImplementation notes (practical matters)\n\n- The regulation is short and specific; it does not itself describe enforcement processes or penalties — those remain in the parent Act and related instruments. (See s 3 and Schedule 1.)\n\n- Because some prohibitions are phrased by effect or experience rather than bright‑line mechanics, operational guidance, staff training and decision‑making criteria will be important to consistent application.\n"},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/senior-practitioner-regulation-2023","history":"/api/acts/senior-practitioner-regulation-2023/history","analysis":"/api/acts/senior-practitioner-regulation-2023/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/senior-practitioner-regulation-2023/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/senior-practitioner-regulation-2023/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/senior-practitioner-regulation-2023/documents"}}