The Risk is Real : Community Support Workers Face The Fire

Community-based support workers undertake some of the most important care work in New Zealand. Most days are built around relationships, routines, independence, dignity and helping people live good lives in their communities.

But we also need to talk openly about risk.

NUPE members have reported being punched, kicked, bitten, spat at, scratched, struck with objects and assaulted while providing personal care. Some describe working alone with people with high and complex needs, being unable to safely withdraw from confined spaces, or worrying that assistance will not arrive quickly enough when an incident escalates.

These experiences are not isolated from what has been reported publicly across New Zealand.

This Has Been Reported Before

New Zealand media and union reporting has documented serious incidents of violence against disability and community support workers.

In one reported case, a disability support worker suffered serious and lasting back injuries following an assault in a residential home. A survey of hundreds of support workers also recorded significant numbers of incidents involving punching, kicking, spitting and other forms of aggression, with some workers requiring medical treatment, counselling or time away from work.

RNZ has previously reported concerns about violence within disability support services,

including reports of workers being assaulted and concerns about staff being moved between unfamiliar homes without adequate knowledge of the people they were supporting or the risks involved.

Employment cases have also highlighted serious incidents involving community support workers. In one case, a worker supporting high-needs residents was threatened with serious violence while working alone. Police attended the incident and the worker later developed post-traumatic stress disorder and went on sick leave.

Public reporting has also shown that poorly managed behavioural risk can endanger the people receiving support. The Health and Disability Commissioner has considered cases where people living in supported residential settings have been assaulted by other residents, with concerns identified around risk management, placement decisions and the management of escalating behaviour.

Violence Is Not “Just Part of the Job”

It is important to be clear about what NUPE is saying.

We are not suggesting that people living with intellectual disabilities or requiring mental health support are inherently violent.

They are not.

Many people receiving support have complex lives and needs. Behaviour can be influenced by communication difficulties, trauma, mental distress, environmental pressures, medical conditions, frustration and many other factors.

That is exactly why providers need robust systems around them.

When known risks exist, those risks need to be matched with appropriate staffing, skilled

workers, good behavioural support, suitable placements, reliable backup and homes designed so workers and residents can remain safe.

NUPE's own consultation has identified repeated concerns about lone working, unsafe staffing ratios, limited emergency backup and situations where the level of risk and complexity is not matched by the resources available.

The Consequences Can Last Long After the Shift Ends

An assault does not necessarily finish when an incident finishes.

There can be physical injuries, concussion, musculoskeletal damage and extended periods away from work.

There can also be psychological consequences — anxiety, loss of confidence, hypervigilance, sleep disruption, trauma and, in serious circumstances, PTSD.

Members have told NUPE about significant assaults and injuries and about occasions where workers felt unsupported afterwards.

That is why prevention matters.

NUPE Is Calling for Prevention, Not Acceptance

The answer cannot be to tell workers that violence is simply an occupational reality they must learn to tolerate.

NUPE believes foreseeable risk must be actively managed.

That means:

• Safe staffing ratios

• Properly trained and experienced workers

• Fit-for-purpose homes

• Effective behaviour and risk plans

• Reliable emergency backup

• Good placement decisions

• Appropriate equipment

• Strong incident reporting

• Meaningful support following an assault

Most importantly, workers need to be listened to when they say something is becoming unsafe.

The people providing support every day often see changes in behaviour, house dynamics and risk long before they appear in a formal report.

Their voice is an essential safety control.

Community-based care provides enormously valuable support to thousands of New Zealanders.

We want it to succeed.

But pretending the risk does not exist protects nobody — not workers and not the people

receiving support.

The risk is real.

It can be managed.

And workers have a right to expect that everything reasonably possible is being done to keep them safe.