The Community Visitors Program safeguards the rights of people receiving disability or mental health services in Victoria. Community visitors conduct visits to ensure the people they visit enjoy the same rights and opportunities as all community members.

Community visitors are empowered under Victorian legislation – Disability Act 2006, Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 and Supported Residential Services (Community Visitors) Act 2010.

Community visitors visit in one of three settings:

• Disability accommodation
• Victorian mental health units and services
• Supported Residential Services

Community visitors usually make unannounced visits in groups of two or more.

**Key responsibilities on a visit: ****

• Monitoring: visiting facilities to observe conditions and interactions.
• Inquiry: speaking with residents and staff, reviewing documents, and assessing service quality.
• Advocacy: supporting residents to raise issues.
• Oversight: acting as a community safeguard to ensure services meet legal and ethical standards.
• Reporting: documenting findings, highlighting concerns, and requesting further information from the service provider.

At the conclusion of each visit, community visitors prepare a report highlighting their findings and any necessary actions by the service providers. The Community Visitors Program writes an annual report for the Victorian Parliament highlighting the volunteer’s enquiries and observations.