Victorian Disability Worker Commission (VDWC) 

Act: Disability Service Safeguards Act 2018 (Vic).¹ The Act also establishes a companion body, the Disability Worker Registration Board of Victoria: the Board handles registered-worker standards and discipline, while the Commission (via the Commissioner) provides administrative support for registered workers and directly regulates unregistered workers -- the two are legally distinct but work together.

Established: The Act was passed in August 2018. The Commission began receiving complaints on 1 July 2020, appearing to be Victoria's first dedicated disability-worker regulator rather than a successor to an earlier scheme.

Purpose: Section 1 states the Act's main purposes include regulating registered and unregistered disability workers, through a registration scheme, the Board, the Commission, the Commissioner, and a mechanism for investigating and dealing with complaints and notifications.

Powers conferred under the Act

For registered workers, the Commission provides administrative support to the Board, jointly maintains a public register, and receives, assesses, investigates and refers complaints and notifications to the Board. For unregistered workers, the Commission acts directly: it receives and deals with complaints, attempts conciliation, and -- following a show-cause process -- the Commissioner may personally make interim prohibition orders and prohibition (banning) orders, which are published. Authorised officers and investigators can require information or attendance, or apply to the Magistrates' Court for an order, and the Act includes worker-screening and criminal-history-check provisions.

Is it a prosecuting authority?

Yes, for offences under its own Act. Section 274 confirms that the Commissioner, a person acting as Commissioner, a police officer, or an authorised person may bring proceedings for an offence against the Act or regulations -- offences include breaching a prohibition or interim prohibition order, using a restricted title without registration, obstructing an investigator, and giving false or misleading information. Conduct that breaches the Act can also be pursued separately as professional misconduct before the Board -- a "double-track" model. This means the Commissioner personally holds direct statutory standing to prosecute regulatory offences, though not general or indictable crime. No specific leading case is cited here.

How this compares with the Racing Integrity Commissioner

This is the sharpest enforcement-model contrast in this overlay set. The Racing Integrity Commissioner can only refer or certify suspected offences to police or the DPP; it has no standing to prosecute directly. The VDWC's Commissioner, by contrast, has an explicit statutory power to bring proceedings personally. Both bodies are readily described as "integrity" or "regulatory oversight" bodies, but a student should check the specific enforcement provision of each Act rather than assuming the label implies the same power.

Self-check

• Have I distinguished the Commission's role over unregistered workers from the Board's role over registered workers?
• Have I confirmed the Commission's direct prosecuting power under s 274, rather than assuming it only refers matters elsewhere?
• Have I contrasted this directly with the Racing Integrity Commissioner's referral-only model?