PART 1 | 1. This Act is the Vulnerable Adults Act 2018. |
2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —“abuse” means —| (a) | physical abuse; | | (b) | emotional or psychological abuse; | | (c) | conduct or behaviour by an individual that in any other way controls or dominates another individual and causes the other individual to fear for his or her safety or wellbeing; or | | (d) | conduct or behaviour by an individual that unreasonably deprives, or threatens to unreasonably deprive, another individual of that other individual’s liberty of movement or wellbeing; |
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| “allied health professional” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Allied Health Professions Act 2011; |
| “assessment” means an interview and examination which includes the taking of X‑rays and an individual’s blood and other body samples for testing and analysis, but does not include the administering of medical or dental treatment; |
| “authorised officer” means a person appointed as an authorised officer under section 3(9); |
| “auxiliary police officer” means an auxiliary police officer appointed under Part 9 of the Police Force Act 2004; |
“coerce”, in relation to an individual, means —| (a) | to compel or force the individual to do, or refrain from doing, something; or | | (b) | to cause the individual to do something without the individual’s consent; |
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| “court” means the Family Court, except in sections 9(4)(a), 22(4), (5) and (7), 23(2)(a) and (3), 33 and 35(7) where “court” means a court of competent jurisdiction; |
| “deputy” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Mental Capacity Act 2008; |
| “Director‑General” means the Director‑General of Social Welfare; |
| “donee” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Mental Capacity Act 2008; |
“emotional or psychological abuse” means conduct or behaviour by an individual —| (a) | that torments, intimidates, harasses or distresses another individual; or [Act 21 of 2023 wef 02/01/2025] | | (b) | that causes or may reasonably be expected to cause mental harm to another individual, including thoughts of suicide or inflicting self‑harm; | | | | X experiences emotional or psychological abuse in the following situations: |
| | | (a) | X has Parkinson’s disease and cannot walk without assistance. Her caregiver, Y, does not physically abuse X but regularly threatens to beat or harm X’s grandchild (a baby) whom X is devoted to. |
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| | | (b) | X has dementia and lives with her adult son, Y. When Y is drunk and does not get what he wants from X, Y shouts at X and destroys X’s belongings in X’s presence, causing fear and distress to X. |
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[Act 21 of 2023 wef 02/01/2025] |
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| “enforcement officer” means a public officer who is appointed under section 3(5) to be an enforcement officer for the purposes of this Act; |
“family member”, in relation to an individual, means —| (a) | a spouse of the individual; | | (b) | a child of the individual, whether or not an adopted child or a stepchild; | | (c) | a parent of the individual; | | (d) | a father‑in‑law or mother‑in‑law of the individual; | | (e) | a brother or sister of the individual; | | (f) | a grandparent or grandchild of the individual; or | | (g) | any other individual who, in the opinion of the court, should in the circumstances be regarded as a member of the individual’s family; |
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| “fit person” means an individual whom or organisation which the court or the Director‑General thinks is competent to provide care and protection to a vulnerable adult; |
| “manager”, in relation to a place of temporary care and protection or a place of safety, includes a director, manager or superintendent of that place, or any other individual having the management or control of that place; |
| “mental capacity assessor” means a person appointed by the Director‑General under section 3(4) to assess the mental capacity of an individual under or for the purposes of this Act; |
| “neglect”, in relation to an individual, means the lack of provision to the individual of essential care (such as but not limited to food, clothing, medical aid, lodging and other necessities of life), to the extent of causing or being reasonably likely to cause personal injury or physical pain to, or injury to the mental or physical health of, the individual; |
“physical abuse” includes conduct or behaviour —| (a) | that causes, or threatens to cause, personal injury or physical pain to an individual; | | (b) | that coerces, or attempts to coerce, an individual to engage in sexual activity; or | | (c) | that threatens an individual with the death or injury of the individual; |
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| “place of safety” means any premises designated under section 19 to be a place of safety; |
| “place of temporary care and protection” means any premises designated under section 19 to be a place of temporary care and protection; |
| “premises” includes part of any premises; |
| “protector” means a public officer appointed as a protector under section 3(2); |
| “psychiatrist” means a medical practitioner who is registered as a psychiatrist in the Register of Specialists under the Medical Registration Act 1997; |
| “qualified assessor” means a person whom the Director‑General or a protector reasonably considers qualified to conduct an assessment, and includes a mental capacity assessor; |
| “registered dentist” means a person registered as a fully registered dentist under section 14(1) or (2) of the Dental Registration Act 1999; |
| “registered medical practitioner” means a medical practitioner registered under the Medical Registration Act 1997; |
| “registered nurse” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Nurses and Midwives Act 1999; |
“relevant support person” means any of the following persons:| (a) | an approved welfare officer appointed under section 3(3); | | (b) | an allied health professional; | | (c) | an auxiliary police officer assisting the Director‑General or a protector in performing duties under this Act; | | (d) | a qualified assessor; | | (e) | a registered medical practitioner; | | (f) | a registered dentist; | | (g) | a registered nurse; | | (h) | a paramedic; | | (i) | a psychiatrist; |
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“self‑neglect”, in relation to an individual, means the failure of the individual to perform essential tasks of daily living (such as but not limited to eating, dressing and seeking medical aid) to care for himself or herself, resulting in the individual —| (a) | living in grossly unsanitary or hazardous conditions; | | (b) | suffering from malnutrition or dehydration; or | | (c) | suffering from an untreated physical or mental illness or injury; |
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“vulnerable adult” means an individual who —| (a) | is 18 years of age or older; and | | (b) | is, by reason of mental or physical infirmity, disability or incapacity, incapable of protecting himself or herself from abuse, neglect or self‑neglect; |
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“wellbeing”, in relation to an individual, means the individual’s wellbeing so far as relating to any of the following:| (a) | personal dignity; | | (b) | physical, mental and emotional health; | | (c) | control by the individual over his or her day‑to‑day life (including over the day‑to‑day care provided by another individual and the way in which it is provided); | | (d) | social, domestic, family and personal relationships; | | | | The wellbeing of X is unreasonably deprived in the following situations: |
| | | (a) | X is wheelchair‑bound and does not lack mental capacity. X is prescribed medication to prevent serious deterioration of his health. X’s caregiver, Y, prevents X from taking the medication by hiding it in a cupboard beyond X’s reach. Y’s conduct has an adverse effect on X’s physical health. |
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| | | (b) | X is unable to dress herself. Y, her caregiver, does not dress X after bathing her. Despite X’s protests, Y leaves her unclothed in a room with the windows open so that X is in full view of neighbours walking past the flat. The flat is situated along a common corridor to which members of the public have access. X is deprived of her personal dignity. |
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| | | (c) | X’s family member, Y, controls all of X’s daily living activities (including eating, drinking, bathing, toileting and the programmes X watches on the television or listens to on the radio) and refuses to allow X to have contact with any other person or to receive visitors. Y’s control over X’s day‑to‑day life and social relationships has an adverse effect on X’s emotional health. |
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| “working day” excludes any Sunday and public holiday. [30/2019] |
| (2) In this Act, an individual or a vulnerable adult who lacks mental capacity or who is assessed to lack mental capacity is an individual or a vulnerable adult who lacks capacity or is assessed to lack capacity (as the case may be) within the meaning of section 4 of the Mental Capacity Act 2008. |
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| 3.—(1) The Director‑General is, subject to the general or special directions of the Minister, responsible for the administration of this Act. [30/2019] | (2) The Director‑General may appoint any public officer with suitable qualifications and experience as a protector under this Act. [30/2019] |
| (3) The Director‑General may appoint a suitably qualified individual as an approved welfare officer to exercise the powers of an approved welfare officer under this Act as directed by the Director‑General or a protector. [30/2019] |
(4) The Director‑General may appoint any of the following persons as a mental capacity assessor to assess whether an individual lacks mental capacity:| (a) | a registered medical practitioner; | | (b) | a psychiatrist; | | (c) | a psychologist. [30/2019] |
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| (5) The Director‑General may appoint any public officer with suitable qualifications and experience as an enforcement officer under this Act. [30/2019] |
| (6) The Director‑General must issue to each enforcement officer an identification card. [30/2019] |
| (7) Every enforcement officer whose appointment as such ceases must return to the Director‑General the identification card issued to him or her under subsection (6). [30/2019] |
| (8) If asked to do so, an enforcement officer must produce his or her identification card for inspection before exercising a power under this Act. |
(9) The Director‑General may appoint any of the following persons as an authorised officer for the purposes of sections 27, 28 and 29:| (a) | an enforcement officer; | | (b) | an auxiliary police officer. [30/2019] |
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| (10) Any appointment under this section may be subject to such conditions or limitations as the Director‑General may specify. [30/2019] |
| (11) Subject to subsection (12), the Director‑General may delegate the exercise or performance of all or any of the powers conferred or duties imposed on the Director‑General by or under this Act to any public officer, except the power of appointment under this section and power of delegation under this subsection; and any reference in this Act to the Director‑General includes a reference to such a public officer. [30/2019] |
| (12) Any delegation under subsection (11) may be general or in a particular case and may be subject to such conditions or limitations as the Director‑General may specify. [30/2019] |
| (13) The Director‑General, a delegate under subsection (11), a protector, an approved welfare officer, authorised officer and enforcement officer who, in the course of his or her duty as the Director‑General, delegate, protector, approved welfare officer, authorised officer or enforcement officer (as the case may be), is taken to be a public servant within the meaning of the Penal Code 1871 when exercising a power under this Act. [30/2019] |
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4.—(1) In performing any duty or exercising any power under this Act in relation to a vulnerable adult, the Director‑General and every protector, approved welfare officer and enforcement officer must have regard to the following principles:| (a) | the duty is being performed or the power is being exercised for the purpose of protecting the vulnerable adult from abuse, neglect and self‑neglect; | | (b) | a vulnerable adult, where not lacking mental capacity, is generally best placed to decide how he or she wishes to live and whether or not to accept any assistance; | | (c) | if a vulnerable adult lacks mental capacity, the vulnerable adult’s views (whether past or present), wishes, feelings, values and beliefs, where reasonably ascertainable, must be considered; | | (d) | regard must be had to whether the purpose for which the duty is being performed or the power is being exercised can be achieved in a way that is less restrictive of the vulnerable adult’s rights and freedom of action; | | (e) | in all matters relating to the administration or application of this Act, the welfare and best interests of the vulnerable adult must be the first and paramount consideration. [30/2019] |
| (2) Every relevant support person must have regard to the principles mentioned in subsection (1) when assisting the Director‑General or a protector in the performance or exercise of the Director‑General’s or protector’s duties or powers under this Act or in any other dealing with a vulnerable adult for the purposes of this Act. [30/2019] |
(3) In deciding whether to make an order under this Act in relation to —| (a) | a vulnerable adult; or | | (b) | an individual whom the Director‑General or protector has reason to believe is a vulnerable adult and who has experienced, or is experiencing or at risk of, abuse, neglect or self‑neglect, |
| the court must have regard to the principles mentioned in subsection (1), but the court may also have regard to such other matters as the court thinks fit. |
[30/2019] |
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