The government has launched a public consultation on the introduction of a legal framework on personal assistance for persons with disabilities. The public consultation will remain open till 20 February 2026.
Among several things, this reform proposes the creation of a register for those who would like to work as a personal assistant and those who can do this job. The Ministry for Inclusion said that the requests for registration, processed by the Directorate for Disability Issues (DDI), should ensure that personal assistants are trained and are of good conduct.
It is being proposed that this register be publicly available and that will include associations of personal assistants. The Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD) will have a monitoring role in this regard, allowing it to initiate investigations and make referrals to regulatory authorities and the police where necessary.
Announced by Minister for Inclusion Julia Farrugia on Wednesday, this reform was said to complement a budget measure on personal assistants.
Minister Farrugia said that "our work is built on the fundamental values of the National Disability Strategy" and that this administrative reform aims to invoke a cultural change that recognises the rights of persons with disability to full autonomy, active participation, and full respect to human dignity.
"These measures are enabling persons with disability to shape their lives according to their needs and aspirations," Minister Farrugia said.
Regarding the legislative framework on personal assistance, an initial consultation has already been conducted with several partners, such as the ENGAGE board within the DDI, Aġenzija Sapport, the CRPD, the Department of Disability Studies within the University of Malta, the Malta Federation of Organisations Persons with Disability (MFOPD), and the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL).
The Ministry for Inclusion noted that Malta has ranked second in the European Union's rankings on independent living, issued by the ENIL - the same network that advised the Maltese government on this reform. The ENIL report stated that Malta's rankings reflect "recent improvements or policy changes that respondents view as positive," while giving positive plaudits to national initiatives on personal assistance, social protection and benefits, and accessible accommodation. Aġenzija Sapport was also nominated for the European Social Service Awards of the European Social Network (ESN) for this achievement.
The Ministry said that this legal framework confirms the right to personal assistance as mentioned in the UNCRPD Convention and explains that personal assistance can either be paid or voluntary. Registration will be made mandatory by law, in order to hold personal assistants accountable for their work.
The Inclusion Ministry added that a large amount of payments paid for personal assistance work is subsidised by the Maltese Government. In 2025, 567 benefitted from this, it said, with government funding for this initiative totalling to €3 million. Overall, last year, a total expenditure of €5.7 million was used for other initiatives related to independent living within the community.
The public consultation can be viewed here.