Resolved: Intervention by Commissioner for Education leads to lifting of blanket ban on ABA therapy refunds

Resolved: Intervention by Commissioner for Education leads to lifting of blanket ban on ABA therapy refunds

Published November 05, 2026

The complaint

A mother complained to the Office of the Ombudsman that the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD) had refused to approve refunds for Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) therapy required by her daughters under the Therapy Refund Scheme.

The CRPD maintained that ABA therapy was unregulated in Malta, lacked established local standards and could pose risks if not applied appropriately and ethically.

The complainant argued that this position was contradictory and discriminatory since ABA-based services were already being funded by Government and provided within the state education system.

She also explained that private therapy had become the only viable option for her family following a serious incident involving one of her daughters at a state-contracted service provider.

The complaint was lodged on 24 July 2026 and assigned to the Commissioner for Education.

Facts and findings

During the investigation, the Commissioner examined the CRPD’s position, correspondence exchanged with the complainant and documentation showing that Government funds ABA-based services provided through third parties.

The Commissioner noted that while the CRPD objected to refunding privately obtained ABA therapy because it was unregulated, the same type of therapy was being funded through public resources in other settings.

The Commissioner considered this distinction to be inconsistent and capable of resulting in improper discrimination against parents who, for valid reasons, needed to obtain ABA therapy privately.

The investigation also considered the particular circumstances of the complainant, who had lost confidence in the state-contracted provider following an incident involving her daughter and was therefore incurring considerable costs for private therapy.

The CRPD maintained that its position was motivated by concerns about the safety and wellbeing of persons with disability and the absence of a regulatory framework for ABA therapy.

Conclusion and recommendation

In an Interim Opinion issued on 3 October 2026 in the course of the investigation, the Commissioner for Education, Chief Justice Emeritus Vincent De Gaetano, concluded that the blanket refusal to provide refunds or tax credits for ABA therapy raised serious issues of maladministration.

He considered the policy unreasonable, unjust, improperly discriminatory and wrong in principle, particularly given that Government itself funded ABA-based services.

The Commissioner therefore recommended that the CRPD cease its blanket veto on refunds and tax credits for ABA therapy.

He also directed the complainant to submit the necessary application for the therapy refund, together with the required supporting documentation.

Outcome

Following the Commissioner’s intervention, the CRPD informed the Office that it had been engaging with ABA therapists with a view to establishing which services would qualify for reimbursement.

On 30 October 2026, the CRPD confirmed that the blanket ban on ABA therapy refunds had been lifted.

It also confirmed that applications submitted since the Therapy Refund Scheme began in 2023 were being reviewed and that eligible pending applications would be refunded once the necessary information was obtained.

The CRPD further undertook to publish a list of ABA therapists whose services would qualify under the scheme and to assess other therapists where so requested by parents.

The Commissioner considered that a just and equitable solution had been reached both for the complainant and for other persons in similar circumstances.

The case was therefore closed as resolved by the respondent entity during the course of the investigation and before a Final Opinion became necessary.