Frequently Asked Questions

Positive behaviour support focuses on understanding why a person is behaving they way they are (Behaviour of Concern) in this way and working out how the person’s needs can be met without using challenging behaviours.

Positive behaviour support might help by:

• Helping the person be understood through learning communication strategies
• Changing aspects of the person’s environment, i.e. in their home to make them feel at ease
• Improving the person’s lifestyle to add community connections, and ensure they have access to activities that they find fun
• Ensuring the person has meaningful and positive relationships with others
• Providing an encouraging, fun and understanding support environment

A behaviour support plan is a document prepared in consultation with the person with disability, their family, carers, and other support people that addresses the needs of the person identified as having complex behaviours of concern. The behaviour support plan contains evidence-informed strategies and seeks to improve the person’s quality of life.

Behaviour of Concern are usually described as ‘behaviour(s) of such intensity, frequency or duration that the physical safety of the person or others is placed in serious jeopardy. They can include, but not limited to self-harming, aggression (physical or verbal), property damage, and more.

These behaviours can impact on a person’s life and make it difficult for others to support them.

At a minimum, any behaviour support plan that contains a regulated restrictive practice needs to be reviewed every 12 months or earlier if the participant’s circumstances change.

‘Restrictive practice’ means any practice or intervention that has the effect of restricting the rights or freedom of movement of a person with disability, with the primary purpose of protecting the person or others from harm.

NDIS behaviour support practitioners are practitioners the Commissioner of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission considers suitable. Specialist behaviour support providers are required to notify the NDIS Commission about their behaviour support practitioners. Practitioners are considered provisionally suitable pending their assessment against the Positive Behaviour Support Capability Framework

• The NDIS Commission’s behaviour support team is responsible for providing clinical leadership in behaviour support and promoting the reduction and elimination of restrictive practices.
• The goal of behaviour support in the NDIS is to improve quality of life outcomes for people with disability and reduce and eliminate restrictive practices.

There are five categories of regulated restrictive practices that are monitored by the NDIS Commission. These are the following:

• Seclusion – the sole confinement of a person with disability in a room or a physical space at any hour of the day or night where voluntary exit is prevented, or not facilitated, or it is implied that voluntary exit is not permitted.
• Chemical restraint – the use of medication or chemical substance for the primary purpose of influencing a person’s behaviour. It does not include the use of medication prescribed by a medical practitioner for the treatment of, or to enable treatment of, a diagnosed mental disorder, a physical illness or a physical condition.
• Mechanical restraint – the use of a device to prevent, restrict, or subdue a person’s movement for the primary purpose of influencing a person’s behaviour but does not include the use of devices for therapeutic or non-behavioural purposes.
• Physical restraint – the use or action of physical force to prevent, restrict or subdue movement of a person’s body, or part of their body, for the primary purpose of influencing their behaviour. Physical restraint does not include the use of a hands-on technique in a reflexive way to guide or redirect a person away from potential harm/injury, consistent with what could reasonably be considered the exercise of care towards a person.
• Environmental restraint – which restrict a person’s free access to all parts of their environment, including items or activities.

The Regulated Restrictive Practices Guide outlines NDIS providers’ obligations when implementing regulated restrictive practices.

If a restrictive practice is not included in a participant’s behaviour support plan the implementing provider needs to report this as a reportable incident to the NDIS Commission within 5 days of the provider being made aware of this occurrence.

What if a family is using a regulated restrictive practice?

As part of developing and implementing a behaviour support plan the practitioner will work with the person with disability’s support network on implementing the proactive and evidence-informed strategies.  Under the new arrangements, the oversight role of the NDIS Commission extends to registered NDIS providers only.

Behaviour Support is about creating individualised strategies for people with disabilities that are responsive to the person’s needs, in a way that reduces the occurrence and impact of behaviours of concern and minimises the use of restrictive practices.

The key roles of a Behaviour Support Practitioner can include:

• Assess the behaviours of concern and associated risk.
• Gather information about the:
  • person
  • environment
  • person-environment interaction
  • support systems
• Undertake observations/interviews and collect and analyse data.
• Collect and review documents and previous reports.
• Develop a formulation.
• Provide an assessment report.
• Develop an individualised behaviour support plan that maximises quality of life, reduces behaviours of concern and teaches the person new skills.
• Submit Behaviour Support Plans that contain restrictive practices to the NDIS Quality & Safeguards Commission.
• Develop and support implementation of behaviour support strategies.
• Develop Behaviour Response Plans.
• Provide staff and carer training in implementation of behaviour support strategies.
• Review the Behaviour Support Plan with key stakeholders and make the necessary changes.

Behaviour Support Services should be considered if someone you care for uses behaviours of concern.

Positive Behaviour Support aims to improve the quality of life of the person and those who support them. This includes developing the skills of those supports, so that the person’s needs are met and they have the opportunities to make meaningful social connections and participate in the activities they enjoy.

The members of a care team are the people who need to work together to jointly determine and do the things that parents ordinarily do to provide good care for a specific child in care. Sometimes a member of the care team may have more than one role.

A care team should always include:

• the child’s primary carer(s)
• the child’s parents (unless there is a very good reason, and the case planner has approved them not being included)
• the child protection, CSO or ACCO worker supporting the carer/s or placement
• any other adults who play a significant role in caring for the child, including disability support staff where appropriate.

The child’s primary carer/s will be the child’s kinship carer/s, foster carer/s, key residential worker/s, or lead tenant/s.

Other adults who play a significant role in caring for the child may be an Aboriginal community member, grandparent, adult siblings, aunt, uncle, respite carer, Take Two practitioner, or disability support worker.

It is important that the care team for an Aboriginal child includes at least one person from their Aboriginal community, wherever possible.

Other people may become members of an care team depending on the specific issues and needs of the child, remembering the care team should only include the people who are determining and doing things a parent would generally do. The care team should be kept as small as possible to be effective.

The care team members must consult and work closely with mainstream and specialist services including schools, teachers, educational psychologists and tutors, health professionals, mental health professionals, disability professionals, drug and alcohol professionals, therapeutic specialists, sexual health professionals, police, youth justice workers and any other people involved in the child’s life in the same way as good parents caring for a vulnerable child with complex needs would.

While a child is not usually a member of their own care team because a care team comprises the people who are responsible for the child’s good care, older children may be members of their care team, particularly those who are over 15 years and are planning for leaving care. Children in care must always have a say and be listened to about the things which affect them. Therefore, care teams (like good parents) must involve the child or young person age appropriately in the processes they use for making decisions about their care.