A change in behaviour can place real pressure on a participant, their family and the people supporting them. Knowing how to request behaviour support through the NDIS can make the next step clearer, particularly when current supports are no longer meeting the person’s needs or safety is becoming a concern.
Positive behaviour support is not about making a person compliant or taking away their choices. It aims to understand what behaviour may be communicating, the environments and situations that contribute to distress, and the practical changes that may help a person feel safer, understood and more in control.
When behaviour support may help
People may consider behaviour support when behaviours of concern affect daily life, relationships, community access, housing or safety. This can include aggression, self-injury, property damage, leaving a safe setting unexpectedly, shouting, withdrawal, refusal of care or other responses that are distressing for the person or difficult for those around them to support safely.
The behaviour itself is only one part of the picture. Pain, communication barriers, sensory needs, trauma, changes in routine, grief, medication changes, unmet health needs and unsuitable environments can all have an impact. A quality behaviour support process considers these factors rather than assuming the person is simply being difficult.
Support may also be useful before a situation reaches crisis point. For example, a family may notice that a participant is becoming increasingly distressed during personal care, or a daily-support provider may need clearer strategies after the participant’s routine changes. Early planning may help the people around the participant respond more consistently.
If someone’s life is at risk, or there is an immediate risk of harm or injury, call 000. Positive behaviour support is a planned, person-centred process and is not a substitute for emergency or urgent clinical assistance.
How to request behaviour support through the NDIS
Start with the participant and, where relevant, their nominee, child representative, guardian, family member or support coordinator. Describe what is happening in factual, respectful language and explain how it affects the participant’s daily life, wellbeing, safety or access to ordinary activities.
It can help to record patterns over a short period. Note what happened before the behaviour, what the behaviour looked like, what happened afterwards, who was present, and possible factors such as noise, hunger, pain, disrupted sleep or a change in staff. This information does not need to be perfect. A simple record can give a suitable practitioner a useful starting point.
Check the participant’s NDIS plan and available budget. Behaviour support can be included in Capacity Building supports, including the Improved Relationships category. Capacity Building categories are stated, so funding cannot simply be moved between those categories. The NDIS guidance on Capacity Building supports explains how these budgets work.
Where appropriate funding is available, the participant or their authorised representative can contact a registered specialist behaviour support provider. A support coordinator can help the participant understand the plan, identify suitable providers and organise supports. A plan manager can explain budget balances, claims and payment arrangements, but does not decide eligibility or approve funding.
If the current plan does not meet significantly changed support needs, current NDIS rules require the participant, plan nominee or child representative to submit the plan reassessment request on the required form. A provider or support coordinator may help gather reports and evidence, but cannot request the reassessment on the participant’s behalf. Funding and reassessment decisions remain with the NDIA. See the current NDIS plan reassessment guidance.
Who does what in behaviour support?
Several providers may be involved, but their responsibilities are different.
Specialist behaviour support provider and suitable practitioner
A registered specialist behaviour support provider engages an NDIS behaviour support practitioner who has been assessed as suitable by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. The practitioner may complete behaviour support assessments, including a functional behaviour assessment where appropriate, and develop or review a behaviour support plan.
Implementing provider
An implementing provider delivers day-to-day NDIS supports and puts the behaviour support plan into practice. This may include training workers, using proactive strategies and sharing observations with the specialist provider. If regulated restrictive practices are used, the implementing provider has additional registration, authorisation, reporting and recordkeeping obligations.
Support coordinator
A support coordinator helps the participant understand and use their plan, find suitable providers, connect services and organise how supports work together. A support coordinator does not approve NDIS funding and does not replace the specialist practitioner.
Plan manager
A plan manager manages the financial administration of plan-managed funding. This includes monitoring budgets, checking claims and paying providers. A plan manager does not develop the behaviour support plan or choose supports for the participant.
The NDIS Commission’s behaviour support information explains these roles and includes participant resources for choosing a specialist provider.
What to include in a referral
A clear referral can help a provider assess whether it is an appropriate fit and what information may be needed next. Include only information that is relevant to the referral, such as:
- the participant’s preferred name and communication style;
- current living and support arrangements;
- a factual description of the behaviours, including frequency and known patterns;
- relevant health, sensory, communication or environmental factors;
- strategies that already help;
- current incident or risk information where relevant;
- existing behaviour support plans or restrictive-practice information, if applicable; and
- the authorised contact coordinating the referral.
Personal, health and disability information is sensitive. Share it only with appropriate consent or legal authority and use the provider’s secure referral process. Avoid sending detailed participant information through insecure messages or public channels.
Consent and participant involvement matter throughout the process. The participant should be included in decisions in a way that suits their communication needs and decision-making capacity. Where another person has legal authority, the provider may need evidence of that authority before services begin.
A respectful way to describe the need
Instead of saying, “Things have become unmanageable,” a referral might say:
“Over the past six weeks, Sam has become distressed during morning personal care on three or four days each week. He may yell, push staff away and refuse to leave the house. This is affecting appointments and his confidence. We have noticed it is more likely when there is a new worker or the routine is rushed.”
This fictional example gives a practitioner useful context while keeping the language factual and focused on the participant’s experience.
What happens after a referral?
A specialist behaviour support provider may first speak with the participant, family, support coordinator and relevant support team. The provider may request reports, incident records, risk assessments or information from allied health professionals. Commencement depends on consent, funding, participant suitability, provider scope and available capacity.
If the referral proceeds, a suitable NDIS behaviour support practitioner may assess the behaviour and the circumstances around it. Any assessment should consider the person’s strengths, goals, culture, relationships, communication and preferences, not only risk.
The practitioner may then develop a behaviour support plan containing proactive strategies, communication approaches, environmental changes, early warning signs, de-escalation steps and actions following an incident. The people providing daily support should understand their responsibilities for implementing that plan.
For some participants, a plan may include regulated restrictive practices. These practices limit a person’s rights or freedom of movement and are tightly regulated. Where they are used, they must meet legal and NDIS requirements, be authorised through the relevant state or territory process, be used only as a last resort and in the least restrictive way, and be part of an approach aimed at reducing and eliminating their use. Implementing providers also have registration, reporting and recordkeeping responsibilities. Unauthorised restrictive practices may be reportable incidents.
Making the plan useful in daily life
A plan is useful only when the participant and the people around them understand it and apply it appropriately. Ask how strategies will be shared with family, support workers and other relevant services. Training, coaching and regular communication can be valuable when staff are new, routines change or a participant has complex support needs.
Consistency does not mean treating a person rigidly. It means responding in ways that are familiar, respectful and aligned with the current plan. Review meetings create an opportunity to discuss progress, identify strategies that are not working and decide whether the specialist provider needs to update the plan.
Treasure Disability Care can discuss a participant’s current daily-support needs and the most appropriate referral pathway. Where Treasure provides daily living assistance, support must remain consistent with the participant’s authorised arrangements and any applicable behaviour support plan. Specialist assessment and plan development must be undertaken by an appropriately registered specialist behaviour support provider and suitable practitioner.
Questions to ask before choosing a specialist provider
The right provider depends on the participant’s needs, location, communication preferences and the complexity of the situation. Useful questions include:
- Is the provider registered for specialist behaviour support?
- Will the work be completed by a practitioner listed as suitable by the NDIS Commission?
- How will the participant be involved in assessment and planning?
- What information is required before the referral can be assessed?
- How will the practitioner work with existing daily-support providers?
- How are restrictive-practice requirements handled where relevant?
- How will progress and the plan be reviewed?
- Is the service available in the participant’s location and preferred format?
The NDIS Commission provides a tool for finding behaviour support practitioners.
Good positive behaviour support should aim to strengthen dignity, understanding, safety, choice and participation. Outcomes cannot be guaranteed, and the right pathway depends on the participant’s circumstances.
To discuss Treasure Disability Care’s current support options or send information for an initial suitability review, use the Treasure Disability Care referral form. Service commencement is subject to consent, funding, provider scope, assessment, participant suitability and capacity.