In this bulletin, we talk about supported decision making.

Supported decision making is when someone helps you make important decisions about your life and how you live.

For example, your provider or behaviour support practitioner.

Behaviour support practitioners work with a person to create a behaviour support plan.

This plan might include restrictive practices.

They follow the rules in our policy about restrictive practices.

In this bulletin, we just call them practitioners.

People with disability have the same rights as others to:

• make their own decisions
• get support to make decisions
• know what they want for themselves.

Supported decision making helps people:

• live how they want to

• get the support they need.

Providers and practitioners must use supported decision making for people with disability who need support to make decisions.

For example, decisions about:

• what they want and need in their daily life

• what supports the provider uses to meet the person’s needs

• what type of restrictive practice the provider might use.

Providers and practitioners must find out how a person feels about the restrictive practices being used.

They can only use restrictive practices if it keeps the person and others safe from harm.

Providers and practitioners should include other people close to the person when supporting them to make decisions.

For example, the person’s family or carer.

When people with disability are supported to make their own decisions, they are less likely to show behaviours of concern.

Behaviours of concern are things someone does that might put:

• themselves in danger
• other people in danger.

People might show behaviours of concern when they don’t get the support they need.

When this happens, providers might use restrictive practices.

Providers must learn what each person needs and wants.

This will help providers:

• give the best positive behaviour support

• find out if something isn’t working well

• use less restrictive practices.