A behaviour support plan is a document that explains what support a person with disability needs.

They support people with disability who show behaviours of concern.

Behaviours of concern are things someone does that might put:

• themselves in danger
• other people in danger.

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 call the people who make behaviour support plans ‘practitioners’.

People with disability should have the same rights as everybody else.

It is important that everybody supports these rights.

This includes practitioners.

This means people should:

• respect who they are

• make sure they are safe

• support them to make their own decisions

• support them to tell people what they need.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provides services and support to people with disability.

Some practitioners work for registered NDIS providers.

If a provider is registered, they:

• can provide services for people who take part in the NDIS
• must follow more rules than other providers.

Some practitioners can also be registered providers.

This means they don’t have to work for someone else.

Practitioners work with the person with disability who the behaviour support plan is for.

They support the person to make decisions about what they need.

Practitioners also work with other people in the person’s life.

This includes:

• family members

• carers

• providers who use restrictive practices

• other professionals who work with the person.

Working with these people can help practitioners understand:

• what the person with disability needs
• what the people around them need.

The practitioner will make sure the behaviour support plan:

• focuses on why the person with disability uses behaviours of concern

• supports what they need.

Practitioners also use research to decide which supports a person with disability might need.

Practitioners must include a restrictive practice in a person’s behaviour support plan if a provider is going to use a restrictive practice.

The behaviour support plan must clearly explain:

• what the restrictive practice is

• how people must use the restrictive practice

• when people must use it.

The restrictive practice must be the last option to keep people safe.

This means the person’s provider must have tried other types of support first.

The restrictive practices must have the smallest effect on the person’s freedom as possible to keep people safe.

The restrictive practice must make people safer.

This includes:

• the person with disability

or

• other people around them.

This means they need to think about:

• how much the restrictive practice might affect the person

• the risks of not using the restrictive practice.

People must only use the restrictive practice for the shortest time possible.

Restrictive practices affect people’s rights.

The behaviour support plan needs to include how providers will:

• use less restrictive practices over time
• stop using restrictive practices.