Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) is not only for children. Adults with intellectual disability, autism, acquired brain injury, dementia-related change or psychosocial disability are a large share of NDIS participants with behaviour support funding, and they, their families and their support coordinators often struggle to find clear information. This guide explains what PBS looks like for adults, who provides it, what a Behaviour Support Plan must contain, how restrictive practices are regulated, and how to get started. daar delivers NDIS behaviour support for adults and children across Australia.
What Positive Behaviour Support is
PBS is a person-centred, evidence-based framework for understanding and reducing behaviours of concern by improving the person's quality of life. It rests on three ideas: behaviour serves a function for the person, the environment and the people around them shape that behaviour, and the best way to change it is to teach skills and change conditions rather than to punish. Under the NDIS, PBS is the required approach for any participant who has behaviour support funding and the only pathway through which a restrictive practice can be authorised and monitored.
Who adult PBS is for
- Adults with intellectual disability, autism or both, particularly when communication is limited.
- Adults with acquired brain injury or neurological conditions that affect impulse control or emotional regulation.
- Adults with psychosocial disability whose behaviour puts their housing, employment or relationships at risk.
- Adults living in supported independent living (SIL) or group homes where staff need a consistent, written approach.
- Any adult NDIS participant for whom a provider is using or considering a restrictive practice, such as locked doors, medication for behaviour, or physical or mechanical restraint.
What the NDIS funds for adults
Behaviour support for adults is funded under Capacity Building - Improved Relationships. The typical items are:
| Support | What it involves | Who delivers it |
|---|
| Functional behaviour assessment | Interviews with the person, family and support staff; observation across settings; review of incident data and medical history; analysis of what each behaviour achieves | NDIS behaviour support practitioner (core, proficient, advanced or specialist level) |
| Interim Behaviour Support Plan | A short plan with immediate strategies, due within one month when a restrictive practice is in use | Behaviour support practitioner |
| Comprehensive Behaviour Support Plan | Full plan due within six months: proactive strategies, skill teaching, environmental changes, response protocols, data collection, restrictive practice reduction and fade-out plan | Behaviour support practitioner |
| Training and implementation support | Training SIL staff, support workers, family and day program staff to implement the plan consistently; monitoring fidelity and data | Behaviour support practitioner, often with a therapy assistant |
| Plan review | At least every 12 months, or sooner when circumstances change | Behaviour support practitioner |
Related supports such as psychology, speech pathology (for communication systems), occupational therapy (for sensory and environmental adaptations) and counselling are funded under Improved Daily Living and are often part of the same plan.
Restrictive practices and the NDIS Commission
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission regulates five types of regulated restrictive practice: seclusion, chemical restraint, mechanical restraint, physical restraint and environmental restraint. A registered NDIS provider that uses any of these must have them included in a Behaviour Support Plan written by a suitable practitioner, must obtain authorisation under the relevant state or territory process, and must report each use to the Commission. The purpose of the plan is to reduce and eventually eliminate the practice. Families and support coordinators should be wary of any arrangement in which a restrictive practice is in daily use without a lodged plan.
What a good adult Behaviour Support Plan contains
- A plain-language description of the person, their strengths, communication style, preferences and history.
- A clear definition of each behaviour of concern, how often it happens, and what it achieves for the person.
- Proactive strategies: changes to routines, environment, communication supports, choice and control, sensory needs, health and sleep.
- Skills to teach, such as a way to request a break, to say no, or to ask for help, including communication aids where speech is limited.
- Response strategies that keep everyone safe without escalating.
- Any restrictive practice, why it is needed, how it will be reduced, and the authorisation and reporting steps.
- Data collection that support workers can realistically do, and a review schedule.
How adult PBS differs from child PBS
- Consent and decision-making. The adult's own consent and preferences come first; where capacity is limited, guardians, nominees or public advocates are involved.
- Housing and staffing. Many adults live in SIL with rostered staff, so the plan has to work across shifts and be trainable to new workers.
- Co-occurring health conditions. Pain, epilepsy, mental illness and medication effects are common drivers of behaviour in adults and must be checked with the GP or psychiatrist.
- Restrictive practices are more common. Adult settings use environmental and chemical restraint more often, which raises the regulatory stakes of getting a plan lodged.
- Goals are about life, not school. Employment, community access, relationships and independence replace classroom goals.
Choosing an adult behaviour support provider
Ask whether the practitioner is assessed as suitable by the NDIS Commission and at what level; whether the provider is NDIS-registered for specialist behaviour support (required for NDIA-managed participants and for any plan with restrictive practices); whether they will observe in the person's home and day program rather than only in a clinic; whether they can train SIL staff and support workers; how they coordinate with the GP, psychiatrist, speech pathologist and occupational therapist; and what their timeframe is for an interim and a comprehensive plan.
How daar delivers behaviour support for adults
daar is an NDIS-registered provider of specialist behaviour support. Our behaviour support practitioners complete functional behaviour assessments, write interim and comprehensive Behaviour Support Plans, lodge plans with the NDIS Commission where restrictive practices are involved, and train support workers, SIL staff and families to implement them. Speech pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists and counsellors on the same team address communication, sensory and mental health needs. Services are delivered in the participant's home and community, in our Liverpool and Canterbury clinics in Sydney, and by telehealth across every state and territory. Support coordinators can refer online at daar.com.au/rf, and participants and families can book at daar.com.au/book or call (02) 9133 2500.
Frequently asked questions
Can adults get Positive Behaviour Support under the NDIS?
Yes. Any NDIS participant with behaviours of concern can have Improved Relationships funding for a behaviour support practitioner, regardless of age.
Who can write a Behaviour Support Plan for an adult?
Only an NDIS behaviour support practitioner who has been assessed as suitable by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, working for a provider registered to deliver specialist behaviour support if restrictive practices are involved or the participant is NDIA-managed.
How long does an adult Behaviour Support Plan take?
When a restrictive practice is in use, an interim plan is required within one month of engagement and a comprehensive plan within six months. Without restrictive practices, a comprehensive plan is usually completed within two to three months depending on assessment access.
Does a support coordinator need a GP referral to engage a behaviour support provider?
No. The support coordinator or participant can engage a registered provider directly. Medical input is sought during the assessment.
Is behaviour support available by telehealth for adults in regional areas?
Yes. Interviews, staff training and plan reviews are delivered by video, with in-person observation arranged where possible. daar supports participants in every state and territory this way.
What is the difference between specialist behaviour support and behaviour therapy for adults?
Specialist behaviour support is the regulated PBS pathway funded under Improved Relationships and is required where restrictive practices are used. Behaviour therapy is broader skill-building funded under Improved Daily Living and is often used alongside a Behaviour Support Plan.
Sources and further reading: NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, Regulated restrictive practices and Positive behaviour support capability framework; NDIS Operational Guidelines, Behaviour support; NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, Improved Relationships; Australian Institute of Family Studies.
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