Guide Behaviours of concern
Behaviours of Concern, Explained for Sunshine Coast Families
What the term means under the NDIS, who is allowed to provide behaviour support, and what a support worker can and cannot do alongside it.
What the term means
Behaviours of concern is the NDIS phrase for behaviour that puts the person or the people around them at risk, or that gets in the way of them living the life they want. Hitting, self-harm, running, refusing care, property damage. The word ‘concern’ is deliberate: it is about the impact, not a judgement about the person.
Under the NDIS, formal behaviour support (assessing why a behaviour happens and writing a plan to reduce it) can only be provided by an NDIS behaviour support practitioner, and if the plan involves any restrictive practice it has to be lodged with the Commission. That is a specialist registration group. We do not hold it, and we will not pretend to.
What we do is implement. A support worker’s job is to follow the behaviour support plan properly, record what happens, and do the day-to-day work that reduces the situations where the behaviour shows up.
Who does what
- Behaviour support practitioner
- Assesses, writes and reviews the plan
- NDIS Commission
- Oversees plans with restrictive practices
- Support worker
- Implements the plan, records, and reduces triggers day to day
- The Energy
- Support workers and social work, not behaviour support
What a support worker can do
Following a plan well is skilled work. This is what it involves.
Follow the plan
Every strategy in the plan, the same way, every time. Consistency is most of what makes a plan work.
Reduce triggers
Predictable routines, familiar people and quieter environments cut down the situations that lead to the behaviour.
Record properly
What happened, what came before, what was done. The practitioner needs this to review the plan.
Stay calm
A worker who is not rattled changes the outcome. Training and consistency matter here.
Report incidents
Some things must be reported. We know which, and we do it.
Not improvise
No restrictive practice that is not in an approved plan. Not ever, however difficult the moment.
Where we work
Across the Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay
The same team and the same approach wherever you are. If you are just outside these areas, ask us. We will say yes or no.
If you need behaviour support
We will tell you who to ask.
If there is no plan yet, or the plan is not working, that is a conversation with a behaviour support practitioner and probably your coordinator. We can help you get there.
- We do not provide behaviour support, and we say so
- Our workers implement approved plans and record properly
- Social work can help with the assessment and referral process
- Honest answers about what is inside and outside our role
Questions about behaviours of concern
Can The Energy write a behaviour support plan?
No. That requires an NDIS behaviour support practitioner and a specific registration. We implement plans; we do not write them. If you need one, we can help you find someone who can.
What is a restrictive practice?
Anything that restricts a person’s rights or freedom of movement to manage behaviour: physical restraint, seclusion, some medications, locked doors. They are only allowed under an approved plan and are reported to the NDIS Commission. Our workers never use one that is not in an approved plan.
Does having behaviours of concern mean I cannot use a support worker?
No. Most people with a behaviour support plan use support workers every day. The plan tells the worker how to support you well.
Do your workers have training in this?
Workers supporting someone with a behaviour support plan are briefed on that plan and on how to record and report. We are honest about the limits of that: we are support workers, not practitioners.
Not sure what applies to your situation?
Ask. We will tell you what sits with us and what sits with a practitioner.