NDIS behaviour support: Carers speak out on practitioner quality

Finding the Right Fit: New Study Highlights Gaps in NDIS Behaviour Support Choices

A new national survey has revealed that families, friends, and carers supporting people with disability often struggle to find the right behaviour support practitioners through the NDIS. The study found many informal supporters are left without enough information to confidently choose someone with the right qualifications, experience, or approach.

This research points to a clear need for more transparency about practitioner expertise. It also calls for stronger, more consistent, and rights-based behaviour support across the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

What is Behaviour Support and Why Does it Matter?

Behaviour support is a crucial part of disability services in Australia. It’s central to safeguarding the rights of people with disability and aims to reduce the use of restrictive practices.

Restrictive practices are actions that limit a person’s rights or freedom of movement. These can include anything from using physical restraints to locking doors or restricting access to personal items. Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) is a person-centred approach designed to understand and address the reasons behind challenging behaviours, improve quality of life, and ultimately reduce the need for such restrictions.

A key principle of PBS is that the person with disability themselves must be meaningfully involved in their support. This includes engaging with those who know them best – their families and carers – to understand their everyday preferences, goals, and life contexts.

A Closer Look at the Survey Findings

The survey, which gathered insights from 123 informal supporters, was conducted by researchers from Flinders University, Monash University, and the University of Melbourne. It found significant variation in how confident supporters felt about their NDIS behaviour support practitioners.

While almost two-thirds of respondents felt they understood the practitioner’s role, many reported feeling lost when trying to identify a suitable professional. They described a lack of clear information and support during the selection process.

The study also highlighted practical challenges like limited local availability and long waitlists, especially for people living in regional, rural, and remote areas. These issues can severely limit the “choice and control” that the NDIS aims to provide.

Areas of Concern and Strengths

Supporters rated practitioners differently across various aspects of their work. Nearly one-third expressed only moderate overall confidence in a practitioner’s knowledge and skills. Lower confidence was specifically noted in areas such as:

• Involving NDIS participants in developing their own behaviour support goals.
• Ensuring support plans truly reflect a participant’s values and preferences.
• Providing practical support to help implement plans effectively.
• Developing clear strategies to reduce restrictive practices over time.

However, the survey also identified key strengths when they were present. Respondents valued clear communication, empathy, collaborative approaches, and explanations that were easy to understand.

Concerns included a perceived focus on meeting compliance requirements rather than achieving meaningful outcomes for participants, a lack of specific disability knowledge, and insufficient practical guidance for implementing plans.

The Importance of Informed Choice and Person-Centred Practice

Dr. Alinka Fisher from Flinders University, one of the lead researchers, emphasised that genuine choice means more than just having a list of providers.

“Participants and informal supporters need clear information about a practitioner’s qualifications, experience, areas of expertise and approach to behaviour support,” Dr. Fisher stated. She added that opportunities to meet prospective practitioners are vital to determine if they are a good fit.

The findings strongly reinforce the need for behaviour support that is truly rights-based and person-centred. This means the individual’s own views and preferences must always be at the heart of the plan, with families and carers meaningfully included as key partners in planning and implementation.

Recommendations for a Stronger System

Based on their findings, the researchers have put forward several recommendations aimed at improving transparency, informed choice, and person-centred care in NDIS behaviour support:

• Make Practitioner Information More Accessible

  Easier access to details about individual practitioners’ qualifications, professional background, relevant experience, areas of specialisation, and how they approach behaviour support. This would allow participants and their supporters to make more informed decisions.

• Offer Pre-Engagement Meetings

  Where possible, provide opportunities for NDIS participants and their informal supporters to meet prospective practitioners before formally committing. This allows for a discussion of needs, experience, and suitability to find the best match.

• Strengthen Inclusion of Participants and Supporters

  Improve processes to ensure people with disability and their informal supporters are meaningfully involved in every stage: planning, reviewing, and implementing behaviour support plans.

• Ensure Specialised Knowledge

  Guarantee that practitioners possess strong positive behaviour support knowledge and specific expertise in disability, while also valuing lived experience.

• Support Workforce Quality

  Implement adequate funding arrangements, supervision, and quality assurance measures to support high-quality work within the behaviour support workforce.

Recognising Unpaid Family Labour

The study also highlighted that most survey respondents were female, drawing attention to the significant unpaid support and advocacy work often undertaken by women in navigating disability services.

The researchers noted that NDIS policies should avoid relying so heavily on this often invisible and unevenly distributed family labour, advocating for systems that better support families directly.

Moving Forward: What This Means for You

This research underscores a crucial message: an effective behaviour support system is built on trust, transparency, and genuine partnership. For NDIS participants, families, and carers, it highlights the importance of asking direct questions about a practitioner’s experience and approach before making a choice.

For providers, it’s a call to action to proactively share detailed information about their team’s qualifications and to ensure their practices are truly person-centred and collaborative. The goal is clear: a more transparent, equitable, and rights-focused NDIS where everyone can find the right support to thrive.