NDIS Positive Behaviour Support Capability Framework: What Practitioners Need to Know

If you are working as, or considering becoming, an NDIS Behaviour Support Practitioner, the Positive Behaviour Support Capability Framework is one of the most important documents to understand.

The Framework describes the knowledge and skills that underpin contemporary, evidence-based Positive Behaviour Support practice. It establishes expectations for Behaviour Support Practitioners and provides a structure through which practitioners can identify their current capabilities and continue developing their practice.

Importantly, the Framework is not simply a checklist for becoming a Behaviour Support Practitioner. It reflects the complexity of Positive Behaviour Support and the responsibility practitioners have to provide ethical, person-centred and evidence-informed support to people with disability.

What Is the Positive Behaviour Support Capability Framework?

The Positive Behaviour Support Capability Framework was developed by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission to describe the capabilities required to deliver high-quality Positive Behaviour Support.

The Framework is intended to:

• establish clear expectations for Behaviour Support Practitioners

• support practitioners to develop towards higher standards of practice

• strengthen safeguards for people with disability

• support the reduction and elimination of restrictive practices.

  
  

The Framework recognises that Behaviour Support Practitioners develop knowledge and skills progressively and that practitioners should work within the boundaries of their current knowledge, skills and experience.

Who Is the Capability Framework For?

The Framework is relevant to people who want to be considered suitable to practise as NDIS Behaviour Support Practitioners, as well as existing practitioners who are continuing to develop their professional capability.

The NDIS Commission currently provides two pathways for people applying to become suitable Behaviour Support Practitioners:

The Self-Assessment Pathway is for applicants who have sufficient Positive Behaviour Support experience and portfolio evidence to assess their capabilities against the Framework.

The New Entry-Level Pathway is intended for people with less than six months of Positive Behaviour Support experience and/or limited portfolio evidence.

For new entry-level practitioners, the Framework becomes particularly important because their professional development and supervision should support development across its seven capability domains.

What Are the Four Behaviour Support Practitioner Capability Levels?

The Positive Behaviour Support Capability Framework describes four practitioner capability levels:

Core

Core practitioners demonstrate foundational Positive Behaviour Support knowledge and skills.

This does not mean that Core practitioners simply complete basic tasks. They are still responsible for practising ethically, recognising the limits of their capability and seeking appropriate supervision when required.

Proficient

Proficient practitioners demonstrate a greater breadth and depth of Positive Behaviour Support capability and are expected to apply their knowledge and skills with greater independence.

A Proficient practitioner may also provide supervision to new entry-level practitioners, subject to their own competence and scope of practice.

Advanced

Advanced practitioners demonstrate more developed capability and are expected to work with increasing complexity.

Their practice reflects greater depth of assessment, analysis, clinical reasoning and professional judgement.

Specialist

Specialist represents the highest capability level described within the Framework.

Specialist practice involves significant expertise and the capacity to work with particularly complex situations while demonstrating advanced clinical reasoning and leadership within Positive Behaviour Support practice.

Does the NDIS Commission Give Practitioners a Capability Level?

This is an important area of confusion.

The NDIS Commission does not endorse a practitioner's capability level.

The Commission determines practitioner suitability.

Its decision is that an applicant is:

suitable,not suitable, orthe Commission is unable to make a decision.

Practitioner capability levels and practitioner suitability should therefore not be treated as the same thing.

A practitioner who has been considered suitable through the self-assessment pathway may continue progressing through the capability levels through professional development and appropriate professional and clinical supervision.

What Are the Seven Capability Domains?

The Framework assesses Positive Behaviour Support practice across seven domains.

1. Interim Response

This domain considers the practitioner's ability to respond appropriately when immediate behaviour support is required.

Interim responses should focus on safety while maintaining the person's rights, dignity and quality of life.

Practitioners need to recognise that an interim response is not a substitute for comprehensive assessment. It provides immediate guidance while further assessment and planning occur.

2. Functional Assessment

Functional assessment is fundamental to Positive Behaviour Support.

Practitioners need to gather and analyse information to understand behaviour within the context of the person's life.

This can include consideration of:

• communication

• health

• relationships

• environment

• sensory experiences

• routines

• skills

• preferences

• previous experiences

• antecedents and consequences

• broader quality-of-life factors.

Functional assessment should move beyond simply identifying a "trigger". It involves developing an evidence-informed understanding of why behaviour may be occurring and what the person may be communicating or attempting to achieve.

3. Planning

Assessment findings need to translate into meaningful Behaviour Support Plans.

Planning involves developing strategies that are individualised, practical and connected to the information gathered through assessment.

A high-quality Behaviour Support Plan should not simply contain a collection of generic strategies.

Recommendations should have a clear rationale and support improved quality of life, participation, communication, autonomy and skill development.

4. Implementation

A Behaviour Support Plan is only useful if it can be implemented effectively.

Practitioners therefore need to consider how the people supporting the participant will understand and apply the recommendations contained within the plan.

Implementation can include:

• stakeholder consultation

• training

• modelling

• coaching

• accessible resources

• implementation monitoring

• identifying barriers to implementation

• reviewing implementation fidelity.

The practitioner should consider not only what strategies are recommended but also how those strategies will work within the person's actual environment.

5. Know It Works

Positive Behaviour Support should be evaluated.

Practitioners need to consider how they will determine if supports are producing meaningful outcomes for the person.

This involves more than counting behaviours of concern.

Evaluation may also consider changes in areas such as:

• quality of life

• participation

• independence

• communication

• relationships

• engagement

• skill development

• use of restrictive practices

• environmental fit.

Data should help practitioners make informed decisions about continuing, modifying or replacing strategies.

6. Restrictive Practice

The reduction and elimination of restrictive practices is a significant component of Positive Behaviour Support within the NDIS.

Practitioners need to understand regulated restrictive practices, relevant legislative and authorisation requirements, safeguards and their professional responsibilities.

Where a regulated restrictive practice is included in a Behaviour Support Plan, there should also be a clear focus on identifying and addressing the factors contributing to its use and developing strategies for its reduction and eventual elimination wherever possible.

Restrictive practice reduction should therefore be connected to assessment, implementation and quality-of-life improvement rather than treated as a separate administrative requirement.

7. Continuing Professional Development and Supervision

Positive Behaviour Support capability continues to develop throughout a practitioner's career.

Practitioners need opportunities to reflect on their work, recognise limitations in their knowledge and skills, identify professional development priorities and seek appropriate supervision.

Effective supervision should encourage critical thinking.

It should provide an opportunity to ask questions such as:

• What evidence supports my formulation?

• Have I adequately considered the person's perspective?

• What assumptions am I making?

• Are my recommendations practical?

• Could environmental factors be contributing to the behaviour?

• Are there less restrictive alternatives?

• How will I know the intervention is improving the person's life?

Supervision should support the development of independent professional reasoning rather than simply provide approval of a practitioner's work.

What Does the Framework Mean for New Behaviour Support Practitioners?

For people entering through the New Entry-Level Pathway, the Framework provides a structure for professional development.

The NDIS Commission currently requires new entry-level applicants to work with a Behaviour Support Practitioner assessed at Proficient level or above.

The applicant and supervisor develop a professional development plan addressing capability across the seven domains and establish a supervision agreement.

This is important because becoming a Behaviour Support Practitioner involves developing an interconnected set of capabilities.

For example, learning how to write a Behaviour Support Plan without understanding Functional Behaviour Assessment is unlikely to result in high-quality practice.

Similarly, understanding assessment without developing skills in implementation means that good recommendations may never translate into meaningful change for the participant.

What Evidence Can Demonstrate Practitioner Capability?

Practitioner capability is demonstrated through evidence of knowledge and skills.

Depending on the practitioner's pathway and experience, evidence may include professional documents, assessment materials, Behaviour Support Plans, implementation resources, reflective practice, supervision records, professional development and other examples demonstrating application of the Framework.

For new entry-level applicants, the NDIS Commission also allows applicants to provide optional evidence demonstrating transferable skills from previous professional roles.

For example, relevant evidence could potentially include a classroom behaviour management plan, safety plan or wellness recovery action plan where it genuinely demonstrates transferable capability.

The important consideration is not simply the existence of a document.

Practitioners should be able to explain what the evidence demonstrates about their knowledge, reasoning and practice.

Why Clinical Reasoning Matters Across the Framework

The seven domains should not be viewed as seven completely separate competencies.

They are interconnected.

Assessment informs planning.

Planning influences implementation.

Implementation produces information about what is and is not working.

Evaluation then informs further assessment and planning.

Restrictive practice reduction requires consideration across all of these areas.

Clinical reasoning connects the domains.

A capable practitioner should increasingly be able to explain not only what they recommend, but why they recommend it, what evidence supports the decision and how they will determine if it is benefiting the person.

How Can Training Support Capability Development?

Positive Behaviour Support training can provide structured opportunities to develop knowledge across the Framework.

Training may support practitioners to strengthen their understanding of:

• Functional Behaviour Assessment

• clinical reasoning and formulation

• Behaviour Support Plan development

• implementation

• data and evaluation

• restrictive practice reduction

• stakeholder consultation

• person-centred practice

• supported decision-making

• ethics

• reflective practice.

Training alone, however, does not establish practitioner suitability or automatically demonstrate capability.

Capability develops through the combination of learning, practical experience, reflection, evidence and appropriate supervision.

Developing Your Positive Behaviour Support Capability with ConnectFirst™

ConnectFirst™ provides Positive Behaviour Support training and clinical supervision designed to help practitioners strengthen their knowledge, practical skills and clinical reasoning.

Our practitioner development approach focuses on understanding how the different areas of Positive Behaviour Support connect in real practice rather than treating the Capability Framework as a checklist to complete.

The ConnectFirst™ 90-Day Behaviour Support Practitioner Program provides structured learning across areas including Functional Behaviour Assessment, Behaviour Support Plan development, implementation, restrictive practices, clinical reasoning, quality and compliance and reflective practice.

Clinical supervision is also available for practitioners who require structured support with their ongoing professional development.

Training or supervision through ConnectFirst™ does not guarantee NDIS practitioner suitability or a particular capability level. Practitioner suitability is determined by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission through the applicable process.

Want to develop your capability in Positive Behaviour Support?

Explore the ConnectFirst™ 90-Day Behaviour Support Practitioner Program or learn more about Clinical Supervision for Behaviour Support Practitioners.

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