Positive behaviour support (PBS)

What is positive behaviour support (PBS)?

Positive behaviour support (PBS) is an evidence-based, person-centred approach to supporting people whose behaviour may put themselves or others at risk. Its main goal is to improve the person's quality of life; fewer behaviours of concern is expected to follow. PBS is the approach behaviour support in the NDIS is built on, and the one behaviour support plans are expected to follow.

PBS combines three things: values (human rights, inclusion, choice and dignity), behavioural science (understanding what a behaviour achieves for the person) and person-centred planning (building support around the person's goals, not the service's convenience). Rather than asking "how do we stop this behaviour?", PBS asks "what is this behaviour telling us, and how can we meet that need in a better way?"

In the NDIS, the NDIS Commission's Positive Behaviour Support Capability Framework sets out the knowledge and skills expected of behaviour support practitioners. The current version was published in 2024. People also search "positive behaviour support plan", which in the NDIS is a behaviour support plan (BSP) written using PBS.

How PBS works

PBS is a cycle, not a one-off plan. A practitioner leads it, but the people who support the person every day do most of the work.

The assessment step is a functional behavioural assessment: collecting data and observations to understand which events trigger a behaviour and what keeps it going. Common functions include communicating pain or distress, escaping a demand, getting attention or something wanted, or sensory needs. The Commission published a behaviour support assessment guide in May 2026 describing what it expects.

Proactive and reactive strategies

Most of a PBS plan is proactive: it changes things before behaviour happens. A smaller part is reactive: what to do safely when behaviour does happen.

• Changing the environment: noise, lighting, crowding, routines, predictable schedules, who the person lives with.
• Building skills: communication (for example a device, signs or pictures), coping, choice-making and daily living skills that meet the same need as the behaviour.
• Improving quality of life: relationships, meaningful activity, health, and community participation.
• Responding safely: early warning signs, de-escalation, and the least restrictive response for the shortest time.

Active support, person-centred practice and supported decision-making sit naturally alongside PBS in daily support.

PBS and restrictive practices

PBS aims to reduce and eliminate restrictive practices. Under the NDIS (Restrictive Practices and Behaviour Support) Rules 2018, a regulated restrictive practice can only be used as a last resort in a behaviour support plan, in response to a risk of harm, in proportion to that risk, for the shortest time possible and as the least restrictive option, with authorisation where the state or territory requires it. A PBS plan that includes a restrictive practice should also include the strategy to fade it out.

The Commission's May 2026 guidance on monitoring and reviewing plans expects fade-out plans to be actively carried out, not just written. That depends on the implementing provider's workers using the proactive strategies every day and recording what happens.

What a fade-out looks like depends on the function of the behaviour. Some general patterns practitioners use:

• A locked pantry (environmental restraint) may be replaced over time by predictable meal and snack times, visual cues and food the person can access freely, with the lock used less and less.
• As-needed sedation (chemical restraint) may be reduced by finding and treating the cause of distress, such as pain or sleep problems, working with the prescriber.
• Being sent to a room, which can amount to seclusion, may be replaced by a calm space the person chooses and can leave whenever they want.

Each change is tested with data, and the plan is adjusted if the behaviour returns.

PBS vs other approaches

PBS is often compared with older behaviour management approaches and with applied behaviour analysis (ABA), the behavioural science it draws on.

Who uses PBS in the NDIS

PBS is used by everyone around the person, at different levels:

• Behaviour support practitioners assess, write and review plans. The PBS Capability Framework sets four practitioner levels: core, proficient, advanced and specialist.
• Specialist behaviour support providers are registered (registration group 0110, specialist positive behaviour support) and audited against the supplementary specialist behaviour support module.
• Implementing providers and support workers use the strategies on every shift. Module 2A of the Practice Standards sets expectations for implementing behaviour support plans, and the SIL Practice Standards that started on 1 July 2026 expect SIL workers to be trained in de-escalation and positive behaviour support.
• Families, teachers and carers often use the same strategies so the person gets a consistent response.

How PBS is funded

When it is reasonable and necessary, the NDIA funds specialist behaviour support in the Capacity Building budget under Improved Relationships. The 2026-27 pricing schedule includes support items such as "Specialist Behavioural Intervention Support" and "Behaviour Management Plan Implementation". Check current items and price limits in the NDIS pricing arrangements or the free NDIS price guide. Support workers' everyday use of PBS strategies is part of the core supports they already deliver.

What providers should do

Good records are central. Behaviour charts, records of each restrictive practice use and clear progress notes let the practitioner see which strategies work. Record the good days too: if workers only write when something goes wrong, nobody can tell what is helping.

What PBS looks like on a shift

For support workers, PBS is mostly ordinary, consistent support done deliberately. On a typical shift that can mean:

1. Reading the handover and the plan summary before starting, so you know today's risks and what has been working.
2. Following the person's routine and warning them about changes, using the communication method in their plan.
3. Offering real choices and activities the person enjoys, rather than waiting for something to go wrong.
4. Watching for the early warning signs the plan describes, and using the agreed de-escalation steps early.
5. Recording what happened objectively: what came before, what the person did, what you did, and how it ended.

If a strategy can't be delivered, for example because there aren't enough staff at a busy time, say so. A plan that can't be followed in real life tends to lead to unplanned restrictions.

What participants and families should know

PBS should feel like support built around you, not a set of rules imposed on you. You have the right to be involved in your assessment and plan, to understand why each strategy is there, and to say what is and isn't working. Families and carers can ask for training in the strategies so responses are consistent at home.

If you are worried that support relies on restriction rather than understanding, ask the practitioner how the plan will improve your quality of life and reduce any restrictive practices. You can ask for a review at any time your circumstances change, and you can contact the NDIS Commission if you have concerns about how behaviour support is delivered.

Recent changes (2024–2026)

• 2024: the Commission published an updated version of the PBS Capability Framework.
• April 2026: updated Commission guidance on suitability for new entry-level behaviour support practitioners, including supervision by a practitioner at proficient level or above.
• May 2026: Commission guidance on behaviour support assessment (including FBA) and on monitoring and reviewing behaviour support plans.
• 1 July 2026: the SIL Practice Standards began, including expectations for training in positive behaviour support for SIL workers.

Common misunderstandings about PBS

• "PBS means rewarding good behaviour." Rewards can be part of it, but PBS is mainly about understanding the reason for behaviour and changing the person's environment and skills.
• "PBS is the practitioner's job." The practitioner writes the plan; workers and families make it work.
• "PBS rules out restrictive practices." Not always, but any practice must be a last resort with a plan to remove it.
• "The plan is finished once it's written." PBS is a cycle of data, review and adjustment.
• "Behaviour is the person's problem." PBS treats behaviour as a response to the person's environment and unmet needs.