Seclusion

What is seclusion?

Seclusion is the sole confinement of a person with disability in a room or physical space, at any hour of the day or night, where voluntary exit is prevented, not facilitated, or it is implied that voluntary exit is not permitted. It is one of the five regulated restrictive practices in the NDIS. A person can be secluded behind an unlocked door if they believe they are not allowed to leave.

That definition is section 6(a) of the NDIS (Restrictive Practices and Behaviour Support) Rules 2018. As a regulated restrictive practice, seclusion can only be used by a registered provider under a behaviour support plan, with state or territory authorisation where required, and it must be recorded and reported. Some jurisdictions prohibit or tightly limit it.

The definition has three parts, and all matter:

• Sole confinement: the person is on their own.
• A room or physical space: a bedroom, a lounge, a backyard, or the rest of the house when staff and residents have left it.
• Exit prevented, not facilitated, or implied not permitted: a locked door, a door held shut, a door the person can't operate, or an instruction such as "stay in your room until you calm down".

Examples of seclusion

The NDIS Commission's Regulated Restrictive Practices Guide gives examples that show how broad the definition is:

Calling it "time out", "quiet time" or "a break" does not change the test. If the person is alone and can't, or thinks they can't, come out, treat it as seclusion.

Seclusion vs other restrictive practices

The overlap people get wrong most is with environmental restraint. Locking the front door of a shared home restricts everyone's access to the community; it can be an environmental restraint. Seclusion is narrower: one person, alone, in a space they can't leave. Queensland's law also uses a separate term, "containment", for preventing a person's free exit from premises where they receive supports, so check the categories used in your state.

Seclusion rules differ by state and territory

The NDIS Commission does not authorise seclusion; each state and territory sets its own process, and some prohibit it. The pattern, from the 2025 national summary of authorisation frameworks — confirm with your state before relying on it:

• Prohibited for children: NSW and the NT list seclusion of people under 18 as prohibited.
• Extra approval: in Victoria, an Authorised Program Officer's authorisation of seclusion also needs the Senior Practitioner's approval.
• Tribunal approval: in Queensland, seclusion and containment under a comprehensive plan need QCAT approval, and the Public Guardian can consent to short-term use.
• Emergency only: in South Australia, the 2025 summary records that seclusion can only be used in an emergency, for de-escalation, for no more than 2 hours.
• Panel or Senior Practitioner: NSW and WA use provider-convened panels; Tasmania and the NT use a Senior Practitioner; in the ACT a registered panel approves and the Senior Practitioner registers the plan.

Under section 8 of the Rules, if a state or territory prohibits a practice, a registered provider must not use it there.

What providers must do

When seclusion is used and is likely to continue, the implementing provider must take all reasonable steps to have an interim behaviour support plan within 1 month and a comprehensive plan within 6 months of first use, seek authorisation as soon as reasonably practicable, and lodge evidence with the NDIS Commission. Each use must be recorded with the section 15 details — the behaviour, why it was used, less restrictive options tried, start and end times, place, people and witnesses, impact and injury — and kept for 7 years. Use is reported to the Commission monthly.

Seclusion used outside a plan or without authorisation is an unauthorised restrictive practice and a reportable incident: 5 business days, or 24 hours for any part involving serious injury or abuse (see the Incident Management and Reportable Incidents Rules). The plan must also include strategies to reduce and eliminate the practice, usually through positive behaviour support that addresses why the behaviour happens.

Common mistakes

• "The door wasn't locked." An implied instruction to stay is enough.
• Staff leaving the person behind. Retreating to the office and leaving one resident alone in the house can be seclusion.
• Removing a wheelchair or walker so the person can't leave the room.
• Not checking state limits before writing seclusion into a plan, especially for children.
• Recording only the start time. Seclusion records need both start and end times.

The free restrictive practice checker helps confirm the category and the deadlines.