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Behaviour support in your child’s NDIS Plan

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If your child has behaviour that is challenging to manage, you may be able to get support through your child’s NDIS Plan.

Many families have children with behaviour that can be challenging and difficult to manage.

To get behaviour support in your child’s NDIS Plan, you will need to provide evidence of your child’s behaviour and have a goal of improved relationships, such as ‘I would like support to increase my ability to understand my emotions and behaviour’.

Evidence can include reports and letters from psychologists, therapists, school or your GP. These should state how getting support now will reduce the chance of the behaviour becoming worse in the future.

The type of support available may include a Behaviour Support Plan with strategies to suit your child’s particular needs as well as training for you as a family.

Some services can provide a quote for a Behaviour Support Plan and training. Having a quote can make it easier for the NDIS to include this support in your child’s Plan.

Behaviour support is usually NDIA managed. This means that you can only use NDIA registered practitioners to develop these plans and strategies.

Funding for behaviour support

There are two levels of NDIS funding available for behaviour support:

  1. Specialist Behaviour Intervention Support
    This is for harmful behaviours where the Behaviour Support Plan may need to include the use of restrictive practices. Restrictive practices are things that limit the rights of a person, like being able to move around freely.

  2. Behaviour Support Plan and training
    Behaviour Support Plans include information about what triggers the behaviour and how to reduce or stop it from happening. A registered Behaviour Support Practitioner can work with your child’s therapists to put together a Behaviour Support Plan that includes strategies and training to support your child and family.

You can ask your Support Co-ordinator about Behaviour Support Practitioners in your area who might be a good fit for your child. There is also a Provider Finder in the myplace portal. Go to ‘Capacity Building’ and choose ‘Relationships’ in the Support Category box for a list of providers. You can also use the term ‘Positive Behaviour Support Intervention’ when searching for services.

NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
Behaviour Support Plan template

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Supporting your child’s behaviour

Helping children understand their emotions and regulate their behaviour takes work. Children do well if they can. Behaviour is a form of communication. A child might be communicating ‘I’m hurt’, ‘I don’t want to’ or ‘I’m overwhelmed’ through their behaviour.

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Behaviour support at school

If you or your child’s teacher have concerns about your child’s behaviour at school, the first step is to talk about it openly. There can be many reasons why children can behave in a way that harms themselves or others