To choose a behaviour support provider in Sydney, check 6 things. Check NDIS registration on the Commission’s public register. Ask who your practitioner will be and at what level. Ask which plans they write and who lodges them. Then ask about restrictive practice reduction, where they visit and how they charge. A short call with each provider covers all 6.
This matters because you are picking someone who will spend months with a person and their family. They write a plan that other people then follow, at home, at school and at work. This guide is for parents, participants and support coordinators who are comparing providers. For the approach itself, read our guide to what positive behaviour support involves. Behaviour support is also called behaviour therapy, so you may see both names when you search.
How do I check if a behaviour support provider is NDIS registered?
Search the NDIS Provider Register on the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission website. You can search by name and filter by registration status. The register shows whether a provider is approved, suspended or revoked. A separate free search lists banning orders and other compliance decisions. Both searches take a few minutes.
Registration means a provider has been audited against the NDIS Practice Standards. It also brings ongoing duties, such as reporting incidents to the Commission. Registration tells you about compliance. It does not tell you whether one practitioner suits the person you are supporting, so keep asking questions after you check the register.
One rule applies to everyone. If regulated restrictive practices are involved, the behaviour support plan must come from a provider in the Specialist Behaviour Support registration group. The NDIS Commission’s behaviour support rules list 5 regulated types: chemical, environmental, mechanical and physical restraint, plus seclusion. Using one without a current, compliant plan is an unauthorised restrictive practice and a reportable incident.
My Behaviour Support is a registered NDIS provider and works in line with NDIS Commission requirements. Whoever you are comparing, check the register yourself.
What practitioner levels should I ask about?
Ask which level your practitioner works at and who supervises them. The Commission’s Positive Behaviour Support Capability Framework sets out 4 levels: core, proficient, advanced and specialist. The Commission itself only decides whether a practitioner is suitable, not suitable, or whether it is unable to decide.
The levels describe capability, and they map to complexity. Core practitioners are early in their careers and work with close supervision. Proficient practitioners work more on their own, including in some restrictive practice settings. The 2 higher levels take on high-risk and very complex situations.
The Commission also runs a practitioner search, but listing is opt-in. A practitioner who is not on it has not failed anything. Ask the provider directly. Three questions do the job:
- Who will be assigned to us, and at what level?
- Who supervises that person, and how often?
- If our situation gets more complex, who steps in?
Ask about consistency too. A plan built on a relationship works better when the same practitioner stays with you. You can meet our practitioners and see their levels on our team page.
Which behaviour support plans should a provider write?
A provider should explain 2 plans. An interim behaviour support plan focuses on immediate safety. A comprehensive behaviour support plan follows a full functional behaviour assessment. Where regulated restrictive practices are involved, the NDIS Commission’s plan workflow sets the timing: interim within 1 month and comprehensive within 6 months of engagement.
Our guide to what a behaviour support plan includes walks through each one. You can also read how we write Behaviour Support Plans.
Ask what happens to the plan once it is written. Where regulated restrictive practices are in use, plans must be lodged with the NDIS Commission. Ask who lodges it, when, and what you get a copy of.
Ask about assessment tools as well. A provider should be able to name what they use and why. Common tools include the QABF, the Overt Behaviour Scale and Quality of Life assessments. My Behaviour Support writes interim plans, comprehensive plans and Functional Behaviour Assessments in line with Commission requirements.
How should a provider handle restrictive practices?
A provider should treat every restrictive practice as a last resort. It should only sit inside an authorised plan. Every plan that includes one should carry a clear goal to reduce it over time and, where possible, remove it. Ask how they measure that reduction, how often it is reviewed, and what the path is for the practice to stop.
You can read how we approach this on our Reducing Restrictive Practices page.
Then ask the question families often skip. Who trains the people who deliver the plan day to day? A plan relies on the support workers, carers, teachers and family members using it. Coaching, modelling and follow-up sessions are part of the work.
My Behaviour Support offers Family & Carer Training for families, carers and support staff. The aim is to lower the use of restrictive practices while building skill in the family and the support team. Ask any provider what their training looks like, and how many hours sit in the quote.
Where will a behaviour support practitioner see us in Sydney?
Ask whether the practitioner will see the person where the behaviour happens. That could be home, school, a day program, work or the community. Behaviour makes sense in context. Seeing a person in their everyday places gives the practitioner more to work with when they write the plan.
Sydney is big, so ask which suburbs the provider has practitioners working in now. My Behaviour Support sees participants across South West and Western Sydney, including behaviour support in Campbelltown and behaviour support in Liverpool. We work with people at home, at school, at work and in the community.
Availability is the other half of this. Ask for a realistic start date. Ask how often sessions run once you begin. We usually visit fortnightly, with training or stakeholder meetings added as needed.
How much does a behaviour support provider in Sydney cost?
Our rate is $252.99 per hour, in line with NDIS pricing arrangements. Travel is charged at a 50% reduced rate, and we charge no kilometres. The NDIA reviews rates each year, so we confirm your rate at the first consultation and in your service agreement. Other providers set their own rates within the NDIS price limits.
Behaviour support is funded from the Capacity Building part of an NDIS plan. In older plans it sits under Improved Relationships. In PACE plans it shows up as behaviour support. This is a stated budget, so the money is set aside for that purpose.
Totals vary depending on how the hours are spent. These things move the number:
- Assessment time, including observations and interviews
- Plan writing and report writing
- Training and coaching for the support team
- Plan reviews and Commission lodgement work
- Travel to and from sessions
Ask every provider for their current hourly rate and their travel policy in writing before you sign a service agreement. Ask whether travel is charged at the full rate or a lower one, and whether kilometres are added as well. Our guide to NDIS behaviour support costs explains the funding in more detail.
What questions should I ask a behaviour support provider?
Take this list into your first call with each provider. The answers will tell you how each provider works.
- Are you a registered NDIS provider, and are you in the Specialist Behaviour Support registration group?
- Who will be assigned to us, at what level, and who supervises them?
- How many people in a similar situation to ours have you supported?
- Do you write interim plans, comprehensive plans, or both?
- Which assessments do you use, and how long does assessment take?
- Will you see us at home, at school and in the community?
- How do you work to lower the use of restrictive practices over time?
- What training do you give our support workers and family?
- What is your current wait time, and how often will we meet?
- What is your hourly rate, and how is travel charged?
- How do you work with our support coordinator and plan manager?
- How do we raise a concern, and what is your complaints process?
- What happens at plan review, and who writes the report?
You do not need a perfect answer to every one. You are listening for whether the provider is clear, specific and happy to be asked.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to use a registered provider for behaviour support?
It depends on your situation. If regulated restrictive practices are part of the picture, the plan must come from a provider in the Specialist Behaviour Support registration group. The practitioner must also be one the Commission considers suitable. Agency-managed participants must use registered providers. Self-managed and plan-managed participants have more choice, but the restrictive practice rule still applies.
How long does it take to get a behaviour support plan?
Where regulated restrictive practices are involved, an interim plan is due within 1 month of engagement. It covers the safety strategies needed right away. A comprehensive plan follows a full functional behaviour assessment and is due within 6 months. Assessment is usually the longest stage. It uses observation, interviews and input from the people who know the person.
Can I change behaviour support providers if it is not working?
Yes. Your service agreement sets out the notice period, so read it first. Then give notice in writing. Ask your current provider for copies of the assessment, the plan and any lodgement records, so a new provider can pick things up faster. A support coordinator can help manage the handover so support continues.
Who can help me compare behaviour support providers in Sydney?
A support coordinator is the usual starting point, because they work with many providers. Local Area Coordinators, advocacy organisations and parent groups can help too. If you are comparing on your own, check each name on the NDIS Commission provider register first. Then use the question list above on a short call with each provider.
Is behaviour therapy the same as positive behaviour support?
Many families search for behaviour therapy or a behaviour therapist when they mean positive behaviour support. Under the NDIS, the funded service is called behaviour support, and the person who writes the plan is a behaviour support practitioner. Our guide to behaviour therapists and behaviour support practitioners explains the 2 roles.
If you would like to put these questions to our team, make a referral or call us. The first chat works out whether our positive behaviour support suits the person you are supporting.
