New Behaviour Support Plan Templates

The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (the NDIS Commission) has recently released updated Interim and Comprehensive Behaviour Support Plan (BSP) templates.

The updated templates follow the publication of the BSP Template Review – Summary of Findings in July 2023.

THE REVIEW

The purpose of the review was to:

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the current templates, and
• Co-design future fit templates which reflect contemporary evidence informed practice, uphold participant’s rights, and promote the reduction and elimination of restrictive practices

The review was co-designed with people with disability and consisted of:

• An anonymous online survey
• Focus groups
• Targeted consultation with peak bodies and providers
• Review of evidence informed practice

603 responses were received to the online survey and 177 people participated in the focus groups.

THE FINDINGS

The review identified four key themes and ten sub-themes that the BSP templates should be designed to achieve:

Principles

• Upholds human rights and promotes the reduction and elimination of restrictive practices
• Person-centred, strength-based, and proactive to improve quality of life

Design

• Co-designed to meet diverse user needs
• Increased accessibility

Content

• Content areas are fit-for-purpose
• Goal-driven and measurement of outcomes
• Based on contemporary evidence-informed practice
• Supports compliance with regulatory requirements

Systems, tools and resources

• Considers the connection with other systems
• Supported by complementary resources and guidance

The full list of recommendations can be found in the review report.

INTERIM BSP TEMPLATE – NEW REQUIREMENTS

There are significant changes to the Interim BSP. The previous version (2.0) can be viewed here.

Behaviour support practitioners should comprehensively review the new version (3.0) to understand the full requirements. In summary the following sections have been added/amended:

• Consultation – must include details of the consultation undertaken with the person with disability, and others in the preparation of the BSP
• About the Person – a brief 1-2 page profile about the person must be developed
• Regulated Restrictive Practices Protocol - this now requires significant detail including:

1. Rationale for why the Restrictive Practice is needed
2. Person-centred and proactive strategies to be used before the Restrictive Practice
3. Procedure, with detailed instructions about how the Restrictive Practice will be used
4. Training, monitoring, and review plan
5. Plan to reduce and eliminate the restrictive practices
6. Impacts and safeguards, including the anticipated effects of the Restrictive Practice, potential side effects and safeguards to prevent misuse (for Chemical Restraint only)

• Practices to be ceased immediately – this should include the practices being ceased, rationale and alternative strategies
• Implementation support and monitoring – this section requires a documented action plan across a range of areas including: authorisation; training; implementation; monitoring; reporting; communication and development of a Comprehensive BSP

COMPREHENSIVE BSP – NEW REQUIREMENTS

The Comprehensive BSP has also undergone some significant changes. The previous version (2.0) can be viewed here.

The updated version (3.0) has additional requirements including:

• Consultation – must include details of the consultation undertaken with the person with disability, and others in the preparation of the BSP
• About the Person – a brief 1-2 page profile about the person must be developed
• History of behaviour and intervention – brief history of the behaviours; when they emerged and interventions which have been trialled
• Goals - this should include quality of life; skill development and goals to be achieved through the implementation of the plan
• Regulated Restrictive Practices Protocol - this now requires significant detail including:

1. Rationale for why the Restrictive Practice is needed
2. Person-centred and proactive strategies to be used before the Restrictive Practice
3. Procedure, with detailed instructions about how the Restrictive Practice will be used
4. Training, monitoring, and review plan
5. Plan to reduce and eliminate the restrictive practices
6. Impacts and safeguards, including the anticipated effects of the Restrictive Practice, potential side effects and safeguards to prevent misuse (for Chemical Restraint only)

• Practices to be ceased immediately – this should include the practices being ceased, rationale and alternative strategies
• Implementation support and monitoring – this section requires a documented action plan across a range of areas including: authorisation; training; implementation; monitoring; reporting and communication

TIMEFRAMES

It is important to note that the timeframes for the development BSPs have not changed, despite the increased requirements, particularly for the Interim BSP.

Timeframes remain:

• Interim BSP – within one month of the Behaviour Support Practitioner becoming engaged
• Comprehensive BSP – within five months of the Interim BSP being submitted

TRANSISTION

The NDIS Commission states that “As a transitional arrangement, copies of the previous templates V2.0 will remain available for use together with a summary of findings which informed the new templates (V3.0).”

The NDIS Commission has not specified the period of the transitional arrangement.

FEEDBACK

The NDIS Commission is seeking feedback on the updated templates. Feedback can be submitted here.

Want to share this information with your team? We’ve created a printable factsheet, find it here.