Positive Behaviour Support NDIS: A Complete Guide

Positive behaviour support is one of the most commonly funded yet most misunderstood supports in the NDIS. Families often aren’t sure which budget category covers PBS, whether it differs from psychology, or what the PACE changes mean in practice. This guide covers what PBS is, how FBAs and BSPs work, the 2025-26 rate, and how to get behaviour support into your plan.

What Is Positive Behaviour Support Under the NDIS?

Positive behaviour support (PBS) is an evidence-based approach used with people with disability who have behaviours of concern. It looks at the whole person: their unmet needs, their environment, their communication capacity, and the factors that contribute to why behaviours occur. When those underlying factors are addressed, many behaviours change as a natural consequence.

PBS is unique to the NDIS. It does not exist in the same form under Medicare or any other Australian funding stream. It is designed for people with disability who have behaviours of concern: actions that put the participant, others, or property at risk. These behaviours are generally a form of communication when other means have failed.

The defining feature of PBS is that it is not about the participant alone. A Behaviour Support Practitioner works with the entire support network: the participant, family, carers, support workers, school staff, and anyone else part of daily life. The goal is to understand the function of the behaviour and implement consistent strategies across all settings. PBS upholds the participant’s dignity, rights, and quality of life at every step.

Who Is PBS For?

PBS is appropriate when behaviours of concern significantly affect daily life, relationships, or safety. Common indicators include:

• Self-injurious behaviour such as head banging, biting, or scratching
• Physical or verbal aggression toward others
• Property damage
• Elopement (running away from home, school, or care settings)
• Significant withdrawal or refusal to participate in essential daily activities
• Behaviours that have led to use of restrictive practices
• Repeated service breakdowns where previous strategies have not produced lasting change

PBS is not limited to children or people with autism, though these are common presentations. Adults with acquired brain injury, intellectual disability, psychosocial disability, and progressive neurological conditions also access PBS under the NDIS. The key criterion is not the diagnosis; it is whether behaviours of concern are present and affecting quality of life.

What Is a Functional Behaviour Assessment?

Every Behaviour Support Plan begins with a Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA). The FBA is the most important step in the whole process. Without a thorough FBA, any strategies developed are unlikely to address the actual cause of the behaviour.

An FBA identifies the trigger (the immediate event), setting events (fatigue, medication changes), and the function the behaviour serves. Functions are typically communicative: gaining attention, escaping demands, communicating pain or discomfort, or expressing distress at sensory overload.

An FBA involves interviews with the participant, family members, carers, support workers, and educators. It involves direct observation of the participant in their natural environments: at home, at school, in the community. It reviews existing documentation, reports, and previous strategies. The practitioner then synthesises all of this into a clear statement of what the behaviour communicates and what needs to change.

What Is a Behaviour Support Plan?

The Behaviour Support Plan (BSP) is the document that comes out of the FBA process. It is personalised, written in plain language the support team can understand, and designed to be implemented consistently across all settings. A BSP includes:

• Proactive strategies: Changes to the environment, routine, communication approach, or sensory supports that prevent the behaviour from occurring
• Skill-building strategies: Teaching replacement behaviours that meet the same function more safely and effectively
• Reactive strategies: Safe, consistent responses for when the behaviour does occur, designed to minimise risk and not reinforce the behaviour
• Restrictive practice documentation: Where regulated restrictive practices exist, the BSP must document them, justify their use as the least restrictive option, outline the authorisation, and include a reduction plan with milestones
• Training requirements: Who needs training to implement the plan, including support workers, family members, and school staff
• Review schedule: When and how the plan will be reviewed and updated

BSP Timeframes Under NDIS Commission Rules

The NDIS Commission sets enforceable timeframes for Behaviour Support Plans. An interim BSP must be completed within one month for any participant with an immediate need. A comprehensive BSP must be completed within six months. Plans involving restrictive practices must be reviewed at least every twelve months. These are regulatory requirements, not guidelines.

Regulated Restrictive Practices: The Five Types

Regulated restrictive practices are carefully regulated, reflecting the history of abuse in disability support settings. The five types under the NDIS are:

• Physical restraint: Using a person’s body to restrict another person’s movement
• Mechanical restraint: Using a device to restrict movement (for example, a lap strap used beyond its postural purpose)
• Chemical restraint: Using medication primarily to control behaviour rather than to treat a medical condition
• Seclusion: Involuntarily isolating a person in a space they cannot freely leave
• Environmental restraint: Restricting access to part of an environment (for example, locking a kitchen to prevent access)

Every regulated restrictive practice must be authorised by the state or territory authority. Every implementing provider must report its use to the NDIS Commission. Every BSP containing restrictive practices must include an active, monitored reduction plan. There is no such thing as a permanent, unreduceable restrictive practice under the NDIS framework.

Who Can Provide NDIS Behaviour Support?

Only practitioners considered suitable by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission can develop Behaviour Support Plans. Suitability is assessed against the PBS Capability Framework (v4.0, December 2024). Four capability levels are defined. Each builds on the one before it.

• Core: Entry-level practitioners who can provide behaviour support under supervision
• Proficient: Practitioners who can independently develop and implement plans for most participants
• Advanced: Practitioners with specialist expertise who can supervise others and handle complex cases
• Specialist: The highest level, for highly complex presentations requiring expert leadership

The framework describes seven practice domains across all levels: Interim Response, Functional Assessment, Planning, Implementation, Know It Works, Restrictive Practice, and Continuing Professional Development and Supervision. Practitioners must self-assess against these domains and have their assessment endorsed by a supervisor before applying to the Commission for suitability.

Where a plan includes regulated restrictive practices, the practitioner must be engaged by a provider registered under Group 0110 Specialist Positive Behaviour Support. You can search for registered providers and confirm practitioner suitability on the NDIS Commission Provider Register at ndiscommission.gov.au.

NDIS Behaviour Support Rates in 2025-26

Under the PAPL 2025-26 (v1.1, effective 24 November 2025), the maximum rate for specialist behaviour support is $232.99 per hour. This is the same rate as psychology, reflecting the specialist qualifications required of PBS practitioners.

Travel billing changed in 2025-26. Behaviour support practitioners now bill travel time at 50% of the hourly rate. For PBS, that is $116.50 per hour for travel, not the full $232.99. Vehicle running costs are claimable at up to $0.99 per kilometre. This change particularly affects participants who rely on in-home or community-based PBS sessions.

Behaviour Support intervention under Core Supports for implementation and training is billed at $193.99 per hour (code 01_741_0128_1_3).

Two main Capacity Building line items apply. They are listed below.

• 11_022_0110_7_3: Specialist Behavioural Intervention Support (direct FBA, BSP development, specialist intervention)
• 11_023_0110_7_3: Behaviour Management Plan Including Training in Behaviour Management Strategies (BSP development and support worker/carer training)

Where PBS Sits in Your NDIS Plan: PACE vs Legacy Plans

This is one of the most confusing aspects of PBS funding, and the confusion increased significantly with the rollout of the PACE system. Here is exactly how it works.

PACE Plans (Current System)

In PACE plans, behaviour support appears under Capacity Building as Behaviour Support. In the myplace portal, this same category appears as CB Relationships. These are the same thing.

Critically, Behaviour Support is a stated support in PACE plans. This means the funding allocated to it cannot be redirected to other Capacity Building categories such as Improved Daily Living. It is ring-fenced for PBS. This differs from Improved Daily Living, which gives participants flexibility to allocate across OT, speech pathology, psychology, and physio within the category.

Legacy Plans (Pre-PACE)

If your plan was created before the PACE rollout and has not yet been reassessed, you will likely see the category labelled as Improved Relationships. This serves the same function as Behaviour Support in PACE plans. When your plan next renews, it will move to the PACE naming convention.

Key PACE Changes for PBS

Several changes came with PACE that significantly affect how PBS is accessed and used:

• Provider endorsement is mandatory for agency-managed participants: If you are NDIA-managed and your plan is on PACE, you must formally endorse your PBS provider in the PACE system before they can make any claims. This applies to PBS, SIL, and SDA. If the endorsement step is missed, the provider cannot be paid, even if therapy has already begun.
• Quarterly funding from May 2025: Plans now release funding quarterly rather than annually. An FBA and BSP development scheduled for the third month of a quarter needs enough funding in that quarter’s release to cover the work. Practitioners and participants must plan accordingly.
• No service bookings: There are no longer service bookings in the PACE system. Written service agreements between participants and their PBS providers are now the primary protection for both parties. A service agreement should document the scope of the FBA, BSP development timelines, training provisions, review schedules, and how funding is managed.

Can Core Supports Fund PBS?

Yes, in specific circumstances. While ongoing PBS sits under Capacity Building: Behaviour Support, Core Supports can be used for behaviour support implementation in certain situations. This typically applies to:

• Direct behaviour support intervention and training delivered alongside support workers in daily environments
• Immediate implementation of strategies while a comprehensive BSP is being developed
• Training for support workers to implement strategies already documented in an authorised BSP

Core funding for this purpose uses billing code 01_741_0128_1_3 at $193.99 per hour. Core Supports have more flexibility across categories than Capacity Building. Where a participant has insufficient Behaviour Support funding, using Core to supplement implementation may be worth discussing with a Support Coordinator.

PBS and Psychology: Working Together, Not Competing

One of the most common misconceptions in NDIS planning is that participants must choose between PBS and psychology. This is incorrect. They serve different purposes and address different levels of the same challenge.

Psychology, funded under Improved Daily Living, works directly with the participant on emotional regulation, anxiety, trauma processing, and cognitive-behavioural approaches. All psychologists must be AHPRA-registered.

PBS works with the participant’s entire support network. A Behaviour Support Practitioner is assessed against the PBS Capability Framework by the NDIS Commission. They focus on the function of behaviour in the environment, not the internal emotional state of the participant alone. They train carers, support workers, and educators to implement strategies consistently.

The most effective outcomes come when both run simultaneously. A psychologist building emotional regulation skills with a participant is most effective when the PBS practitioner reinforces those same skills in the participant’s daily support environments. When these two services share information with consent and align their strategies, the participant benefits from a whole-of-person approach.

Trauma-Informed PBS: What Most Guides Leave Out

Standard PBS literature focuses almost entirely on autism, intellectual disability, and acquired brain injury. Very few guides address how PBS applies when behaviours of concern have their roots in trauma rather than, or alongside, disability.

For women and young people who have experienced family violence, behaviours that create barriers to participation are often protective responses to threat. These responses may look like aggression, withdrawal, elopement, or self-injury to an observer. To the person, they are survival strategies developed in response to genuine harm.

Trauma-informed PBS takes a fundamentally different starting position. Physical and emotional safety is the prerequisite for any strategy to work. Behaviours are understood as communication shaped by experience, not simply as problems to be eliminated. Physical interventions with people who have histories of physical abuse, or isolation strategies for people with histories of abandonment, are recognised as potentially re-traumatising and avoided.

Trust between the participant and practitioner is itself therapeutic in trauma-informed PBS. Consistency, predictability, and genuine respect for the participant’s agency are woven into every strategy. This is the frame that Tenax Supports’s behaviour support practitioners bring to their work.

How to Get Positive Behaviour Support Into Your NDIS Plan

1. Identify goals related to behaviour, relationships, or emotional regulation. Goals such as “I want to be able to manage my responses so I can build relationships” or “I want to be able to express myself and engage confidently with others” create the foundation for PBS funding.
2. Gather supporting evidence. A report from a psychologist, OT, GP, or allied health clinician documenting the behaviours of concern, their frequency, their impact on safety and participation, and why PBS is needed supports your plan review request. If restrictive practices are already in use, PBS funding is effectively mandatory under NDIS Commission rules.
3. Check your current plan first. In PACE plans, look for “Behaviour Support” under Capacity Building. In legacy plans, look for “Improved Relationships.” If funding is already in your plan, you may be able to start without waiting for a review. Call the NDIS on 1800 800 110 to discuss your plan or locate a local PBS provider.
4. Raise PBS explicitly at your planning meeting or review. Do not assume the planner will include it based on diagnosis. Name the support, the recommended frequency, the clinical rationale, and the provider you intend to use.
5. If agency-managed, endorse your provider in PACE immediately. The endorsement step is mandatory before any claim can be made. Do not let sessions begin before this is done.
6. Sign a service agreement before the FBA begins. Given PACE no longer uses service bookings, the service agreement is your primary protection. It should document the FBA scope, BSP development timeline, training provisions, and how quarterly funding releases are managed.

Why Choose Tenax Supports for Positive Behaviour Support

Effective PBS requires persistence. Behaviours of concern do not change overnight. The families, support workers, and educators who stay consistent with strategies over months and years are the ones who see lasting change. We stay alongside people through complexity and challenge, not just in the moments when things are going well.

Tenax Supports is a Victoria-based registered NDIS provider. Behaviours of concern do not exist in isolation, and lasting change often depends on behaviour support working alongside occupational therapy, psychology, physiotherapy, and speech pathology. Our Support Coordination service helps participants access and coordinate behaviour support and these allied health disciplines through external NDIS-funded providers, so everyone involved is working from the same plan.

Behaviours of concern can arise from a complex mix of disability, environment, and unmet needs. Our approach means every FBA, every BSP, and every strategy session is considered in the context of a participant's whole life, not just the behaviour in isolation.

Our Support Coordination service helps participants and families navigate NDIS plans, understand Behaviour Support funding in PACE, and prepare evidence for plan reviews. This is valuable where a participant needs behaviour support, psychology, and OT working together rather than in isolation.

Our Support Coordination team can also help where family violence, housing instability, or child protection involvement makes NDIS navigation significantly harder, connecting participants with the specialist services they need.

Support Coordination can also assist families navigating NDIS Commission rules around restrictive practices, including support with reportable incidents or advocating for participants whose rights have not been upheld in their current behaviour support arrangements.

Tenax's In-Home Support Services and Community Access supports build the day-to-day routine, trust, and stability that makes PBS work possible in the first place, particularly for participants who have disengaged from services in the past.

For related reading, see our guides to the NDIS in Australia, NDIS support coordination, and NDIS community participation.

For current information on Tenax Supports' NDIS registration, search the NDIS Commission Provider Register at ndiscommission.gov.au.

Contact Tenax Supports at tenaxsupports.com.au/contact or call 03 7018 8666. Referrals can be submitted at tenaxsupports.com.au/referrals.

Frequently Asked Questions About Positive Behaviour Support NDIS

What is NDIS positive behaviour support?

Positive behaviour support (PBS) is an evidence-based approach used under the NDIS for people with disability who have behaviours of concern. It looks at the whole person: their unmet needs, environment, communication capacity, and factors contributing to why behaviours occur. A registered practitioner conducts an FBA and develops a personalised BSP with proactive strategies, skill-building goals, and, where necessary, regulated restrictive practices with a reduction plan. PBS is unique to the NDIS and does not exist in the same form under Medicare.

How much does NDIS positive behaviour support cost?

The 2025-26 NDIS rate for specialist behaviour support is $232.99 per hour. Travel is billed at 50% ($116.50/hr). Behaviour Support intervention under Core Supports for implementation and training is $193.99 per hour (code 01_741_0128_1_3). Key Capacity Building line items are 11_022_0110_7_3 (specialist intervention) and 11_023_0110_7_3 (BSP development and training).

Where does PBS sit in my NDIS plan budget?

In PACE plans, PBS sits under Capacity Building: Behaviour Support (called CB Relationships in the myplace portal). In legacy plans, it appears as Improved Relationships. Behaviour Support is a stated support in PACE plans, meaning the funding is ring-fenced and cannot be redirected to other Capacity Building categories unlike Improved Daily Living therapy funding.

Only practitioners considered suitable by the NDIS Commission can develop Behaviour Support Plans. Suitability is assessed against the PBS Capability Framework (four levels: Core, Proficient, Advanced, Specialist). The framework spans seven domains: Interim Response, Functional Assessment, Planning, Implementation, Know It Works, Restrictive Practice, and CPD/Supervision. Where plans include regulated restrictive practices, the practitioner must be with a provider registered under Group 0110 Specialist Positive Behaviour Support.

A Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA) is a structured process to understand why behaviours occur. It identifies the trigger, setting events (like fatigue or transitions), and the function the behaviour serves, such as communicating pain or escaping demands. It includes interviews with the participant, family, carers, and educators; direct observation in natural environments; and review of existing reports. The FBA is the foundation of any Behaviour Support Plan.

What are the five types of regulated restrictive practices?

The five types are: physical restraint, mechanical restraint, chemical restraint, seclusion, and environmental restraint. Each is defined in the NDIS framework. All must be authorised, documented in an authorised BSP, reported to the NDIS Commission, and subject to an active reduction plan. There is no permanent restrictive practice under the NDIS framework.

What changed about behaviour support in PACE plans?

In PACE plans, ‘Improved Relationships’ was renamed ‘Behaviour Support.’ It became a stated support, so funding cannot be redirected to other Capacity Building categories. Agency-managed participants must formally endorse their PBS provider in PACE before any claim can be made. From May 2025, funding releases quarterly rather than annually. There are no longer service bookings, making written service agreements essential for both providers and participants.