Maybe you manage a group home and you are not sure whether locking the medication cabinet counts. Maybe a support worker held someone back during a difficult moment, and now you are wondering what you have to report. Maybe you are a parent who has just read the words “restrictive practice” in a plan and felt your stomach drop. The rules around restrictive practices are strict, and for good reason. This guide walks through them, clearly.
01 . What it is
What a restrictive practice is
A restrictive practice is any practice or intervention that has the effect of restricting the rights or freedom of movement of a person with disability. The key word is effect. A practice does not have to be intended as restrictive to be one.
Locking a front door at night for safety, if it stops a person leaving, is an environmental restriction. Medication given mainly to manage behaviour is chemical restraint, whether or not the person prescribing it used that word. The reason behind the practice does not change what it is.
This matters because restrictive practices are some of the most closely regulated parts of disability support. The rules exist to protect people with disability from being restricted when they do not need to be.
02 . The five types
The five regulated restrictive practices
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission regulates five types of restrictive practice. The plain-language descriptions below explain each one. The exact legal definitions sit in the NDIS (Restrictive Practices and Behaviour Support) Rules 2018.
1. Chemical restraint. Medication or a chemical substance used mainly to influence a person’s behaviour. This does not include medication prescribed for a diagnosed medical or psychiatric condition. An example is a sedative given before an outing because staff expect the person to become distressed.
2. Environmental restraint. Restricting a person’s free access to parts of their environment, to items, or to activities. This includes locked doors, gated areas, and removing personal items. An example is locking the kitchen at night to stop a person reaching food.
3. Mechanical restraint. A device used to restrict a person’s movement. This does not include devices used for a therapeutic or postural purpose, such as a support prescribed by an Occupational Therapist or Physiotherapist. An example is a chair with a locked harness used to keep a person in a room.
4. Physical restraint. Using physical force to restrict or subdue a person’s movement. An example is holding a person’s arms to stop them hitting someone during a difficult moment. Offering an arm for balance while walking is not physical restraint.
5. Seclusion. Leaving a person with disability alone in a room or space they cannot freely leave. An example is a person kept in a room with the door held shut until they settle. The door does not have to be locked for it to count as seclusion.
A practice does not have to be intended as restrictive to be one. It is the effect that decides.
03 . The conditions
The conditions a regulated restrictive practice must meet
A regulated restrictive practice is not something a provider can simply decide to use. When one is in place, it has to meet a set of conditions. According to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, a regulated restrictive practice must be:
- written and stated clearly
- authorised by the relevant state or territory body
- used as a last resort, after other options have been tried
- used for the shortest time possible
- aimed at reducing the risk of harm to the person and others
- in proportion to that risk of harm
- the least restrictive option available
These conditions sit alongside the requirement that the practice is written into a behaviour support plan developed by a registered NDIS behaviour support practitioner. The practitioner develops an interim plan within one month and a comprehensive plan within six months, and consults the person and the people close to them along the way.
04 . Authorising and reporting
Who authorises restrictive practices, and what must be reported
Restrictive practices under the NDIS are overseen at two levels.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission oversees behaviour support nationally. It keeps the register of behaviour support practitioners, receives and reviews behaviour support plans, monitors the use of restrictive practices, and can take compliance action against providers who do not meet their obligations.
State and territory authorisation bodies handle the authorisation of restrictive practices, and the requirements vary by state. A behaviour support plan that includes a regulated restrictive practice must be developed and authorised in line with the authorisation and consent rules in the relevant state or territory.
The main reporting obligations for registered NDIS providers are:
- Lodge the plan. A behaviour support plan that includes regulated restrictive practices must be lodged with the Commission, along with evidence of authorisation.
- Report monthly. Providers report the use of authorised regulated restrictive practices to the Commission each month.
- Report the unauthorised use. If a restrictive practice is used without authorisation, or a high-risk practice is used, it must be reported to the Commission as a reportable incident. Using a restrictive practice while waiting for a behaviour support plan still counts as unauthorised, and still has to be reported.
Accurate records matter. Every use of a restrictive practice should be written down at the time, including what led to it, the practice used, how long it lasted, how the person responded, and any injury or distress.
05 . Reducing and removing them
Reducing and removing restrictive practices
This is the part that matters most. The NDIS framework does not just regulate restrictive practices. It requires that providers work to reduce and, where possible, remove them.
Every behaviour support plan that includes a regulated restrictive practice must also set out how that practice will be reduced over time. This is not a suggestion. A behaviour support provider must try to reduce and eliminate the need for regulated restrictive practices, and each practice in the plan needs its own plan to reduce and remove it: the steps that will be taken, who is responsible, and when.
“We have always done it this way” is not a reason to keep a restrictive practice. Neither is “it works” or “the person is used to it”. The expectation is evidence that the team is actively working towards the least restrictive option.
This is where Positive Behaviour Support does its work. Instead of meeting a crisis with restriction, Positive Behaviour Support asks what led to the crisis and builds support to prevent it next time. That usually means:
- Changing the environment. Adjusting the surroundings, routines, or sensory conditions that set off distress.
- Building communication. Giving the person better ways to express what they need, so behaviour is not the only option left.
- Building skills. Supporting the person to develop coping strategies and other ways to respond.
- Training the team. Making sure everyone around the person responds in the same, proactive way.
- Tracking the data. Watching patterns over time, adjusting the approach, and showing progress towards using less restriction.
The goal is not to manage the same crises with a little less force. The goal is to build the conditions where those crises happen less often. For the full picture, see our guide to what Positive Behaviour Support is, and if restrictive practices are being used without a plan, getting a functional behaviour assessment started is the priority.
Further reading
- What is Positive Behaviour Support? The full approach explained.
- What is a functional behaviour assessment? The foundation of every behaviour support plan.
- Positive Behaviour Support funding under the NDIS Which budget covers behaviour support, and how to request it.
For the official rules, see the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission’s page on behaviour support and restrictive practices.
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