What is Positive Behaviour Support?
Understanding Behaviour, Not Controlling It
Positive Behaviour Support is an evidence-based approach to understanding why behaviours of concern happen and developing strategies that improve a person’s quality of life. It is not about controlling behaviour. It is about understanding it.
The approach works with people with disability, brain injury, mental health conditions, and complex support needs. Rather than asking “how do we stop this behaviour?”, Positive Behaviour Support asks “what is this behaviour telling us?”
That shift in question changes everything.
Where Did Positive Behaviour Support Come From?
From Applied Behaviour Analysis to a New Philosophy
Positive Behaviour Support emerged in the 1980s and 1990s from the field of Applied Behaviour Analysis. Applied Behaviour Analysis had produced effective techniques for changing behaviour, but many practitioners and advocates raised concerns about its focus on compliance and its use in populations who could not consent to treatment.
Positive Behaviour Support took the functional analysis tools from Applied Behaviour Analysis and wrapped them in a different philosophy. Instead of asking “how do we change this person’s behaviour?”, practitioners started asking “how do we change the environment, the communication supports, and the quality of life so that the behaviour is no longer needed?”
This distinction matters. Applied Behaviour Analysis and Positive Behaviour Support share some tools. They do not share the same values.
A review published in the International Journal of Positive Behavioural Support found that Positive Behaviour Support was effective even with the most challenging behaviour, particularly when interventions addressed the function of behaviour and included environmental and systemic changes.
In Australia, Positive Behaviour Support is the framework endorsed by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. All registered behaviour support practitioners must work within a Positive Behaviour Support framework, and all behaviour support plans lodged with the Commission must align with these principles.
1. Person-centred
Every plan starts with the person, not the behaviour. What does this person enjoy? What matters to them? Positive Behaviour Support involves the person and their family or carers in every stage of assessment and planning.
A behaviour support plan written without the person’s input is not person-centred.
2. Evidence-based
Positive Behaviour Support draws on decades of research in behavioural science, developmental psychology, and disability studies. Practitioners use structured assessments, collect data over time, and measure outcomes. When new evidence emerges, practice changes.
3. Focused on quality of life
The goal is not a quieter group home or a calmer classroom. The goal is a better life for the person. That might mean more community participation, stronger relationships, greater independence, or fewer moments of distress in a day. If a plan reduces the behaviour but quality of life stays the same, the plan has failed.
4. Reducing restrictive practices
Restrictive practices are actions that limit a person’s freedom or movement. Chemical, physical, mechanical, environmental, and seclusion restraints are all classified as restrictive practices under the NDIS. Positive Behaviour Support aims to make these practices unnecessary by building proactive strategies that prevent crises before they happen. See our guide to restrictive practices under the NDIS.
Why these principles matter
These four principles are not optional extras. They are the standard every NDIS-registered behaviour support practitioner must work within, and they shape every part of how a behaviour support plan is built and reviewed.
How they work together
Person-centred values guide what the plan tries to achieve. Evidence shapes how strategies are chosen.
Quality of life is the measure of success. Restrictive practice reduction is the standard the plan is held to.
These four principles guide every behaviour support plan written under the NDIS framework in Australia.
The Four Core Principles of
Positive Behaviour Support
How Positive Behaviour Support Differs from Traditional Behaviour Management
A Different Question Changes the Whole Answer
Traditional behaviour management focuses on the behaviour itself. It asks: what can we do when this happens? The answers tend to be reactive. Time out. Removal of privileges. Physical intervention. Ignoring the behaviour.
Positive Behaviour Support starts in a different place. It asks: why is this happening?
The difference plays out across every stage:
- Assessment. Traditional approaches may use incident reports or observation checklists. Positive Behaviour Support uses a functional behaviour assessment conducted across multiple settings over multiple sessions, looking at antecedents, consequences, and the broader context of the person’s life.
- Planning. Traditional approaches often produce a list of responses to behaviours (if X happens, do Y). Positive Behaviour Support produces a comprehensive plan that includes proactive strategies, skill building, environmental changes, and reactive strategies as a last resort.
- Implementation. Traditional approaches are often applied to the person. Positive Behaviour Support is applied to the environment, the communication supports, the routines, and the people around the person. The person themselves is supported to build new skills, not forced to stop existing ones.
- Measurement. Traditional approaches measure whether the behaviour decreased. Positive Behaviour Support measures whether the person’s quality of life improved. Behaviour reduction is a byproduct of good support, not the primary objective.
Who Does Positive Behaviour Support Help?
Positive Behaviour Support is most commonly associated with disability, but the approach applies to anyone whose behaviours of concern are linked to unmet needs, environmental factors, or communication barriers.
- People with intellectual disability who may express frustration, pain, or confusion through behaviour because they have limited verbal communication or have learned that behaviour is the most effective way to get their needs met.
- Autistic people who may experience sensory overload, communication breakdowns, or anxiety in environments that do not accommodate their needs. Read more about Positive Behaviour Support for autism.
- People with acquired brain injury who may experience disinhibition, emotional dysregulation, or frustration as a direct result of neurological damage.
- People with psychosocial disability whose mental health conditions create barriers to daily living, relationships, or community access.
- Children and young people with developmental delay, trauma histories, or complex needs who are struggling at home, school, or in out-of-home care.
- Older adults in residential aged care who display behaviours of concern linked to dementia, pain, loneliness, or environmental factors.
Positive Behaviour Support is funded under the NDIS for eligible participants. It is also available through Medicare and private pathways. For details on funding, see our guide to behaviour support funding in your NDIS plan.
More People Than You Might Think
The Positive Behaviour Support Process
Positive Behaviour Support follows a structured process. While every practitioner works slightly differently, the core stages are consistent.
1. Referral and intake. The person, their family, or their support coordinator contacts a provider. The practitioner gathers background information, reviews existing reports, and confirms funding.
1. Referral and intake.
The person, their family, or their support coordinator contacts a provider.
The practitioner gathers background information, reviews existing reports, and confirms funding.
2. Functional behaviour assessment.
The practitioner observes the person across settings, interviews the people in their life, and collects ABC data (Antecedent, Behaviour, Consequence). The goal is to develop a hypothesis about why the behaviour is occurring. This is the foundation of everything that follows. See our detailed guide to functional behaviour assessment.
3. Behaviour support plan development.
Based on the assessment, the practitioner writes a comprehensive plan.
This includes proactive strategies (changes to the environment, routines, and communication supports), skill-building goals, reactive strategies for crisis moments, and a restrictive practice reduction plan if applicable.
The plan is lodged with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission if the person is an NDIS participant and restrictive practices are in use.
4. Implementation
and training.
The practitioner trains everyone involved: family, carers, support workers, teachers, group home staff. Consistency across all settings is critical. The best plan in the world fails if only half the team follows it.
5. Monitoring and review.
Positive Behaviour Support is not write a plan and walk away. The practitioner monitors progress, collects data, and adjusts the plan as needed. Plans are reviewed at least annually, or sooner if the person’s circumstances change.
Further Reading
Keep Learning About Behaviour Support
If you want to understand specific aspects of Positive Behaviour Support in more detail, these guides may help:
- What is a functional behaviour assessment? The assessment process explained.
- Restrictive practices under the NDIS. The five regulated types and your obligations.
- Behaviour support funding in your NDIS plan. Line items, plan reviews, and self-management.
- Positive Behaviour Support vs Psychology: what is the difference? When you need each, and when you need both.
- What is behaviour support? Our introductory blog post.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Positive Behaviour Support?
Positive Behaviour Support is an evidence-based approach that seeks to understand why behaviours of concern occur and develop strategies that address the underlying causes. It focuses on improving quality of life, building skills, and reducing reliance on restrictive practices. It is the framework endorsed by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission in Australia.
What is the difference between Applied Behaviour Analysis and Positive Behaviour Support?
Applied Behaviour Analysis and Positive Behaviour Support share some assessment tools, but differ in philosophy. Applied Behaviour Analysis focuses on changing specific behaviours through reinforcement. Positive Behaviour Support takes a broader, person-centred approach that prioritises quality of life, environmental change, and the reduction of restrictive practices.
Who does Positive Behaviour Support help?
Positive Behaviour Support helps people with intellectual disability, autism, acquired brain injury, psychosocial disability, and complex support needs. It is also used with children and young people with developmental delay or trauma, and older adults in residential aged care.
Is Positive Behaviour Support funded by the NDIS?
Yes. Positive Behaviour Support is funded under NDIS Capacity Building, within the Improved Relationships or Improved Daily Living line items. Your plan must include this funding. Your support coordinator can request it at your next plan review.
How long does the Positive Behaviour Support process take?
The full process from referral to a fully implemented behaviour support plan typically takes several months. The functional behaviour assessment alone is conducted over multiple sessions across different settings. Rushing the process leads to plans that do not address the real causes of behaviour.
