For many NDIS participants and their families, the term behaviour support plan can sound complex or clinical. In reality, it is one of the most practical and empowering tools available to improve everyday life. An NDIS Behaviour Support Plan (BSP) provides structure, understanding, and proactive strategies that help people feel safer, more confident, and better supported in their environment.
At Liberty Behavioural Services, we design behaviour support plans that focus on real progress, supporting each individual to live with greater independence, stability, and wellbeing.
What Is an NDIS Behaviour Support Plan?
A behaviour support plan is a personalised document created by a registered behaviour support practitioner. It sets out clear, goal-oriented strategies for understanding and responding to behaviours with risks of harm (or behaviours of concern), as well as ways to prevent those behaviours from occurring.
Instead of trying to “fix” behaviour, the plan focuses on understanding the reasons behind it. Every action communicates something; it might express discomfort, frustration, confusion, or a need for connection. A good plan helps uncover these messages and create supportive environments where the person can thrive.
Each plan includes:
- An assessment of the person’s strengths, preferences, and communication style.
- Identified triggers and early warning signs for challenging behaviours.
- Proactive, positive strategies to teach new skills or replace unsafe behaviours.
- Environmental adjustments to support calm and predictability.
- Response strategies to aid in times of peak behavioural escalation.
- A review process to ensure continuous improvement.
Why Behaviour Support Plans Matter
Behaviour support plans are essential because they help people reach their goals while reducing distress, confusion, and unnecessary restrictions.
- They create understanding.
By learning what drives certain behaviours, carers and support staff can respond with empathy and consistency instead of frustration or fear. - They increase safety.
Plans include proactive steps to minimise triggers and prevent escalation, helping everyone involved feel safer and more confident. - They support skill development.
Through Positive Behaviour Support (PBS), participants learn alternative ways to communicate needs and manage emotions. - They improve the quality of life.
When people are understood, heard, and supported consistently, they experience more calm, independence, and connection with others. - They strengthen support networks.
Families, carers, and professionals can all follow the same approach, creating stability across different environments.
The Two Types of Behaviour Support Plans
The NDIS recognises two main types of plans: interim and comprehensive.
- Interim Behaviour Support Plan:
This is a short-term plan put in place when there is an immediate need to address safety or high-risk behaviours. It provides essential guidance while a full assessment is being completed. - Comprehensive Behaviour Support Plan:
This is developed after a detailed functional behaviour assessment. It includes long-term, evidence-based strategies and measurable goals for ongoing improvement.
Both types are designed to support progress and are reviewed regularly to ensure they remain relevant and effective.
Reducing Restrictive Practices
One of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission’s priorities is to reduce the use of restrictive practices by any method that limits a person’s freedom, movement, or choices.
At Liberty, our practitioners are committed to the least restrictive approach possible. The focus is always on building positive alternatives and teaching new skills so that restrictive practices are no longer necessary. Every strategy is designed with respect, dignity, and human rights at its core.
How Liberty Develops Behaviour Support Plans
Our process is collaborative and person-centred from start to finish.
- Assessment and observation: Gathering insights about the participant’s environment, routines, communication, and support network.
- Goal setting: Working with the participant and their team to define meaningful, achievable goals.
- Plan creation: Developing tailored strategies and environmental supports that reflect the participant’s unique needs.
- Training and implementation: Equipping carers and support workers with the knowledge and tools to apply the plan effectively.
- Review and refinement: Monitoring outcomes and adjusting strategies as the participant grows and changes.
This cycle of understanding, action, and review helps ensure lasting improvements in wellbeing and independence.
Why It Matters to Get It Right
A well-constructed behaviour support plan can transform daily life. It gives participants clarity, helps carers feel supported, and builds consistency across home, community, and service settings.
For Liberty Behavioural Services, success is measured by the person’s ability to feel calm, safe, and empowered – not just by how often a behaviour is reduced, but by how much the individual’s quality of life improves.
Final Thoughts
NDIS behaviour support plans are about much more than behaviour management. They are about understanding people deeply and creating the right conditions for them to flourish.
At Liberty Behavioural Services, we take pride in developing plans that are practical, ethical, and built on genuine care. Through collaboration, compassion, and evidence-based practice, we help people and their support networks move toward stability, independence, and a better quality of life.
