At Insight Positive Behaviour Support (InsightPBS), we are dedicated to ensuring the highest standards of care and support for our clients. One crucial aspect of our services involves developing comprehensive behaviour support plans, especially when these plans include regulated restrictive practices. This blog article aims to provide a clear and concise guide for NDIS providers on how to meet their obligations in facilitating the development of these essential plans.
Understanding the Requirements
The NDIS (Restrictive Practices and Behaviour Support) Rules 2018 set out specific obligations for providers. As a condition of registration, providers must take all reasonable steps to facilitate the development of behaviour support plans by a specialist behaviour support provider within prescribed timeframes:
- Interim Plan: Must be developed within 1 month after the first use of a regulated restrictive practice.
- Comprehensive Plan: Must be developed within 6 months after the first use.
Examples of Reasonable Steps
To ensure compliance, providers must engage in sustained and regular activities aimed at facilitating the development of behaviour support plans. Here are some practical steps providers can take:
Direct Contributions:
- Collaborate with Stakeholders: Work closely with participants, their representatives, and support coordinators to engage a specialist behaviour support provider promptly.
- Encourage Timely Development: Motivate behaviour support providers to meet regulated deadlines for interim and comprehensive plans.
- Ongoing Engagement: Maintain regular communication with all involved parties, including participants, support coordinators, practitioners, and other NDIS providers.
- Seek Additional Funding: Engage with the NDIS to obtain further funding for plan development if necessary.
- Ensure Skilled Staff Availability: Make sure that staff with the required skills are available to assist in developing the behaviour support plan.
Coordination:
- Support Information Gathering: Aid behaviour support providers in collecting data for behaviour support assessments.
- Plan Authorisation: Plan ahead for the authorisation of behaviour support plans and follow up with the relevant agencies to ensure timely approvals.
- Regular Monitoring: Actively monitor the progress of plan development and follow up as needed to ensure timely completion and authorisation.
- Engage with Authorising Bodies: Communicate regularly with authorising bodies to secure decisions within regulated deadlines.
- Facilitate Referrals: Expedite referrals to other NDIS providers and specialists as required.
The Importance of Record Keeping
Effective record keeping is crucial for demonstrating compliance with the requirement to take all reasonable steps. Providers are encouraged to use their existing systems to document every action taken towards developing a behaviour support plan. Useful records include:
- Completed interim or comprehensive behaviour support plans.
- NDIS Commission Portal plan IDs showing plan lodgement within the required timeframe.
- Documentation of all reasonable steps taken, as outlined above.
In Summary
Facilitating the development of behaviour support plans, especially those involving regulated restrictive practices, is a vital responsibility for NDIS providers. By taking all reasonable steps and maintaining thorough records, providers can ensure compliance and enhance the quality of support they offer to participants. At InsightPBS, we are committed to upholding these standards and continuously improving our practices to better serve our community.
Resources:
Read the full NDIS resource here
Learn more about PBS via our blog here.
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