A behaviour support practitioner is the formal NDIS role. They’re approved by the NDIS Commission to assess behaviour and write behaviour support plans. A behaviour therapist is a broader, everyday term for someone who delivers behaviour-focused therapy, such as teaching skills and putting strategies into practice with the person and their family.
The two roles often overlap, and in many teams they work side by side. The key difference is that only a behaviour support practitioner can carry out NDIS behaviour support assessments and write behaviour support plans.
What is a behaviour support practitioner?
An NDIS behaviour support practitioner is someone the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission considers suitable to carry out behaviour support assessments and develop behaviour support plans. They must work for a provider registered to deliver specialist behaviour support.
Their main responsibilities include:
- Completing a functional behaviour assessment to understand why a behaviour happens
- Writing interim and comprehensive behaviour support plans
- Working to reduce and eliminate restrictive practices
- Lodging plans that include regulated restrictive practices with the NDIS Commission
- Training the people who use the plan, and reviewing it over time
Behaviour support practitioners come from different backgrounds, including psychology, social work, occupational therapy, education and applied behaviour analysis. What makes them a behaviour support practitioner isn’t their original profession but the Commission’s assessment of their suitability.
What is a behaviour therapist?
“Behaviour therapist” isn’t a protected title or a formal NDIS role. It’s a common term for someone who works directly with a person to build skills and change behaviour, usually through regular sessions.
Behaviour therapists often deliver ABA therapy, which uses structured, step-by-step teaching to build communication, play, self-care and daily living skills. They also put the strategies from a behaviour support plan into practice, and coach parents, carers and teachers to use them consistently.
Because the term is used loosely, one provider’s “behaviour therapist” might be a qualified behaviour support practitioner, while another’s might be a therapist who works under a practitioner’s supervision. It’s always worth asking what someone’s role and training are.
Behaviour support practitioner vs behaviour therapist at a glance
| Behaviour support practitioner | Behaviour therapist | |
|---|---|---|
| Is it a formal NDIS role? | Yes, assessed as suitable by the NDIS Commission | No, it’s an everyday term |
| Can they write a behaviour support plan? | Yes | Only if they’re also an approved behaviour support practitioner |
| Main focus | Assessment, planning, restrictive practice reduction and review | Direct therapy, skill building and day-to-day strategy use |
| How often you’ll see them | Mostly during assessment, planning, training and reviews | Often regularly, in ongoing sessions |
| Typical approaches | Positive Behaviour Support | ABA therapy and Positive Behaviour Support strategies |
How do they work together?
In many teams, the two roles complement each other. For example, a practitioner might complete a functional behaviour assessment for an autistic child who hits when asked to stop playing. The assessment shows the child finds transitions hard and doesn’t yet have a way to ask for more time.
The practitioner writes a behaviour support plan that includes visual warnings before transitions and teaching the child to ask for “two more minutes”. A behaviour therapist then works with the child in regular sessions to practise that skill, and shows the parents and kinder staff how to use the same approach. The practitioner reviews the data and updates the plan as the child makes progress.
This combination gives the participant both a clear, NDIS-compliant plan and the hands-on support to make it work in real life.
Which one do you need?
You’ll usually need a behaviour support practitioner if:
- A behaviour is unsafe or significantly affecting daily life, relationships or learning
- A formal behaviour support plan is needed, for example for school, a group home or support workers
- Any restrictive practice is being used, or might be needed
- Current strategies aren’t working and you need to understand why
You’ll usually benefit from a behaviour therapist if:
- The focus is building skills such as communication, play, toileting or routines
- A plan is in place and the person needs regular support to put it into practice
- Parents, carers or teachers need ongoing coaching
Many participants benefit from both, especially autistic children and adults, including people with ASD Level 2, and children receiving early childhood intervention.
What is the Positive Behaviour Support Capability Framework?
The NDIS Commission uses the Positive Behaviour Support Capability Framework to describe the skills expected of behaviour support practitioners. The Commission’s behaviour support policy refers to this framework when deciding whether a practitioner is suitable.
The framework describes increasing levels of capability, from core through to specialist. More complex situations, such as those involving significant risk or multiple restrictive practices, generally call for a practitioner with more experience.
How does the NDIS fund each role?
Both roles can be funded in an NDIS plan when the support is reasonable and necessary.
Positive Behaviour Support is usually funded under Capacity Building, Improved Relationships. This covers the practitioner’s assessment, the behaviour support plan and training for the people who use it. Ongoing therapy such as ABA is usually funded under Capacity Building, Improved Daily Living, or through the early childhood approach for young children.
Behaviour support must always come from a registered provider, however the plan is managed.
Questions to ask a provider
To understand who’ll be supporting you or your family member, it helps to ask:
- Is this person an NDIS behaviour support practitioner, or a behaviour therapist working under one?
- Who will write the behaviour support plan, and who’ll deliver the regular sessions?
- How will the practitioner and therapist share information and update the plan?
- How will progress be measured and shared with the family?
- Where will sessions happen: at home, at school or in the community?
Getting started with Helping Hands Behaviour Support
Helping Hands Behaviour Support (HHBS) is a registered NDIS provider specialising in Positive Behaviour Support, ABA therapy and early childhood intervention. Our team includes behaviour support practitioners and behaviour therapists who work with children and adults at home or at school, so assessment, planning and day-to-day therapy stay connected. We work with NDIA-managed, plan-managed and self-managed plans.
If you or someone you care for is an NDIS participant and needs behaviour support, call us on 0452 423 822 or send us an enquiry, and our team will help you get started with the right support. Support coordinators can make a referral online.
Note: This article is general information about behaviour support under the NDIS, not an assessment of any person or advice about an individual NDIS plan. If someone is at immediate risk of harm, call 000.
