A restrictive practice is any practice or intervention that limits the rights or freedom of movement of a person with disability. Under the NDIS, five types are called regulated restrictive practices. Providers can only use them under strict conditions set by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and the state or territory where the person lives.
These rules exist because restrictive practices can seriously affect a person’s human rights. They’re meant to be rare, used only to prevent harm, and reduced and stopped over time.
Where the rules come from
The main law is the NDIS (Restrictive Practices and Behaviour Support) Rules 2018. The Rules define the five regulated types, set the conditions for using them and set reporting duties for providers. The NDIS Commission monitors how regulated restrictive practices are used and promotes their reduction and elimination.
The Commission doesn’t approve restrictive practices itself. Authorisation happens through each state or territory’s own process, and providers must follow it.
The five regulated restrictive practices
The Rules list five types:
- Seclusion, which is keeping a person alone in a room or space they can’t leave, or believe they can’t leave
- Chemical restraint, which is using medication mainly to influence a person’s behaviour, rather than to treat a diagnosed mental illness or physical condition
- Mechanical restraint, which is using a device to stop or limit a person’s movement in order to change their behaviour
- Physical restraint, which is using physical force to stop or limit a person’s movement in order to change their behaviour
- Environmental restraint, which is limiting a person’s free access to parts of their environment, such as rooms, items or activities
What counts and what doesn’t
The reason a practice is used decides whether it’s a restrictive practice. A lap belt that keeps someone upright in their wheelchair is there for posture, so it’s a therapeutic device. The same kind of strap used to stop someone getting up when they’re upset is mechanical restraint.
Medication works the same way. Medication prescribed for epilepsy, anxiety or another diagnosed condition isn’t chemical restraint. Medication given mainly to keep someone calm or quiet may be. Everyday examples also catch people out: a locked pantry, a fridge with a lock or a phone taken away can all be environmental restraint, even when the intention is kind.
The Commission’s Regulated Restrictive Practices Guide gives more examples, and there’s an Easy Read version for participants. Some practices, such as those that cause pain, are prohibited outright and can never be authorised.
When can a regulated restrictive practice be used?
Section 21 of the NDIS (Restrictive Practices and Behaviour Support) Rules 2018 sets out when a regulated restrictive practice can be used. All of these must be true:
- It responds to a real risk of harm to the person or someone else
- It’s a last resort, after other positive strategies have been tried
- It’s the least restrictive option available
- It’s in proportion to the risk
- It’s used for the shortest time possible
- It’s set out in the person’s behaviour support plan and authorised under state or territory rules
How behaviour support plans fit in
Any regulated restrictive practice must be written into a behaviour support plan. The plan is written by an NDIS behaviour support practitioner who works for a registered specialist behaviour support provider. The difference between a behaviour support practitioner and a behaviour therapist matters here, because only the practitioner can write a plan that includes restrictive practices.
The Rules set clear timeframes. An interim plan must be developed within one month of the provider being engaged, and a comprehensive plan within six months. A comprehensive plan that includes regulated restrictive practices must be reviewed at least every 12 months. Every plan with a regulated restrictive practice is lodged with the NDIS Commission.
The restrictions are only a small part of a good plan. Most of it focuses on Positive Behaviour Support: working out why a behaviour happens, changing what’s around the person and teaching skills that meet the same need. That work is what makes it possible to reduce restrictions safely.
Providers who carry out the plan, such as support workers or supported accommodation, have their own duties. They must be registered, report monthly to the Commission and treat unauthorised use as a reportable incident. If a restrictive practice isn’t in the person’s plan, the provider must report it to the Commission within five days of finding out.
How authorisation works in Victoria
In Victoria, authorisation is covered by the Disability Act 2006. An Authorised Program Officer, appointed by the provider and approved by the Victorian Senior Practitioner, authorises the practices in the plan. Some practices also need approval from the Victorian Senior Practitioner. The practitioner then lodges the plan and the authorisation with the NDIS Commission.
Victoria also sets some extra limits. For example, physical restraint can’t be included as a routine practice in a Victorian plan, and authorisation decisions can be reviewed by VCAT.
Why reducing restrictive practices is a priority
The NDIS Commission has made restrictive practices a central focus. In its 2026–27 regulatory priorities, the Commission lists providers using regulated restrictive practices without being registered to do so as its first priority, and expects providers to use positive behaviour supports that reduce and stop them.
The law may also change. A 2026 bill to amend the NDIS Act proposes making clear that restrictive practices don’t count as appropriate treatment when the NDIA considers whether a disability is permanent.
Questions worth asking
Participants, families and carers have a right to understand any restriction in a plan. Useful questions include which practices are in the plan and why, whether they’re authorised, what’s being done to reduce them and when the plan will next be reviewed. It’s also worth asking how new skills are being taught, whether through behaviour support, ABA therapy or, for young children, early childhood intervention.
If something doesn’t seem right, raise it with the provider first. Concerns can also go to the NDIS Commission. If someone is in immediate danger, call 000.
Reducing restrictive practices with Helping Hands Behaviour Support
A behaviour support plan should do more than list restrictions. It should explain why a behaviour happens, teach skills that meet the same need, and set out how each restriction will be reduced. That’s the kind of plan our practitioners write for children and adults, at home or at school.
Helping Hands Behaviour Support (HHBS) is an NDIS-registered provider specialising in Positive Behaviour Support, ABA therapy and early childhood intervention, and we can work with your plan whether it’s NDIA-managed, plan-managed or self-managed. If you or someone you care for has NDIS funding for behaviour support and there are restrictive practices in place now, call us on 0406 920 296 or get in touch online to talk about a plan that works towards fewer of them. Support coordinators can start a referral here.
