Positive Behaviour Support for complex cases and situations.
Specialist support for high-risk, high-complexity situations where multiple systems, services, and stakeholders need to work together.
about complex positive behaviour support
Complex work needs time, coordination, and clear thinking.
Our work sits at the intersection of behaviour, risk, service systems, implementation, and clinical decision-making.
Many of the people referred to this service are navigating multiple providers, restrictive practices, housing instability, safeguarding concerns, forensic involvement, hospital transitions, or environments where previous approaches have stopped working.
These situations rarely improve because of one strategy or one professional. Progress usually comes from understanding the full system around the person and helping everyone move in the same direction.
Who this is for.
Adults and children whose situations include layered presentations: intellectual disability with co-occurring mental health, autism with significant communication difficulty, acquired brain injury with behaviour change, complex trauma, long-stay hospital settings, forensic involvement, restrictive practice authorisation, multiple providers, accommodation breakdown, or hospital discharge planning.
Complex Positive Behaviour Support may be helpful when:
These situations are rarely the result of one person, one service, or one event. They need careful assessment, collaboration, and a shared plan.
What our work looks like.
Complex work often involves more people, more environments, and more moving parts than a typical behaviour support engagement.
A practitioner takes the time to understand the full picture. That may include the person, their family, support workers, accommodation providers, allied health professionals, hospitals, schools, justice services, and other stakeholders involved in their support.
Where restrictive practices are part of the picture, we work within the relevant authorisation frameworks, document them appropriately, and focus on reducing their use safely over time.
Support is coordinated, reviewed regularly, and backed by clinical supervision, peer review, and Elvara’s Complex Behaviour Forum, where senior practitioners come together to think through the most challenging situations.
We don’t stop at recommendations. We work alongside the people implementing support every day, helping translate evidence into practical strategies that can be used in real environments.
Our approach
Specialist support for complex situations.
Some situations require more than a standard behaviour support approach. When risk is elevated, multiple services are involved, or the consequences of getting it wrong are significant, additional oversight, coordination, and clinical support become important.
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Navigating complex systems.
Complex situations often involve more than behaviour alone. Funding systems, service providers, accommodation, hospitals, government agencies, support teams, families, and clinicians may all be involved at the same time.
Our role is often to help bring clarity to that complexity, ensuring the people involved understand the risks, priorities, and next steps. -
How we manage risk.
Risk in complex work isn’t a static document; it’s a moving picture. We do interim safety planning at the start of any engagement where risk is high. We review dynamic risk regularly and update the plan accordingly. When restrictive practices are part of the picture, we engage with the authorisation framework, document everything properly, and look for safe ways to reduce them.
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Multi-agency coordination.
We coordinate with whoever needs to be in the conversation. That includes accommodation, hospital teams, forensic services, family, GP, psychiatrist, OT, speech pathologist, NDIS support coordination, and advocates. We also know what we don’t hold: we’re not a case manager, not a forensic clinician, not an accommodation provider. We work as part of a wider team, with clear lines about what each of us is doing.
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Governance for complex work.
Complex situations require more than a single practitioner working alone.
Cases are supported through clinical supervision, peer review, and Elvara’s Complex Behaviour Forum, where senior practitioners work through challenging situations together. Where restrictive practices are involved, additional oversight helps ensure decisions are carefully considered, documented, and reviewed.
Funding pathway
Funding and getting started.
Most complex behaviour support is funded through the NDIS, typically under Capacity Building funding, particularly Improved Relationships.
Because these situations often involve higher levels of risk and coordination, it’s important to understand the full picture before deciding what support is needed.
If you’re unsure where to start, a Compass Session can help clarify the situation, identify immediate priorities, and determine what the next steps may look like.
What our clients say
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“Without the tremendous support and guidance from our PBS practitioner, our child would not have the positive future he now has ahead of him. The dedication, hard work, and ongoing support we received helped shape not only our child’s development, but also the behaviours and environment around our entire family in such a meaningful way. Because of this support, we no longer feel fearful or uncertain about what lies ahead. We now feel confident knowing that we have given our child the strongest possible foundation to grow, succeed, and thrive. We are incredibly grateful for everything our PBS practitioner has done for our family, and we truly cannot thank them enough for the difference they have made in our lives”.
FAQs
Questions we hear.
Yes. That’s part of what complex behaviour support is for. We engage with the authorisation framework, document properly, and look for safe ways to reduce.
Usually it’s not one thing. Complexity often comes from the interaction between behaviour, risk, support needs, environments, multiple providers, and the systems around a person.
Make a referral.
You don’t need to have everything ready to begin, and anyone can make a referral. Get started and answer as much as you can.