The PBS Capability Framework explained for families

What is the PBS Capability Framework?

It's a policy document from the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (NDIS Commission). It sets out the values, knowledge and skills needed to deliver positive behaviour support under the NDIS.

The current version on the Commission's website is Version 4.0, from December 2024. It was first developed in 2019 with input from people with lived experience of cognitive impairment, peak bodies and experts.

Its values include human rights, person-centred and strengths-based approaches, respect for the person's voice, and teamwork with families and mainstream services like health and education.

The framework doesn't set minimum qualifications, years of practice or training. It describes what a practitioner should know and be able to do. The Commission also publishes an Easy Read version.

What are the four practitioner levels?

Core, proficient, advanced and specialist. Core is the entry level, proficient builds on it, and advanced and specialist both build on proficient.

At every level, the framework covers seven areas of practice, called domains:

• Interim response: keeping people safe while an assessment happens
• Functional assessment: working out why a behaviour happens
• Planning: writing the behaviour support plan
• Implementation: helping people use the plan
• Know it works: tracking data and reviewing the plan
• Reduce and eliminate restrictive practice
• Continuing professional development and supervision

How does the NDIS Commission use the framework?

It's the basis for deciding whether someone is suitable to be an NDIS behaviour support practitioner. The Commission makes one of three decisions: suitable, not suitable, or unable to make a decision.

Only people the Commission finds suitable can do behaviour support assessments or write behaviour support plans for NDIS participants. They must also work for, or be, a provider registered for specialist behaviour support.

The Commission doesn't endorse or assign levels, and the levels aren't part of the legal test for suitability. On the self-assessment pathway, a practitioner's level comes from their own assessment and their supervisor's endorsement. They can then move up levels through supervision and professional development without applying again.

What do the levels mean when choosing a practitioner?

A level gives you a sense of someone's experience and scope, but it isn't a Commission rating. The right fit depends on the person's needs and how complex things are.

The framework says that when needs aren't complex, one practitioner can lead a small team with the person and their key supporters. When needs are complex, an interdisciplinary team of professionals may be needed. Some organisations bring in practitioners at different levels at different stages.

These questions can help when you first talk to a practitioner:

• What level do you work at, and how was that assessed?
• Who supervises you, and what level are they?
• Have you worked with people with similar needs, or in settings like ours?
• If restrictive practices are involved, who oversees that part of the work?
• Were you found suitable through the new entry-level pathway? If so, who is your supervisor?

What does the framework expect when practitioners work with families?

It expects practitioners to respect the person's voice, work as a team and build the skills of families and carers. It also recognises that families aren't regulated under NDIS law.

The framework calls anyone who uses a behaviour support plan an implementer. That includes support workers, family and carers, and sometimes teachers or volunteers.

It notes that family life doesn't fit neatly into the implementer role, including where a plan has regulated restrictive practices. Practitioners are expected to support families with good practice while keeping that difference in mind.

How do you become an NDIS behaviour support practitioner?

Apply to the NDIS Commission to be found suitable, through one of two pathways. You'll also need an NDIS worker screening clearance and a registered provider to work with.

• Self-assessment pathway: you assess yourself against the framework, build a portfolio of evidence, and a supervisor endorses it.
• New entry-level pathway (also called the alternative assessment pathway): for people with less than 6 months of PBS experience or limited evidence. You'll need a professional development plan, a supervision agreement with a practitioner at proficient level or above, and a signed declaration. The Commission sets a date to reconsider your suitability, usually within 12 months.

The Commission may find an entry-level applicant not suitable if they plan to work as a sole trader, or as key personnel of a specialist behaviour support provider, without employing a proficient-level practitioner who has 2 years' experience as an NDIS behaviour support practitioner.

If you're already a practitioner with room for new clients, see our For practitioners page. If you're a family looking for support, we can connect you with a registered practitioner.