Behaviour Support and SIL Providers: Why They Must Work as One Team
When a person in Supported Independent Living (SIL) has a behaviour support plan, two providers share the responsibility.
The behaviour support practitioner writes the plan. The SIL team lives it — on every shift, in the person's home.
Under the NDIS Commission's rules, neither can do their job alone. This guide explains what each provider must do, where the partnership usually breaks down, and how to work as one team.
Two providers, one person
The specialist behaviour support provider assesses the person's needs, develops the behaviour support plan, and — if the plan includes a regulated restrictive practice — lodges it with the NDIS Commission.
The SIL provider delivers support day to day. If the plan includes a regulated restrictive practice that the SIL team uses, the SIL provider is the implementing provider.
The Commission is clear that these roles are linked. Providers who develop plans and providers who use restrictive practices have a shared responsibility to:
- protect the rights of people with disability
- work together to help improve a person's quality of life
- reduce and stop the use of regulated restrictive practices
Source: NDIS Commission — Rules for specialist behaviour support providers and practitioners
What the rules expect from each side
The NDIS Practice Standards have a module for each provider — specialist behaviour support and implementing behaviour support plans. Read side by side, they describe one joint process.
| Stage | Behaviour support provider | SIL provider (implementing) |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment | Assesses why behaviours happen, which can involve collecting data and observations | Supports the practitioner to gather information for the assessment |
| Writing the plan | Develops the plan in consultation with the implementing provider, then gives it to them for consideration and acceptance | Collaborates on the plan, with key responsibilities clearly identified |
| Training | Delivers person-focused training, coaching and mentoring to the implementing provider | Supports the practitioner to train its workers in the plan's strategies |
| Restrictive practices | Lodges the plan with the NDIS Commission | Gets authorisation, activates the plan, and submits monthly reports |
| Monitoring | Evaluates progress using the data the implementing provider collects | Records the information and data the practitioner asks for, and feeds it back |
| Review | Reviews the plan at least every 12 months, or when the person's situation changes | Works with the practitioner to check what's working |
In short: the plan is only as good as the information coming from the home, and the home is only as safe as the plan it follows.
Where the partnership breaks down
Most providers want to work together. The trouble is usually the handover between two organisations using two different systems.
- The plan lives in an inbox. It's emailed as a PDF, and weeks later nobody's sure which version is current.
- Data sits on paper. Behaviour charts and shift notes never reach the practitioner in a usable form.
- Incidents arrive late. The practitioner hears about a difficult week at the next review, not when it happened.
- New workers miss out. The first team was trained, but staff turnover means half the roster never was.
- Reviews run on memory. Without data, it's hard to tell whether a strategy is working.
For restrictive practices, the stakes are higher. A restrictive practice is unauthorised if it isn't in a behaviour support plan, hasn't been authorised, or isn't used the way the plan says. Unauthorised use is a reportable incident, due to the Commission within 5 business days — or 24 hours if the person was harmed.
How to work as one team
- Agree who does what, in writing. Name who collects which data, who trains new workers, and who tells whom when something changes.
- Keep one current version of the plan where every worker can find it on shift.
- Record what the practitioner asks for, when it happens. Not at the end of the week.
- Tell the practitioner early when things change. The Commission says a change in living arrangements, a change in providers, or a pattern of unauthorised restrictive practices will generally count as a change in circumstances — which means the plan needs review.
- Train every new worker, not just the team that was there when the plan started.
- Review together, using the data you've both collected.
How Comm.care helps SIL and behaviour support providers work as one
Comm.care is built around the Circle of Care — one shared record for each person, which more than one organisation can be part of.
- Bring the practitioner's organisation into the Circle. Upload the person's signed consent form, then add the other organisation. One consent form can cover several organisations.
- Decide what they can see. You set the other organisation's access to your information.
- Share one version of the plan. Store behaviour support strategies as a Care Instructions document, so both teams work from the same copy.
- Capture behaviour as it happens. Progress notes prompt workers to record changes in behaviour, resilience or mood at the time of support.
- Loop in the right person fast. @mention someone in a comment and they get a push notification on the mobile app. Flag a serious or reportable incident and Circle members and managers are alerted.
- Keep reviews on track. Add a task with the review date so it doesn't slip.
Comm.care doesn't write behaviour support plans or lodge anything with the NDIS Commission. It gives both providers one place to work from — so the plan and the home stay connected.
FAQs
Does a behaviour support practitioner have to consult the SIL provider?
Yes. Behaviour support plans are developed in consultation with the providers implementing them. When a plan will include a regulated restrictive practice, the practitioner must consult the provider who may use it.
Who lodges a behaviour support plan with the NDIS Commission?
The specialist behaviour support provider lodges the plan. The implementing provider then activates it, lodges evidence of authorisation, and completes monthly reports on the use of restrictive practices.
Who trains SIL workers to use the plan?
The specialist behaviour support provider facilitates or delivers person-focused training, coaching and mentoring to the providers implementing the plan.
What happens if a restrictive practice is used outside the plan?
It's unauthorised, and must be reported to the NDIS Commission as a reportable incident within 5 business days — or within 24 hours if the person was harmed.
Can two organisations share one person's records in Comm.care?
Yes. With the person's signed consent uploaded, another organisation can be added to their Circle of Care, and you control their access to your information. The other organisation needs its own Comm.care subscription, starting with the Professional plan.
This article is general information, not legal or compliance advice. Always confirm your obligations with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.