The Right Direction

Overview

In response to disturbing evidence¹ that up to 65% of NDIS participants with a behaviour support plan were not involved in developing their plans, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission funded a suite of resources focused on increasing communication and engagement throughout the behaviour support planning process.

This project investigated, co-designed and co-produced resources to increase effective communication and engagement between behaviour support practitioners and NDIS participants.

The resources were field tested and refined, based on extensive consultation and evaluation with practitioners (many of whom trialled them with behaviour support participants to suggest improvements) and the co-design team.

As such, the Right Direction resources are grounded in the needs of NDIS participants and behaviour support practitioners, and based on what the research shows will make a difference.

Outcomes

The Right Direction project produced a portfolio of resources freely available on a dedicated website to support communication and engagement focused on effective behaviour support planning and implementation.

Communication and engagement throughout the behaviour support process upholds participants’ rights and ensures practice meets the requirements of the NDIS regulations and standards governing behaviour support.

Visit The Right Direction website.

Co-design and collaboration

The University of Melbourne research team worked together with researchers from the University of Queensland (Prof Karen Nankervis, Dr Maria Vassos and Prof Rhonda Faragher).

The extensive team of collaborators also included:

• project partners from around Australia (Ability First Australia, Marathon Health, Multicap, National Disability Services (NDS), SAL Consulting, Scope, and VALID);
• a co-design and co-production team (Craig McIver from Department of Communities Western Australia; Judy Huett from Speak Out Advocacy Tasmania; Rachel Aberdein from the University of Queensland; Heather Forsyth, Liam Doyle, Jon Slingsby and Zoe Broadway from VALID; Rebecca McLinden from Multicap; and Katie Lyon, Belinda Hingston, Stella Koritsas, several other key contributors from Scope);
• consultants (APY Lands Behaviour Support Community of Practice, Belonging Matters and Woollybutt Specialist Services); and
• a National Advisory Group (Rachelle Musgrove and Michael Brownlee from NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission; Meredith Prain from Able Australia; Georgina Reynhout and Kerry Watson from Council for Intellectual Disability; Daniel Leighton from Department of Justice and Community Safety, Victorian Government; Kerry Neale from Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPAC), Tasmanian State Government; Alinka Fisher from Flinders University; Jackie Grozdanovski from New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice; Kim McRae from Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Women's Council (NPYWC); Mark Di Marco from Trellis Australia; and Andrew Normand, The University of Melbourne).

_{1. https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-10/Behaviour Support Plan Quality Public Paper.pdf}