Functional Behaviour Assessment for NDIS Participants

What Is a Functional Behaviour Assessment?

A functional behaviour assessment works out why a behaviour keeps happening. It is often called an FBA for short. It looks past the behaviour itself and asks what need that behaviour is meeting. That need is called the function.

Behaviour is a message. A person may shout, hide, lash out or hurt themselves. Often that is because they have no other way to say what is wrong. They may be in pain, scared, bored or worn out. Uncovering that hidden need is the whole point of a functional behaviour assessment.

The assessment gathers the evidence, but it does not write the strategies. Those come next, in a behaviour support plan built on what we found.

Why the NDIS Requires a Functional Behaviour Assessment

A full behaviour support plan must rest on a proper assessment, because a plan written without one is only a guess. The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission sets the standard that specialist behaviour support providers work to.

This matters most where a restrictive practice is in use. A restrictive practice limits a person’s rights or freedom to move, so it is always a last resort and never a routine strategy. Where one is used, it must be authorised, reported to the Commission, and paired with a written plan to reduce and remove it. The functional behaviour assessment provides the evidence that a safer path is possible.

Timing matters too. Where a regulated restrictive practice is in place, a specialist provider must write an interim plan within one month of being engaged. The comprehensive plan is due within six months of that same start date. The functional behaviour assessment runs through that window. Where no regulated restrictive practice is involved, those deadlines do not formally apply, though good providers still work to them. If safety is an urgent worry, short term steps can start while the assessment continues.

Who Can Conduct a Functional Behaviour Assessment?

Not every clinician can do one. The work must be done by a behaviour support practitioner whom the NDIS Commission considers suitable. The Commission judges practitioners against a capability framework, and it recognises different levels of experience.

This is a role of its own. A behaviour support practitioner is a different job from a counsellor or a psychologist. Some people do hold more than one qualification. Behaviour support is registered with the NDIS Commission, while counsellors register with a body such as the Australian Counselling Association or PACFA.

At Ararat Wellness, Lauren Walker works with NDIS participants as a Counsellor and Behaviour Support Practitioner. She is a Registered Counsellor with the Australian Counselling Association and a Registered Behaviour Support Practitioner with the NDIS Commission. Lauren holds a Diploma of Counselling and is currently completing a Bachelor of Social Science. You can meet the rest of the Ararat Wellness team on our team page.

What Happens During a Functional Behaviour Assessment

Most families want to know what it actually feels like. Instead of one long appointment, a functional behaviour assessment runs as a set of shorter contacts spread over a few weeks. Here is how it usually works.

The Assessment Step by Step

1. Referral and intake. You call us, or a support coordinator sends an NDIS referral form. We then check what behaviour support funding is in place.
2. First chat. We meet the person and those who know them best. We ask what is happening, what has been tried, and what a good day looks like.
3. Records review. We read past reports, incident notes, health records and any old support plans.
4. Observation. We watch what happens in the settings that count, at the times that count.
5. Interviews. We talk to family, carers, support workers, teachers and other staff involved.
6. Data. The team notes when behaviours happen, how long they last and what was going on nearby.
7. Analysis. We look for the pattern, then form a view on the function of each behaviour.
8. Report and feedback. We write it up, then sit down and explain it in plain words.

What the Practitioner Observes

A functional behaviour assessment happens where daily life happens. That could be the family home, a classroom, a day program, a group home or a shop in town. Seeing a behaviour in context tells us much more than a description ever could.

We note what comes just before a behaviour, and what follows it. Noise, crowds, change, demands, hunger, pain and tiredness all show up as patterns once you track them. We also look hard at the times a behaviour does not happen. That contrast is one of the most useful parts of any functional behaviour assessment.

Who the Practitioner Talks To

A functional behaviour assessment leans on the people who see the person every day. Each of them notices different things, and the gaps between their accounts often tell us the most.

• The person, in whatever way they communicate best
• Family members, carers and guardians
• Support workers across different shifts and settings
• Teachers, school support staff or day program staff
• GPs, allied health staff and specialists involved in care
• Support coordinators, who hold the wider picture

The person’s own voice carries the most weight, however they communicate. Nothing from the functional behaviour assessment is shared without consent.

What Is in the Functional Behaviour Assessment Report

The functional behaviour assessment report is what you get at the end. It has to be easy to read, because support workers and family members are the people who use it every day.

• A profile of the person, with strengths, interests and how they communicate
• Background, including any diagnosis, health issues and history
• How the assessment was done, and who took part
• Clear, plain descriptions of each behaviour of concern
• The patterns we found, including triggers, settings and timing
• A statement on the likely function of each behaviour
• Any restrictive practice in use, with a path to reduce it
• What we suggest carrying into the behaviour support plan
• A way to track progress and review what we found

We write in plain English and drop the jargon where we can. If a section is hard to follow, say so and we will explain it again.

You get a copy of the report, and with consent so do the people supporting the person. A report that sits in a drawer helps nobody.

How Long a Functional Behaviour Assessment Takes

There is no single answer. A simple assessment can be done in a few weeks, while a complex one takes longer. That is often the case where several settings are involved, or where a restrictive practice needs a review.

A few things drive the timing. The big ones are how free the support network is to meet us, how many behaviours we are looking at, and how much data we need to see a clear pattern. We give you a rough timeframe for the functional behaviour assessment at the start, then keep you posted as we go.

What Happens After the Assessment

The functional behaviour assessment opens the door to what comes next. What we find feeds straight into a positive behaviour support plan that turns our findings into everyday steps for the team. It covers early strategies, skill building and cutting back restrictive practices.

The support team is then coached to use those steps the same way each time. Progress is tracked and the plan is reviewed as things change. Read more about how we deliver NDIS behaviour support across regional Victoria.

A clear functional behaviour assessment report can help with funding too, because it gives the NDIS a written picture of what the person needs and why.

Assessments for Children and Adults

Children are not the only ones who benefit from a functional behaviour assessment. Adults of any age can have one, and many do.

For children, we usually assess at home and at school. Parents and teachers often see very different behaviour, and comparing the two tells us a lot. Help given early can shape the years that follow.

For adults, the focus tends to shift towards housing, work, friendships and getting out in the community. We often assess in supported accommodation, day programs and workplaces. The goal at this stage is usually more choice and more freedom.

We assess people with a wide range of disability. That includes autistic participants who may also want behaviour support for autism, people with an intellectual disability, brain injury and psychosocial disability.

How to Prepare for Your Assessment

You do not need to prepare a thing before a functional behaviour assessment. Still, a few small steps make the work faster and more accurate.

• Gather past reports, such as an old behaviour support plan or allied health report
• Note recent health changes, such as pain, sleep, medicine or teeth
• Jot down when behaviours happen and what was going on at the time
• Think about what the person enjoys, and what a good day looks like
• Tell support workers and teachers that an assessment is coming
• Write down your questions before the first meeting

Be honest about what is not working. Nobody here is judging your parenting or anyone’s support work. Accurate facts make the functional behaviour assessment sharper, and the strategies better.

Book a Functional Behaviour Assessment in Regional Victoria

Ararat Wellness is a registered NDIS provider. We do functional behaviour assessments in person across Ararat, Ballarat, Stawell and Horsham, plus the wider Grampians and Central Highlands. Telehealth is there for you when travel is hard.

Contact our team to talk it through. We can check what behaviour support funding sits in the current NDIS plan. We will also walk you through each stage and give you a fair timeframe for the assessment.

This page is general information only. It is not a substitute for advice about your own situation. If you or someone you support is in crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call 000.