How PBS Plans Can Help Families and Individuals in Melbourne

This article is for families and carers in Melbourne looking for PBS plans, also known as Positive Behaviour Support Plans. We explain how PBS can enrich and improve quality of life and how we work with you towards your goals.

What is a PBS plan?

A Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) Plan is a document created to improve quality of life. We build your PBS Plan with you and your team, and seek to understand your strengths, values, routines, social connections and goals, as well as any behaviours that might be a challenge for you.

We take a person-centred, holistic view of your life, and through data collection and collaborative skill building, we aim to help you achieve your goals and better manage the ever changing requirements of life. Find more information about PBS plans here.

How PBS plans can help individuals in Melbourne

Improving quality of life over time

Our main goal is to help improve your quality of life. Change can be a slow process, but we work with you and your support team to build skills and understanding that can be useful for a long time. We believe that even if a positive change is small, over time, it creates space for more positive change to occur. It is this accumulation of small positive changes over time that leads to a better quality of life.

Supporting daily routines and independence

We help you achieve your goals by helping you and your support team build the skills and abilities to support your daily routine and independence. Whether it is improving your sleep schedule, getting out into the community, making new friends, seeking further education or meaningful participation at school, we help you and your team work together to achieve this. Our aim is to help you gain more control in your daily life and continue building towards your independence.

Reducing behaviours of concern

Behaviours of concern are behaviours that may restrict your ability to work toward your goals, or reduce your quality of life. By working with you and your support team, we aim to understand what situations or events may trigger these behaviours. By understanding this, we can work with you, and those around you, to build new strategies around how to respond in a way that is more beneficial to you. We also help others to better understand why these behaviours are occurring, and can assist in navigating or changing the environments or situations in which these behaviours occur.

Building safer and more positive environments

A key part of Positive Behaviour Support is understanding how a person’s environment affects their wellbeing, behaviour, and daily experiences. Working alongside you and your support network, we develop practical strategies to reduce triggers, increase predictability, and create environments where a person feels safe, respected, and supported. For some people, this may mean building confidence to take part in community activities; for others, it may mean making changes at home so everyday routines feel calmer, clearer, and more supportive.

How PBS plans can help families in Melbourne

Every child is unique, but when Positive Behaviour Support is personalised and delivered collaboratively, families often experience:

• Greater confidence in responding to challenging situations
• Improved communication between parents and children
• More positive family routines
• Increased participation at school, home and in the community
• Better emotional regulation and independence for the child
• Reduced stress for the whole family

These changes don't happen overnight, but with the right support, small, consistent steps can lead to meaningful progress.

Helping families respond with confidence

A Positive Behaviour Support Plan gives families clear, practical guidance to help them better understand your needs and respond in ways that are calm, consistent, and supportive. A person-centred PBS plan provides strategies and tools they can turn to, making it easier to know how to help in a way that supports your wellbeing and goals.

Creating consistency across home and community

Every home and community setting brings different expectations, routines, and challenges. Our behaviour support practitioners help families in Melbourne apply the same practical strategies across the environments that are important to them, so support feels clear and consistent for everyone involved.

We also partner with your support worker, clinicians, teachers and others involved in your care, to make sure the strategies in place are understood and applied consistently.

By reinforcing the same skills and strategies at home and in the community, we help build confidence, reduce confusion, and support progress toward each person’s longer-term goals.

What’s included in a PBS plan?

We see Positive Behaviour Support as a collaborative, family-centred process — it is more than “managing” behaviours. Behaviour is a form of communication, so we work alongside you and your family to understand why behaviours are happening and help your child build skills while making everyday life a little easier for everyone.

A good plan should be practical and individualised. It might include:

• your child's strengths and interests
• identified triggers and early warning signs
• ways to prevent distress
• communication supports
• emotional regulation strategies
• skills to teach over time
• guidance for adults on how to respond consistently
• goals that matter to your family

The best outcomes happen when parents feel confident to use the strategies developed. Once we’ve worked out what we want to try, we’ll model it, train others, coach, check in regularly and adjust as needed. This way we’re not setting you up to solely rely on a practitioner and we know if the strategies are working. We will adjust the strategies as your child develops.

When a PBS plan may be helpful

Signs a person may benefit from Positive Behaviour Support

Positive Behaviour Support may be helpful when behaviours are making day-to-day life feel harder than it should be, or when a person is finding it difficult to do the things they enjoy, build new skills, or work towards their goals. Furthermore, if you feel your quality of life could be improved, either from learning new skills, getting out into the community more, being more independent at home, or in any other way, then this is really what Positive Behaviour Support is all about. The focus is always on improving wellbeing, building confidence and helping life feel more manageable over time.

When families or carers feel unsure

PBS can also be a valuable next step for families and carers who want to help, but are not quite sure how to respond in a way that feels calm and supportive. A Positive Behaviour Support Plan can give everyone a clearer path forward, with strategies that help family members understand the person’s needs and work together more consistently. It may also support conversations about the level of assistance needed, including whether additional NDIS support could be helpful.

What to expect from the process

The first step is to make an online PBS referral. Once the paperwork is completed and a practitioner is available near you, they will be in touch to chat about what you or your family is hoping to achieve. From there, we take the time to learn more about your child, their strengths, and what may be happening around any behaviours of concern, so we can better understand how to help. Once we understand this, we collaborate with you and your team to develop a plan that outlines how everyone who supports you can do so in a calm and consistent way. We then review the implementation of the plan over time to see how things are going and make adjustments if needed, so the plan continues to feel helpful and supportive.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I find an NDIS behaviour support practitioner in Melbourne?

Our PBS practitioners in Melbourne are located throughout the metropolitan area. They travel to you so you don’t need to worry about travel, fuel or parking. Please feel welcome to contact us to find out if we have a practitioner located near you in Melbourne.

Will my Positive Behaviour Support plan be tailored for me?

All PBS plans are individualised, taking into consideration each person’s unique needs, goals, values and circumstances.

Which NDIS funds can I use for a PBS plan?

There are specific funds in an NDIS plan which can be used for Positive Behaviour Support.

What does Positive Behaviour Support actually look like?

We have a great article that explains what to expect from your PBS practitioner and the support they provide.

How do I get started with PBS plans in Melbourne?

The first step is to make a referral, which starts the process towards finding the right PBS practitioner for you. Make a referral anytime.

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Contributors

Written by Mitch Short BBus (Vic), GradDipPsych (SA), AdvGradDipPsych (Vic), Behaviour Support Practitioner, Melbourne

Mitch approaches Positive Behaviour Support with compassion and empathy, connecting genuinely with people during difficult times. Mitch ensures individuals and families feel heard, respected and encouraged, and empowers them to achieve positive and sustainable outcomes.

Reviewed by Belinda Thurlow RMT (AMTA), MCMT, BMus, Provisional Psychodynamic Psychotherapist (ANZAP), Proficient Behaviour Support Practitioner, Brisbane

An experienced behaviour support practitioner, Belinda takes a warm, person-centred approach to supporting participants. She works closely with participants, their families and support teams to understand underlying causes and implement positive interventions that build skills and improvise quality of life. Belinda’s qualifications in Music Therapy and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy further enhance her work in Positive Behaviour Support.