27/05/2026
Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) works when it’s delivered correctly.
PBS is not about punishing behaviour. It’s about understanding why a behaviour occurs and supporting people with safer, more meaningful alternatives that improve quality of life. At its best, PBS is person‑centred, rights‑focused, evidence‑based, and goes beyond changing the individual to also address environments and systems.
Recently, questions have been raised about whether PBS has reduced restrictive practices in Australia. Our research shows the issue isn’t PBS itself, it’s poor implementation. When something is labelled “PBS” without strong training, clear values, or high‑quality plans, it fails to deliver.
The evidence is clear: when PBS is implemented well, it reduces behaviours of concern, improves daily life, and leads to less reliance on restrictive practices over time.
At Multicap, we do PBS differently. We are recognised as industry leaders across both research and service delivery, with rigorous quality checks in place. We don’t approve behaviour support plans until they’ve been thoroughly reviewed and meet a high standard, because quality matters and our customers deserve to feel safe and supported.
https://multicap.org.au/multicap-is-leading-the-industry-in-positive-behaviour-support/
Read the full paper: Carberry et al. (2024), Positive Behaviour Support is effective when implemented correctly : A response to “Restrictive practice–A pathway to elimination” (Spivakovsky, Steele, & Wadiwel, 2023).
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/23297018.2024.2391804
