Evidence Matters

Evidence Matters is a collection of resources intended to promote the use of evidence-informed practices or ways of working.*

Evidence Matters Summaries can be used for:

  • Supporting worker professional development and supervision
  • Improving the quality of behaviour support plans and practitioner practice
  • Informing a person’s decisions about their care
  • Guiding organisations undertaking continuous quality improvement activities

These resources are intended for a range of audiences, including people with disability, providers, behaviour support practitioners and other NDIS workers. You may find summaries useful even if you are not listed as the suggested audience.

Evidence-Informed Practice Guide

Suggested audience: People with disabilities, families and carers, providers, behaviour support practitioners,

This practice guide is about evidence-informed practice. It defines what evidence-informed practice and gives guidance on ways to ensure practice is evidence-informed.

This guide looks at different types of evidence, the importance of considering the rights and perspectives of people with disability and the importance of expertise provided by professionals and those working in the implementing or practice context(s).

Organisational Approaches to Reducing Restrictive Practice

Suggested audience: Providers using restrictive practices

 “Organisational Approaches to Reducing Restrictive Practice” was funded by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and was developed by Emeritus Professor Leanne Dowse and The Disability Trust.

This resource draws on the experiences of an organisation (The Disability Trust) as they worked to review restrictive practices across their services. Concepts explored in the resource include those such as:

  • promoting a person-centred approach,
  • ensuring successful communication with people with disability,
  • undertaking organisation-wide planning for restrictive practice reduction, and
  • addressing organisational culture.

Evidence Matters: Developing Quality Behaviour Support Plans

Suggested audience: Specialist behaviour support providers, behaviour support practitioners. 

“Developing Quality Behaviour Support” was funded by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and was developed by Professor Karen Nankervis and Doctor Maria Vassos from University of Queensland.

This resource gives a summary of the literature that identifies aspects of quality behaviour support plans and provides guidance to behaviour support practitioners on how they can ensure those elements are addressed in behaviour support plans.

Medications for behaviours of concern for people with Autism

Suggested audience: People with disabilities, their families and supports; specialist behaviour support providers, behaviour support practitioners, providers using restrictive practices, health professionals.

These resources have been prepared by the NDIS Commission in the course of undertaking research to inform the development and evaluation of the use of behaviour supports. These resources may be used to develop strategies to the reduce or eliminate restrictive practices by NDIS providers.

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*Whilst care is taken to ensure the accuracy and currency of these resources at the time of publication, these resources are not always updated after the fact. It is the responsibility of the viewer to determine the appropriateness of a resource as part of their own due diligence. These resources do not replace the need for individual expert advice.

Related resources

Evidence-Informed Practice Guide

Evidence Matters: Developing Quality Behaviour Support Plans

Evidence Matters: Organisational approaches to reducing restrictive practices