What is environmental restraint under the NDIS?

What counts as environmental restraint

The NDIS (Restrictive Practices and Behaviour Support) Rules 2018 describe environmental restraint as restricting a person's free access to all parts of their environment, including items or activities. It is often less visible than physical restraint, so it can become part of a routine without anyone noticing it is a restrictive practice.

Examples include:

• Locking a fridge, pantry or cupboard so the person cannot get food or drink freely
• Locking doors, windows, gates or rooms
• Removing or withholding a phone, tablet, money or other belongings
• Restricting access to the community, a hobby or an activity
• Removing items such as sharp objects or cleaning products from the person's reach

Why it is common in shared homes

Environmental restraint often appears in supported independent living and other shared homes, where a step taken to keep one person safe affects the whole house. A locked kitchen or front door can restrict every resident, not just the person it was meant for.

Providers should think about everyone living in the home. If a restriction affects other residents, their rights need to be considered too, and the least restrictive option for each person should be found.

The rules for using it

Environmental restraint follows the same rules as every regulated restrictive practice:

• Only registered NDIS providers can use it
• It must be part of a behaviour support plan developed by an NDIS behaviour support practitioner, with positive strategies to reduce the need for it
• It must be authorised under the process in the person's state or territory
• It must be used as a last resort, be proportionate to the risk and be used for the shortest possible time
• The implementing provider reports its use to the NDIS Commission every month

How states describe it differently

Authorisation is run by each state and territory, and some use their own terms. In Queensland, a related practice is called restricting access, and preventing a person from freely leaving premises is called containment. In South Australia, locking the external gates and doors of a home with 24 hour disability support can only be authorised by the Senior Authorising Officer, where the person does not have support to leave safely when they choose.

Check the rules where the person lives, because definitions and who can authorise vary.

When it is not a restrictive practice

For children, a restriction is not a regulated restrictive practice if it is age appropriate and the same step any parent would take, such as a safety gate for a toddler.

Using a restriction without authorisation, outside a behaviour support plan, or differently from the plan is an unauthorised restrictive practice and a reportable incident.

Questions to ask

• Why is this restriction needed, and what risk is it reducing?
• Is it written in a behaviour support plan and authorised?
• Does it affect anyone else in the home?
• What is being done to teach skills or change the environment so it can stop?
• When will it be reviewed?