Behaviour Support Plans in Queensland Schools: What PBL Tier 3 Looks Like

When a student with disability is experiencing repeated behavioural incidents at school — meltdowns, physical outbursts, refusal, aggression — there are two ways a school can respond. The first is punitive: suspensions, exclusions, part-time timetables. The second is what the law actually requires: understanding the communicative function of the behaviour and addressing the unmet needs driving it.

Queensland state schools are supposed to follow the second approach. Here's how it works and what parents should expect.

Queensland's Behavioural Framework: PBL

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) is the endorsed, multi-tiered behavioural support framework across Queensland government schools. It operates in three tiers:

• Tier 1: Universal, school-wide strategies for all students
• Tier 2: Targeted, small-group interventions for students at risk
• Tier 3: Intensive, individualised support for students with persistent or severe behavioural needs

Students with disabilities who are experiencing significant behavioural challenges should be receiving Tier 3 PBL support. This is not optional or discretionary — it is the framework the Department of Education has mandated.

Tier 3 PBL includes a formal behaviour support plan developed through a structured process that starts with a Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA).

What Is a Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA) in Queensland?

A Functional Behaviour Assessment is the process of identifying why a student is engaging in a challenging behaviour — what function it serves, what antecedents trigger it, and what the student is communicating through it.

In Queensland, FBAs are typically conducted by:

• The school's Guidance Officer (who holds postgraduate qualifications in counselling, psychology, or educational studies)
• A behaviour specialist from the school's support network
• In some cases, an external NDIS behaviour support practitioner

The FBA involves:

• Direct observation of the student across different settings
• Structured interviews with teachers, parents, and (where appropriate) the student
• Review of incident records and previous support plans
• Identification of antecedent triggers, behaviours, and consequences (ABC analysis)

The output of the FBA directly informs the Behaviour Support Plan.

What Should Be in a Behaviour Support Plan?

A genuine Tier 3 behaviour support plan is not a list of consequences. It is a proactive document that addresses the conditions driving the behaviour. It should include:

The function of the behaviour What is the student communicating? Common functions include: escaping a demand, seeking sensory stimulation, gaining attention from adults or peers, communicating distress, or responding to sensory overload. The plan must identify this.

Antecedent strategies (prevention) What changes to the environment, routine, or curriculum will reduce the likelihood of the triggering conditions arising? Examples:

• Advance notice of transitions for students with anxiety about change
• Sensory regulation breaks scheduled before high-demand activities
• Modified task complexity when the student shows early signs of frustration

Teaching replacement behaviours The plan should identify a specific replacement behaviour — a more acceptable way for the student to achieve the same communicative function. If the student flips desks to escape a task, the replacement behaviour is using a break card to request a pause. The plan must include explicit instruction in that replacement behaviour.

Reactive strategies What staff will do during an incident to maintain safety without escalating the behaviour. This must be de-escalation focused, not punitive.

Review and data collection Who is tracking the frequency and severity of incidents? How often is progress reviewed? Without data, a behaviour support plan is just a document that exists on a shelf.

The 2023 Suspension Data: Why This Matters

In 2023, an estimated 16,118 Queensland students with disability received short suspensions. Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion research projects that approximately 2,900 of those students will fail to achieve Year 12 educational attainment as a result of subsequent school disengagement.

Suspensions and exclusions are frequently applied to behaviours that are direct manifestations of a student's disability — behaviours that schools are legally required to address through reasonable adjustments, not punitive discipline. Under the Disability Standards for Education 2005, repeatedly suspending a student for disability-related behaviour, without first implementing appropriate support, may constitute unlawful discrimination.

If your child has been suspended more than once for behaviour linked to their disability, and there is no formal behaviour support plan in place, ask in writing why not.

How to Review an Existing Behaviour Support Plan

If your child already has a behaviour support plan, here's how to evaluate whether it's adequate:

If the plan has multiple red flags, request an LST meeting to revise it. Bring the FBA and ask whether it's current.

NDIS and School Behaviour Support

If your child has an NDIS plan with a Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) specialist funded, that practitioner can collaborate with the school — but cannot be directed by the school to provide their services during school hours without appropriate NDIS funding allocated for that purpose.

Importantly, schools cannot require parents to use NDIS funds to provide behaviour support during the school day. That obligation sits with the school under the DSE 2005. NDIS-funded PBS can complement school-based supports, but it doesn't replace them.

The Queensland Disability Support Blueprint covers behaviour support planning, suspension rights, and the PBL framework — including what to do when a school uses suspensions instead of appropriate support. Download the complete guide at /au/queensland/iep-guide/

See more Australia homeschool guides →