13. Servicing participants with challenging behaviours

Supporting Documents for this Chapter

Supporting Documentssign-in required (sign-in required)

• Temporary Site Closures

• Provider Actions – Completing an Incident Report

• Managed Serviced Plan Arrangements letter template

• Serious Incident Report form

• Managed Serviced Plan Arrangement Letter Template

• Public Interest Certificate (PIC) Guidelines

13.1 Chapter OverviewCopy citation · §13.1

This Chapter provides information for Providers on how to recognise and manage challenging behaviours. It includes information on how to provide safe and ongoing Services to Participants with challenging behaviours so that they can remain connected with Services and (where applicable) meet their Mutual Obligation Requirements, while limiting risks to the safety of Provider staff, other Participants and property.

All Providers are responsible for ensuring people’s safety on their premises and that the Services they deliver are safe. Providers can adapt the strategies in this Chapter to meet their own circumstances. This Chapter supplements, but does not replace, Provider internal operational policies and procedures. Providers are responsible for informing themselves of their relevant legal and Deed obligations, including relevant Work Health and Safety (WHS) and Privacy Laws, and compliance with these obligations. This Chapter does not cover WHS Incidents. For WHS Incidents refer to Chapter 7: Activities.

13.2 Recognising challenging behaviourCopy citation · §13.2

Challenging behaviour is any behaviour that is unacceptable or hostile and that creates an intimidating, frightening, threatening, offensive or physically dangerous situation in the workplace or other location.

Challenging behaviour:

• can be verbal or physical aggression, self-harm, property damage, non-compliance or disruptive depending on the context and the person

• can pose a risk of harm to the Participant, others or property

• can be impacted by the physical setting, or topic or tone of discussion, and/or

• can stem from underlying causes like, low literacy or communication, sensory issues, loss of or low hearing, emotional distress, health and wellbeing including mental health

A Participant may exhibit the following challenging behaviours:

• physical violence against any person such as hitting, kicking, punching, spitting or throwing objects

• physical abuse, sexual abuse or harassment, inappropriate touching or stalking of staff members or other Participants including intimidation that leads another to feel an immediate or immanent threat of personal safety

• verbal or written threats to self or others over a phone call or videoconference, in person, or via letter, email or social media and may include swearing, offensive noises or gestures, inappropriate or suggestive comments

• taking a physical stance or creating something that poses a serious or immediate threat of violence

• intentionally damaging, defacing, or destroying property theft of property, undertaking illegal actions on the Provider’s premises, use of the Provider’s equipment and/or property for illegal purposes, and/or

• causing injury to oneself — for example, cutting or indications of suicide or self-harm.

13.3 Managing a challenging behaviour IncidentCopy citation · §13.3

The Department views the safety of Provider staff and Participants as a priority and acknowledges that Providers have a wide variety of expertise and arrangements in place to address safety concerns and challenging behaviours.

Providers are responsible for people’s safety on their premises and that the Services they deliver are carried out safely. Where challenging behaviour is observed, Providers should consider if police involvement is required and are encouraged to contact police if they believe assistance from emergency services is necessary.

13.3.1 Maintaining an Incident Management PlanCopy citation · §13.3.1

It is the Provider’s responsibility to have an Incident Management Plan in place that outlines its approach to managing situations where Participants, staff or visitors display challenging behaviours, or where Provider staff identify that a situation has the potential to escalate to become an Incident. Providers must provide a copy of this plan upon the Department’s request.

13.3.2 General considerationsCopy citation · §13.3.2

Strategies may differ between Providers and their Sites. Participants have different situations. Many factors can cause challenging behaviour. This also affects which strategy works best to manage that behaviour.

When Providers face challenging behaviours, they might want to talk to the Participant about it. Participants have the right to ask questions. They can also share their thoughts on their rights and support required. In these situations, Participants should not be seen as showing challenging behaviours if they are not being abusive or using offensive language.

If a Participant shows challenging behaviour during an Activity, the Provider should act appropriately. This action should follow the situation, these Guidelines, the Deed, and WHS Laws.

13.3.3 Immediate notification requirementCopy citation · §13.3.3

Where there is a real and imminent threat to the safety of a Participant, person or property call 000 immediately and answer / follow instructions of the operator, then when it is safe to do so, as soon as practical after the Incident follow the Public Interest Certificate (PIC) requirements (more details are available in Part A Guidelines: Chapter 6: Privacysign-in required (sign-in required) and Public Interest Certificate (PIC) Guidelines).

13.3.4 Notifying Services AustraliaCopy citation · §13.3.4

If a Participant threatens Services Australia staff or property, the Provider must share that information. This helps keep staff and other Customers safe.

• First, the Provider should attempt to call the local Services Australia service centre (the office closest to the Provider’s location or the location of a threat) to advise of the risk, and

• If the Provider cannot reach the local Services Australia service centre or is unsure who to call, they should call the Services Australia Security Hotline on 1800 046 021.

  • This hotline is managed by Services Australia Regional Security Advisers and is operational nationally between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm Monday to Friday.

In the event of an emergency - call 000.

Incidents should be recorded on the day of the Incident occurred or as soon as possible and within 24 hours of the Incident.

13.3.5 Temporary Site closuresCopy citation · §13.3.5

A Provider may temporarily close their Site if a Participant shows a challenging behaviour that creates a real or perceived threat to the safety of staff, others and property. The Site remains closed until the issue is resolved or they feel the threat has passed. Please refer to the Temporary site closure advice for Providerssign-in required (sign-in required) on the Provider Portal.

13.3.6 Disclosure of Personal and Sensitive InformationCopy citation · §13.3.6

Providers must know and follow their legal duties when handling, using, and sharing Personal and Sensitive Information.

For information on disclosing Personal Information and Sensitive Information refer to Part A Guidelines: Chapter 6: Privacysign-in required (sign-in required).

13.4 Reporting Incidents of challenging behavioursCopy citation · §13.4

Providers are required to submit an Incident Report after each challenging behaviour Incident. The Incident Report creates a written record of challenging behaviour Incidents to help the Provider and Services Australia manage safety for staff and to establish proactive mitigations that reduce the risk of future occurrences.

The arrangements are designed to make Participants’ experiences more consistent across Departments with Employment Services by aligning processes and terminology. The common approach to Incident Reports for Providers and Services Australia involves:

• an Incident Severity Matrix — an automated process that assigns a severity level to an Incident, and

• a Managed Service Plan — arrangements that Providers can put in place to tailor the way Services are delivered to Participants who display challenging behaviours.

Note: If a challenging behaviour Incident is also considered a WHS Incident, the Provider must also notify the Department of the WHS Incident.

Incident Reports must include the severity and details of any threats. Providers must ensure an Incident Report is factual, comprehensive and does not include unnecessary or inappropriate commentary.

Accurate recording in Incident Reports ensures all staff are informed about the history of a Participant’s challenging behaviour so they can make an assessment on the likelihood of further Incidents and determine appropriate future servicing arrangements to minimise risks to people and property.

Accurate recording of Incidents also ensures that, if the Participant is transferred to another Site or Provider, the receiving Site or Provider is aware of the challenging behaviour/s and can arrange to service the Participant accordingly.

Note: Providers should be aware that Participants can access documents held by the Department or Providers containing Personal Information about them under the FOI Act and may be released as part of court proceedings.

Incidents should be recorded on the day the Incident occurred or as soon as possible and within 24 hours of the Incident.

System step — Providers complete an Incident Report through the Incident report and Managed service plan panel in the Department’s IT Systems. Detailed instructions are available in the Incident Report task card.

The Completing an Incident Reportsign-in required (sign-in required) supporting document on the Provider Portal provides further information about report terminology.

Note: In the event of a serious incident, it is expected that the Provide also notifies the Department by completing the Serious Incident Report formsign-in required (sign-in required) available on the Provider Portal. The Serious Incident Report should be completed and submitted to the Provider’s Account Manager within 24 hours of the serious incident occurring.

13.5 Post-Incident contactCopy citation · §13.5

The Department recommends that Providers initiate a post-Incident Contact with the Participant to discuss their behaviours and the impacts those behaviours had on other Participants and staff. It is suggested that this contact is made after a minimum of 7 days to allow time to pass from the Incident and via a phone call following serious challenging behaviours. The purpose of a post-Incident Contact is to provide the Participant with an opportunity to debrief. It is also for both the Participant and Provider staff member to gain a clearer understanding of the issues triggering the behaviours and other factors contributing to the Incident (personal circumstances, barriers, and vulnerabilities, etc).

A post-Incident Contact should support Providers to understand if an Incident was a one-off event, or if there are ongoing factors that warrant the implementation of a Managed Service Plan with servicing strategies and service channel restrictions to address the underlying issues impacting their behaviour.

Where either ongoing factors or a change of circumstances are identified through the post-Incident Contact, best practice is to conduct an update of the Job Seeker Snapshot to capture any change of circumstances for the Participant (see Section 2.3 Job Seeker Snapshot and Job Seeker Classification Instrument).

13.6 Key steps before applying a Managed Service PlanCopy citation · §13.6

Following an Incident or change in behaviour, the Provider should discuss the type of behaviour expected from Participants and advise, where appropriate, the implications of behaving in a way that does not meet those expectations. This will ensure the Participant is given the opportunity to:

• improve their behaviour, and

• disclose any contributing barriers or personal circumstances.

This information can be given verbally or in writing. Where a warning is given, it must be recorded on the Department’s IT Systems, through the comment functionality in the Participant’s Summary or in the Incident Report where the warning was a result of an Incident.

Before the Provider decides to apply a Managed Service Plan, they should consider:

• the severity of the behaviour and/or Incident(s) including any safety concerns the behaviour may raise

• any contributing factors including barriers or personal circumstances

• the time needed to address issues (e.g. a Participant may only require a short ‘cooling off’ period), and

• the importance of ensuring Participants remain connected to employment services (see Section 13.3.2 General considerations).

13.6.1 Determining if there were contributing factorsCopy citation · §13.6.1

Consideration of the contributing factors should be explored before Providers consider servicing through a Managed Service Plan. Examples of factors that Providers could consider include:

• any known Non-Vocational Barriers, such as a death in the family, caring responsibilities, mental health or other health or disability (past or present), drug or alcohol dependencies (past or present), and

• if the Participant has disclosed information or displays / has previously displayed behaviour that may warrant conducting a new Job Seeker Snapshot due to a change of circumstances for a Participant.

All Managed Service Plan arrangements must ensure that a Participant (Mutual Obligation) or DSP Recipient (Compulsory Requirements) remains connected to employment services to meet their participation requirements.

The Provider should ensure that the Participant understands the requirements of the Managed Service Plan arrangements.

13.7 Creating a Managed Service PlanCopy citation · §13.7

Managed Service Plans enable a Provider to consider alternate ways to deliver services to Participants with challenging behaviours.

Managed Service Plans focus on keeping staff and Participants safe. They also help Participants to stay connected to employment services. When needed, these Plans help Participants (Mutual Obligation) and DSP Recipients (Compulsory Requirements) to meet their participation requirements. A Managed Service Plan can be applied at any time, either short–term or long-term, where it is considered by the Provider to be appropriate.

All Managed Service Plans must be approved at Site Manager level or higher and must be recorded in the Department’s IT Systems.

System step — Providers must record all Managed Service Plan arrangements and restrictions that are put in place in the Managed Service Plan screen on the Participant’s record in the Department’s IT Systems.

13.7.1 Report typesCopy citation · §13.7.1

Managed Service Plans may be:

• Reactive — if linked to an Incident Report in the Departments IT Systems, or

• Proactive — if the Managed Service Plan is created to prevent an anticipated Incident.

13.7.2 TimeframesCopy citation · §13.7.2

Providers must apply a timeframe that is appropriate to the circumstances and severity of the Participant’s behaviour and/or Incident(s).

A Managed Service Plan may be applied:

• short-term (up to 1 month) — to provide a ‘cooling off’ period, consider personal factors, and/or test whether a longer Managed Service Plan is needed, and

• long-term (1 to 12 months) — to allows time for the Provider to assist the Participant to address any barriers or personal circumstances, provide support and manage interactions between the Provider and the Participant to ensure the safety of all involved.

A long-term Managed Service Plan can be extended beyond 12 months. This happens if a review shows it's still needed. The goal is to help the Participant tackle the causes of their challenging behaviours and manage risks to people and property from these behaviours.

13.7.3 Servicing strategiesCopy citation · §13.7.3

Managed Service Plans can include servicing strategies that the Provider will implement to help address the Participant’s barriers or personal circumstances contributing to behaviour. This can include referrals internal or external for:

• behaviour management counselling

• financial planning

• housing or accommodation assistance

• legal aid

• drug and alcohol counselling, grief counselling, social or community program/course, or family relationship counselling, and/or

• health practitioner.

13.7.4 Service channel restrictionsCopy citation · §13.7.4

Providers may apply service channel restrictions in the Managed Service Plan. Providers can impose partial or full restrictions of one or more service channels.

Providers can specify:

• contact channels that the Participant can use (face-to-face, phone, writing)

• who the Participant can contact — Providers may decide to nominate a staff member as the One Main contact for the Participant, and

• when the Participant can make contact.

Note: If a One Main contact is nominated, the Provider should also name a back-up contact.

13.7.5 Approval to apply a Managed Service PlanCopy citation · §13.7.5

All Managed Service Plans require approval from a Site Manager of the Provider or equivalent and must be recorded in the Department’s IT Systems.

13.7.6 Advising the Participant of arrangementsCopy citation · §13.7.6

Participants must be notified of the servicing strategies and service channel restrictions in writing as soon as possible after the Managed Service Plan arrangements have been approved. This notification should also advise the Participant that they can request the restrictions be reviewed at any time.

Participants can be provided a letter:

• in person, if the Participant is on Site

• by postal delivery — Providers should consider registered post to ensure that they can confirm that the Participant has received the letter, or

• by email.

A Managed Serviced Plan Arrangement Letter templatesign-in required (sign-in required) that Providers can use to is available on the Provider Portal.

13.7.7 Participant’s request for review or appealCopy citation · §13.7.7

Participants can have their Managed Serviced Plan reviewed at any time or appeal the Managed Service Plan when it is applied or reviewed. Participants can request a review by their Provider or contact the National Customer Service Line (NCSL) on 1800 805 260 to discuss the arrangements in the Managed Service Plan.

The Participant should be given the opportunity to participate in the review of the Managed Service Plan.

As part of the review, the Provider should work through the Managed Service Plan with the Participant where possible and safe to do so. If an agreement cannot be reached, the Provider can contact their Account Manager.

Note: If a Managed Service Plan expires, it will not be automatically renewed, and the Participant will no longer have any restrictions in place.

Where necessary, Providers should discuss options with their Account Manager to either extend the Managed Service Plan (if there is a continued threat to safety) or transition the Participant off the Managed Service Plan.

The outcomes of a review may be to:

• end a Managed Service Plan and return a Participant to standard service channels

• extend a Managed Service Plan unchanged, or

• vary the Managed Service Plan arrangements and set a new review date.

Additional reviews of a Managed Service Plan can be initiated where there is a request from the Participant.

13.8 Servicing Participants with a Managed Service PlanCopy citation · §13.8

Providers should consider how the Participant will be serviced when the Managed Service Plan and service channel restrictions have been lifted, and they return to standard servicing.

Providers must record in the Participant's Managed Service Plan the ongoing measures that will be implemented to encourage improved behaviour by the Participant.

13.8.1 Breach of Managed Service PlanCopy citation · §13.8.1

It is considered a breach when a Participant does not follow the servicing arrangements and service channel restrictions as set out in their Managed Service Plan.

Where a Participant is in breach of the Managed Service Plan, the Provider must lodge an Incident Report in the Department’s IT Systems.

If the Provider identifies that the Participant was not aware of the Managed Service Plan (i.e. did not receive their letter), this should also be recorded in the Department’s IT Systems.

Where a Participant has a Managed Service Plan in place, a ‘Managed Serviced Plan Alert’ will be in the Participant’s record in the Department’s IT Systems.

Where a Managed Service Plan has negligible effect, and serious, challenging or aggressive participant behaviour continues, Providers should escalate the matter to their Account Manager. The Department will escalate the incident to Services Australia requesting a review.

13.9 Additional considerations for transfersCopy citation · §13.9

Participants with a current Provider-lodged and/or Services Australia-lodged Serious Incident Report and/or Reactive Managed Service Plan seeking a transfer to a different Provider may only be transferred with the involvement of the Department. For more information, Providers should refer to the relevant transfer processes in Section 3.4 Transfers.

13.9.1 Notification of ReferralCopy citation · §13.9.1

Providers will receive an alert for all Participants with Incident Reports and/or Managed Service Plans in the Department’s IT Systems. Provider staff should review the details of historical Participant Incident Reports and Managed Service Plans in the Department’s IT Systems prior to scheduling an Initial Interview so they can implement appropriate safety measures to protect Participants and staff and improve engagement. This may include implementing a proactive Managed Service Plan limiting face-to-face servicing where appropriate, ensuring there are clear expectations around behaviours and a plan to move towards opening the full suite of communication channels and strategies to support the Participant to manage their behaviour.

13.9.2 Transfers due to relationship failureCopy citation · §13.9.2

If a Provider thinks it cannot maintain a reasonable and constructive servicing relationship with a Participant, it can request that the Participant be transferred to another Inclusive Employment Australia Provider for servicing. This type of request will require the Provider to demonstrate a genuine attempt to implement post-Incident servicing arrangements as outlined in this Chapter. Information on the transfer due to relationship failure process, including use of the Transfer Due to Relationship Failure Formsign-in required (sign-in required), is available in Section 3.4.2 Transfer types.

13.10 Record KeepingCopy citation · §13.10

Providers must keep Documentary Evidence which is not kept on the Department’s IT Systems.

Below is a summary of the Documentary Evidence requirements for this Chapter.

Evidence requirement — Providers must document Managed Service Plans and Incident Reports in the Department’s IT Systems.

Evidence requirement — Providers must also document WHS Incidences, where the challenging behaviour is associated with an WHS Incident.

Evidence requirement — Any warnings given to a Participant must be recorded, using comment functionality in the Participant’s Summary on the Department’s IT Systems.