Guide
Changing behaviour support providers when a BSP already exists
In short: When a participant changes specialist behaviour support providers, check the existing plan and the new engagement before deciding what work is needed. The Commission’s provider-transfer position statement explains when an existing interim or comprehensive BSP can support continuity. Use a documented intake review rather than automatically restarting every plan or assuming the existing plan closes all obligations.
Start with the transfer, not a new file name
The incoming practice needs to establish what it has been engaged to do and which records support the next clinical decision. This guide concerns a transfer between specialist behaviour support providers. The separate implementing-provider handover guide covers sharing a plan with the teams delivering support.
Check the existing plan before choosing the next step
The Commission's February 2026 position statement describes different situations:
- An existing interim BSP: continuing to comprehensive planning depends on the incoming provider checking the plan's current suitability and risk response, and the implementer confirming lodgement, all RRPs, an accurate RRP schedule and relevant authorisation. The comprehensive plan remains due within six months of the new engagement where section 19 applies.
- An existing comprehensive BSP: training and implementation support can continue where the new provider was not engaged to update it, the plan remains current and appropriate, and those implementer confirmations are obtained. Ongoing review duties remain; an interim restart is not automatically required.
Use the full position statement for the conditions and circumstances. A practice-management status is not the clinical assessment described there.
A practical transfer record for the incoming practice
The following is an editorial checklist, not an official form. Keep each answer connected to the source record and the person checking it.
| Intake question | Evidence to locate | Follow-up if unclear |
|---|---|---|
| What has the new practice agreed to provide? | New service agreement, scope and engagement/start date | Ask the responsible manager to clarify the scope |
| Which plan is being considered? | Current interim or comprehensive BSP, version and relevant assessment references | Obtain the appropriate record through the agreed secure process |
| What has changed? | Information from the person, relevant supporters and practitioners | Refer the question to the incoming practitioner |
| What has each implementer confirmed? | Confirmation tied to the relevant plan and provider | Record the missing confirmation separately for each team |
| What remains open? | Outstanding questions, responsible contact and next review point | Keep the item open until its evidence has been checked |
Keep a clear difference between a document received, a statement reported by another provider and a matter verified by the incoming team. Avoid a single “handover complete” flag that hides those distinctions.
A fictional intake example
An incoming practice receives a comprehensive BSP and a previous provider's summary. Its manager can locate the plan, but one implementing provider's confirmation is missing. The practitioner is also checking whether the current circumstances match the plan.
The intake record therefore separates three items: the agreement and work scope, the practitioner's assessment, and the outstanding implementer response. The team assigns the missing response to a named contact and a follow-up date. Receiving the PDF closes the document-receipt task; it does not close the other two questions. This is a fictional workflow, not a client outcome or a determination that a plan can continue.
Keep the plan dates and authorisation records connected
Use the BSP deadline guide to distinguish engagement, development, lodgement and review. Use the authorisation guide to review the separate decision and evidence trail. Do not treat a new internal target as an extension of an applicable legal deadline.
Where NDPRO helps the incoming practice
NDPRO brings recorded BSP dates and milestones into the participant pathway and provides linked restrictive-practice and authorisation records for the practice to review. It gives the team a concrete starting point for checking the recorded information against the source documents.
In a 30-minute walkthrough, ask to see a fictional participant's pathway, plan reference, recorded dates and linked restrictive-practice record. Compare that view with your transfer checklist and identify where your team will hold the practitioner's decision and external confirmations. Keep clinical decisions and external confirmations in your practice's agreed records; the recorded pathway status does not establish them.
NDPRO works standalone; Splose is optional. The responsible practitioners and providers make the clinical decisions and complete the required official actions.
Book a 30-minute NDPRO walkthrough.
Sources reviewed 21 October 2026: the February position statement cited above and Behaviour Support Rules, sections 19, 22 and 24.