Behaviour Support & Crisis is a small, sharp-edged stream, five courses for the moments support work gets complex, sensitive or volatile. Understanding behaviour of concern, recognising triggers and antecedents before things escalate, responding to crisis and distress once they have, handling conflict and difficult conversations, and working through the splitting dynamics that can quietly damage a team. Function-of-behaviour framing runs through all five: every behaviour is communicating something, and the worker's job is to understand it, not control it.
This isn't restrictive practices training and it isn't a substitute for an individual's own positive behaviour support plan where one exists. It's the everyday capability that sits underneath a PBS plan and either makes it work on shift or doesn't: reading a situation early, staying regulated when someone else isn't, and knowing when to step back, call for help, or call emergency services.
This stream matters most for teams supporting people with complex behaviour support needs, but the skills travel further than that. Conflict, escalation and splitting show up in family homes, share houses and community settings that have nothing to do with a formal behaviour support plan. Any worker who's had a shift go sideways already knows why this stream exists.
Each course builds understanding and judgement, not a clinical or behaviour-support qualification. Where a person has a current behaviour support plan, that plan and your organisation's escalation policy always take priority over general training. For the regulatory side of restrictive practices, see restrictive practices training for NDIS workers, what the rules require, or browse the full Behaviour Support & Crisis entry in the course library.
All 5 courses in Behaviour Support & Crisis
5 courses01Conflict, Boundaries & Difficult Conversations
How workers hold steady in moments of conflict, with the person they support, with families, or in team contexts. Maintaining warmth and boundaries simultaneously, without becoming defensive or punitive.
See the course: How to handle conflict and difficult conversations in support work →
02Understanding Behaviour of Concern
What behaviour of concern is, why it happens, and what it's communicating. Function-of-behaviour framing, every behaviour serves a purpose, and the worker's job is to understand it, not control it.
03Understanding Triggers & Antecedents
Identifying what's happening before behaviour escalates, environmental, emotional, sensory, relational. Practical skill for noticing patterns, anticipating triggers, and supporting regulation early.
See the course: Recognising triggers and antecedents before behaviour escalates →
04Responding to Crisis, Escalation & Distress
What to do when someone is escalating, de-escalation principles, presence and tone, knowing when to step back, when to seek help, when to call emergency services. Worker safety and the person's dignity throughout.
See the course: De-escalation techniques for disability support workers →
05Splitting Behaviours: Practical Support Strategies
Recognising when splitting is happening between workers, families, or team members, and responding in ways that hold consistency and protect the relationship without becoming punitive or rigid.
Browse the other five streams
Behaviour Support & Crisis is one of six streams in CORA's course library. The rest cover compliance, disability understanding, mental health, leadership and soft skills.
- Compliance Foundations →
- Disability Understanding & Daily Life →
- Mental Health & Wellbeing →
- Leadership & Workforce Sustainability →
- Soft Skills →
See how CORA covers Behaviour Support & Crisis for your whole team
Map this stream against your current roster, or browse the full library first.
Try the Pathway Builder Browse the course libraryThis page is general information for support workers and providers, not clinical or behaviour-support advice. Always follow the person's current behaviour support plan and your organisation's escalation policy.
← Back to the course library