What's Inside
A paired clinical toolkit for OTs supporting people living with dementia or behaviours of concern in community aged care - from systematic assessment through to frontline implementation.
 
Behaviour support in community aged care has two persistent failure points: assessments that don't capture the why behind behaviour, and handovers that leave support workers guessing at the point of care. This 2-in-1 template set addresses both - a structured assessment document that builds defensible clinical reasoning, and a plain-language handover tool that turns your findings into consistent action across the whole care team.
 
Built for the current regulatory environment, including restrictive practice documentation considerations in accordance with the Aged Care Rules 2025.
 
Template 1 - PBS Assessment & Intervention Planning
A working clinical document that structures your behaviour support assessment from first observation to review plan.
The 5 PBS Questions framework - systematically works through What (the behaviour, described objectively), When (patterns, timing, context), Why (drivers and unmet needs), Before (proactive and preventive strategies), and In-the-Moment (response strategies) - so your assessment captures function, not just frequency
Behaviour driver identification - prompts to explore pain, sensory needs, communication, environment, routine disruption, and unmet occupational needs before behaviour is attributed to dementia alone
Strategy documentation - clear structure for recording proactive strategies implemented, outcomes observed, and review plans
Restrictive practice considerations - guided documentation for defensible clinical decision-making when equipment or interventions may limit movement, choice, or access - aligned with the Aged Care Rules 2025
Escalation pathway prompts - including when and how to reference findings during escalation to specialist behaviour support services such as Dementia Support Australia
 
Use it as:
a working clinical document · client file evidence of systematic assessment · a communication tool for the broader care team · the foundation document when escalating to specialist services · or adapt sections into your existing organisational documentation.
 
Template 2 - Behaviour Support Handover
A plain-language communication tool that translates your assessment into practical guidance the frontline team can actually use.
Action-focused, jargon-free structure - designed for support workers, care advisors, and family carers, not clinicians
Proactive and reactive strategies laid out in an accessible at-a-glance format for use at point of care
"What to do" AND "what NOT to do" - explicit prompts to document the common errors to avoid, because inconsistent responses are what undo behaviour support strategies fastest
Escalation and review triggers - clear documentation of when to seek help and when re-assessment is needed
Consistency across the team - one reference document that keeps multiple support workers and family carers implementing the same approach
 
Use it as: a post-assessment handover to the care advisor or support coordinator · a family carer education tool · an induction document when new support workers join the team · client file evidence of care team education and communication.
Why the pair works
 
The assessment template builds your clinical reasoning; the handover template makes it stick. Complete the PBS assessment first, then distil it into the handover document - so the strategies you've carefully reasoned through actually get handed over with a rotating roster of support workers.
 
Who it's for
Occupational therapists working with people living with dementia or experiencing behaviours of concern in community aged care - including Support at Home, Home Care Package, and CHSP contexts - who need structured, defensible behaviour support documentation without waiting for specialist services.
 
Format
Print-ready, editable Word documents · 2 templates · Aligned with the Aged Care Rules 2025 restrictive practice requirements
 
Important scope notes
The Assessment template is not a formal Behaviour Support Plan requiring specialist sign-off - it is a working document to structure assessment, clinical reasoning, and care team communication. The Handover template is not a replacement for formal behaviour support plans or care plans - it is a communication tool supporting practical implementation by the frontline team.