The role of the Authorised Program Officer

Every Victorian disability provider that is involved in implementing restrictive practices as part of behaviour support for their clients must appoint one or more Authorised Program Officers (APO) to oversee, review and – if appropriate – authorise the use of any proposed restrictive practices implemented by people in their organisation. 

The APO role is a position of great ethical responsibility.  

It focuses on: 

• the quality of life of people with disability,
• human rights of people with disability, and
• freedom of vulnerable people

There is a lot of information available to support you in this role, including:

• the Disability Act 2006 (Victoria)
• Information for Authorised Program Officers library, published by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing
• the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission legislation, rules and policies,
• the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013,
• the National Disability Insurance Scheme Rules, and
• Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006. 

This e-Manual consolidates information APOs need and helps APOs locate further important information from other sources.

It also supports the e-Learning modules published by the Victorian Senior Practitioner’s Office: 

• What are restrictive practices?
• Authorisation process and key roles
• Legislative requirements for authorisation of restrictive practices
• Restrictive Intervention Data System (RIDS) Training.

What does an Authorised Program Officer do?

The role of an APO is defined by the Disability Act (2006).

APOs oversee the quality of each behaviour support plan that proposes to use regulated restrictive practices.

The role is crucial in: 

• reviewing and authorising restrictive practices,
• following the law, and
• upholding the human and civil rights of the people for whom your organisation is responsible for providing support. 

The APO is a statutory role. They review, assess, question and – where the plan meets appropriate thresholds – authorise regulated restrictive practice within any provider. 

The APO role includes everyday practice, strong governance and quality-of-care leadership and responsibility. 

To perform this role effectively and safeguard both the people under the provider’s care and the provider itself, every APO must have deep understanding of: 

• legislative and policy requirements,
• restrictive practices,
• the authorising process and decision making,
• working with others,
• safeguarding people’s rights (working holistically, asking questions and reporting suspected breaches), and
• understanding the process for authorising restrictive practices within behaviour support.

With so many specialists involved at different points of a person’s support, an APO is likely to be one of the few people to have a holistic view over a person’s behaviour support plan.

It is therefore critical an APO can recognise compliance and non-compliance – upholding legislative rules that are central to their role. 

APOs need to secure the support of others involved in the behaviour support ecosystem and communicate their role’s importance in: 

1. safeguarding human and civil rights for people who have proposed restrictive practices as part of their plans, and
2. overseeing quality, consistency and legality of proposed restrictive practices as the provider’s senior approver.

APOs also must consider the needs and capacity of the support staff in their organisation, including what their staff need to safely and effectively implement the behaviour support plan. 

APOs should consider questions such as:

• Is the detail in the plan sufficient to guide our staff in undertaking their duties safely and effectively?
• Is it clear what our staff need to do to implement the plan?

If not, APOs need to ask the Behaviour Support Practitioner to provide clearer (plain language) explanations as part of the behaviour support plan. 

Where appropriate, Behaviour Support Practitioners will also need to arrange training and mentorship for staff involved in the plan. The training may be provided by the Behaviour Support Practitioner or it may be necessary to engage professionals, such as psychologists, speech pathologists or nurses to deliver specific training.

This e-Manual is designed to build APO's knowledge, skills and confidence in understanding good practice in behaviour support, questioning current practices and leading change.

To do this, it is essential that APOs can communicate the breadth and value of their role to others (including to their organisation and Behaviour Support Practitioners).  

This section supports APOs in understanding and demonstrating to others the depth of knowledge required, their importance in the behaviour support process, and their legal and ethical responsibilities.

Good APOs don’t need to have all the answers. 

However, good APOs need to be able to ask good questions and hold people to account when safeguarding the person with disability’s legal rights and best interests.

Find out more about:

• authorising restrictive practices,
• communicating the APO role to others, and
• the process for authorising restrictive practice within behaviour support.