025 Getting started in PBS (Zac Demopoulos)

Zac Demopoulos, a specialist behaviour support practitioner and Chief Operating Officer at Step 2 Allied Health, joins the podcast to discuss what new positive behaviour support practitioners need to know when starting out in the NDIS. The conversation explores the steep learning curve facing new practitioners, from managing uncertainty and imposter syndrome to understanding that positive behaviour support within the NDIS operates under a specific legislative and regulatory context. Zac reflects on how even highly experienced professionals can feel like beginners again, and why psychological safety within a team is essential for people to raise concerns before they reach crisis point. Zac and Jenn discuss what good practice looks like in action, including genuine informed consent, biopsychosocial assessment beyond only ABC data, and working from principled processes. The episode includes advice on maintaining a regular cadence of support, keeping caseloads balanced, and assigning each recommendation to one accountable person. For those new to the profession of behaviour support practitioner or considering a change, this episode offers a grounded look at what sustains good practice over time: clear frameworks, honest communication, realistic expectations of uncertainty, and systems of support that prevent burnout and protect the quality of the work being delivered. 00:00 Introduction 00:39 Zac's Path into Behaviour Support 09:46 PBS Within an NDIS Context 12:51 Imposter Syndrome and Self-Doubt 21:59 The Power of Informed Consent 30:34 Building a Clinical Framework 50:50 Principle Over Prescription 1:00:24 Cadence of Support and Sustainable Practice 1:07:05 Closing Thoughts About the Guest Zac Demopoulos is a social worker and specialist behaviour support practitioner who has spent his career building and leading behaviour support teams across the disability sector. He entered the field via out-of-home care before moving into NDIS behaviour support roughly seven years ago, and is currently Chief Operating Officer at Step 2 Allied Health in Geelong. Key Takeaways New practitioners need to become comfortable with uncertainty and not having all the answers, since human behaviour and the systems around it involve too many moving parts for certainty. Imposter syndrome is common even among experienced practitioners, and often shows up as self-doubt that persists despite clear evidence of good work. Genuine informed consent, explaining plainly why someone has been referred, builds trust more effectively than dancing around a difficult topic. Good assessment needs to be biopsychosocial rather than a narrow episodic ABC focus, taking in health, history and broader context. Working from principles rather than a rigid prescriptive process leads to simpler solutions, illustrated by an example where simply asking a person what they wanted resolved a supposed behaviour of concern. A regular cadence of support, consistent touchpoints with every person on a caseload, prevents people falling through the gaps and protects practitioners from becoming purely reactive to crises. Resources Mentioned Right Direction Spectrum of Participation PBSP model by Dr Alinka Fisher Ross Greene's collaborative and proactive solutions approach Google Scholar NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission practice guides Complex FBA & BSP Workshop - Melbourne CBD Thursday 26 November 2026. Six interactive hours building confidence with complex presentations: real de-identified cases, functional hypotheses, planning, risk and restrictive practices. Templates you will use, plus a certificate mapped to the NDIS Behaviour Support Capability Framework. Register now at https://specialistbehaviour.com/event/complex-functional-behaviour-assessment-fba-behaviour-support-planning-bsp-workshop/ Looking for practical, flexible learning that goes beyond the podcast? The All Access Pass gives you unlimited entry to all of our self-paced online courses, early access to new content, exclusive member discounts, and our ever-growing library of downloadable resources, templates, and clinical tools. I t's all grounded in evidence-based, person-centred practice, designed to support you at your own pace, in real-world ways. Visit https://specialistbehaviour.com/all-access-pass/ Questions, comments, feedback? Email us at [email protected]