Earlier this month, I had the privilege of participating in Behaviour Support Practitioners Australia‘s 2026 Forum alongside some brilliant colleagues. It has taken me a few days to sit with my thoughts and find the words.
It was a wonderful day. Great speakers. Important voices. The chat was alive with comments, questions, reflections, and resource sharing. There was a real sense of connection throughout the day. People thinking together in real time about the future of our field and the people we support.
As I reflected afterwards, one theme kept coming back to me.
Tension.
Not the bad kind. Not tension headaches or awkwardness in the room. The good kind. Or perhaps the neutral kind. The physics kind. The kind created by opposing forces pulling against each other to create something strong, flexible, and capable of movement. So much of behaviour support exists within this space.
Opposing Forces
Duty of care versus dignity of risk.
Financial viability versus quality of service.
Regulation versus nuance.
Technical precision versus human complexity.
Clear professional registration pathways versus a field strengthened by diverse backgrounds and lived experiences.
Presumed competence versus ensuring a person has the skills and supports needed to have their needs met safely and meaningfully.
Comprehensive plans that attempt to capture a whole life versus practical plans that people can actually implement consistently.
Acting quickly versus acting thoughtfully.
Clearly defined services versus services flexible enough to respond to the realities of individual lives.
Professional expertise versus the lived expertise of the people we support and their families.
Getting it right versus staying humble enough to know you still might not have all the answers.
The tension is the point.
What struck me most at the forum was that despite differing perspectives, approaches, and experiences, there was also a clear shared direction. A set of values pulling us forward together.
Compassion.
Human rights.
Collaboration.
A field genuinely trying to evolve in service of these values will experience tension. A thoughtful practitioner will too. I know I did sitting in that room listening, reflecting, agreeing, questioning, and learning.
But I think that discomfort can be productive.
A push and pull.
A pendulum swing.
A dynamic balance that keeps us moving, refining, questioning, and hopefully improving.
The alternative is certainty without reflection. And that is rarely where good practice lives.
What matters now is that we keep creating spaces for these conversations. Spaces where practitioners can think together openly and respectfully. Spaces where disagreement does not automatically become division. Spaces where we continue to platform the expertise and lived experience of the people we support.
Spaces where we listen.
Because ultimately, the tension is not a sign that the field is failing.
It may actually be a sign that the field is growing.
~Kristin