Restrictive Practices
Published: 12 September 2026 | Last Updated: 12 September 2026
If you've helped an older parent move into aged care recently, helped care for someone with a disability or thought about the plan for your own medical decision-making, you may have come across the phrase 'restrictive practices.'
What are restrictive practices?
Restrictive practices is the umbrella term for any intervention that restricts a person's freedom of movement or decision-making. They're used, generally in aged care or disability settings, to manage behaviour that poses a risk to a person or to others, not to treat a medical condition. That distinction matters legally: because they're aimed at managing behaviour rather than treating an illness, restrictive practices are not classed as 'medical treatment' under the Guardianship Act 1987 (NSW).
The types of restrictive practices include:
Physical restraint: physically preventing or restricting a person's movement
Mechanical restraint: using a device such as bed rails or a belt to restrict movement
Chemical restraint: medication used to influence behaviour, rather than to treat a medical condition
Seclusion: confining a person to a room or space they can't leave
Environmental restriction: for example, locked doors that prevent a resident with dementia from leaving a memory care unit
Why this term exists
Restrictive practices moved into the spotlight following the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. In 2021 it reported that restraint was being used far too often, with too little oversight, across the aged care sector. That led to changes in the Commonwealth's Quality of Care Principles, which gave restrictive practices a formal legal definition and requires processes for the use, documentation and monitoring of the practices, including that care providers to obtain informed consent from the affected person before using the practices can be used.
That raises an obvious problem: What happens when the person the restrictive practice is being used on doesn't have the capacity to give informed consent themselves? Someone else needs to make that decision on their behalf, but can they give that consent?
Can a guardian consent to restrictive practices?
The Guardianship Act 1987 (NSW) was not written with this requirement in mind. It doesn't define "restrictive practices," and it doesn't cover who can consent to them. The law currently recognises consenting to restrictive practices as its own distinct decision-making function, which is separate from consenting to medical or dental treatment. So having authority to make medical decisions for someone doesn't automatically mean you can consent to restrictive practices on their behalf.
So no, unless the guardianship document appointing you needs to make decisions expressly authorises providing consent to restrictive practices it is not authorised. And up until recently, Appointment of Enduring documents typically did not include this consent, so guardians need to apply to the Guardianship Division for this authority.
Why are we talking about this now?
The Guardianship Division of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) has reported that a large number of applications it is assessing involve restrictive practices and there is a significant backlog. In practice, we are seeing this add delay and stress to an already difficult situation for families.
On 1 September 2026 the new Guardianship Regulation 2026 included a new authority in the standard Appointment of Enduring Guardian document, that allows guardians to consent to the use of restrictive practices. What this doesn’t help with is any Appointment of Enduring Guardian document or Guardianship order made before this.
Worth a check
There's no requirement to include an authority for consenting to restrictive practices, and plenty of people choose not to, but given how quickly this can matter and how little it costs to add now, it's a sensible inclusion for most people.
If your Appointment of Enduring Guardian was made some years ago, it's worth checking whether it addresses restrictive practices. It's a small addition now that can spare your family a difficult, time-pressured process later. And if you haven't appointed an enduring guardian yet, this is one more reason to get it right from the outset, rather than circling back to fix it down the track.
By Jessica Spence | Wills and Estates | Orange NSW
This article is general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Your circumstances are unique, if you have questions about your situation, please get in touch for advice specific to you.