About Disability Counsel
Clarity of judgement in demanding disability contexts
This work asks a lot of practitioners: clear thinking, ethical judgment, and decisions with significant impact in real life.
Disability Counsel provides independent clinical & practice supervision for behaviour support practitioners and allied health professionals working in complex disability contexts.
Grounded in the social model of disability and human rights-based practice, Disability Counsel supports independent clinical judgement with clarity where possible, and complexity where needed.
About Disability Counsel
Clarity of judgement in demanding disability contexts
This work asks a lot of practitioners: clear thinking, ethical judgment, and decisions with significant impact in real life.
Disability Counsel provides independent clinical & practice supervision for behaviour support practitioners and allied health professionals working in complex disability contexts.
Grounded in the social model of disability and human rights-based practice, Disability Counsel supports independent clinical judgement with clarity where possible, and complexity where needed.
Our clinical approach
Our work at Disability Counsel is guided by a clinical standard developed through long-term experience across disability, mental health, and dual diagnosis contexts. This standard shapes how supervision, training, and clinical input are approached in settings where judgment must be exercised carefully and consistently.
What guides our work
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- Social model of disability, focusing on environments, systems, and supports rather than deficit-based views
- PEO model (person–environment–occupation), strengthening functional understanding in real contexts
- Capability approach, supporting autonomy, participation, and meaningful outcomes
- Human rights–based practice, applied through everyday clinical decisions
How supervision is delivered
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- Grounded in real cases and practitioner context
- Evidence applied selectively and with precision
- Focused on ethical, proportionate, defensible decision-making
- Built for complexity, with clarity wherever possible
Capability PBS and specialist supervision
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- Supervision reflects the diversity and complexity of presentations practitioners are working with
- Includes Developmental Educator (DE) supervision
- Informed by practice and research evidence, and our emerging model of practice, ‘Capability PBS’.
Standards and frameworks
Frameworks and policies establish minimum expectations. The standard applied at Disability Counsel consistently exceeds these baselines through senior professional judgement and sustained practice experience, ensuring alignment with the NDIS Capability Framework as a minimum outcome, not the end goal.
The emphasis remains on reasoning that can be articulated, examined, and defended.
Who Disability Counsel serves
We support practitioners seeking independent clinical oversight beyond organisational management or compliance processes.
This includes:
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- Behaviour Support Practitioners and Developmental Educators
- Allied health professionals managing risk, restrictive practices, or complex transitions
- Practitioners whose decisions involve ethical, legal, and personal consequences
The work assumes practitioner expertise and is designed for those who value reflective practice, accountability, and ethical integrity.
About Dr Fiona J Davis
Disability Counsel is led by Dr Fiona J Davis, a senior Specialist Behaviour Support Practitioner and Specialist Developmental Educator, with over three decades of experience across disability, mental health, and dual diagnosis practice.
Dr Davis has worked nationally, across the states and territories in clinical, supervisory, and leadership roles and is recognised for strong clinical judgement, ethical leadership, and sustained commitment to human rights-based practice.
Specialist expertise includes:
- Behaviour support · Dual diagnosis · Complex disability · Autism · Forensic disability · Complex transitions across the lifespan · Neurodegenerative and developmental disability
Her work is informed by comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment and best-practice frameworks, with a consistent focus on proportionate, lawful, and ethical intervention.
A core principle underpinning her approach is translation to practice, ensuring that evidence, policy, and theory meaningfully inform real clinical decisions.
View qualifications and professional memberships
Qualifications
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- Doctor of Health Science – Queensland University of Technology
- Master of Mental Health (Psychotherapy) – The University of Queensland
- Master of Health Science (Developmental Disability) – The University of Sydney
- Bachelor of Social Science (Disability and Families) – Edith Cowan University
- Graduate Certificate in Criminology (Forensic Disability) – University of Melbourne
- Advanced Clinical Supervision – Gestalt Therapy Brisbane
- Developmental Educator
Professional memberships and affiliations
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- Australian Community Workers Association (ACWA)
- Australian Clinical Supervision Association (ACSA)
- Behaviour Support Practitioners Australia (BSPA) – Member of the Inaugural Expert Reference Group
- Association for Positive Behaviour Support (APBS, USA)
- Developmental Educator Association Incorporated (DEAI) – Board Member
How Disability Counsel supports practice
The work is structured around three areas of support:
Independent clinical and practice supervision
For behaviour support practitioners and allied health professionals working in complex disability, dual diagnosis, ABI, neurodegenerative conditions, and high-risk NDIS contexts (including DE supervision where relevant)
Practitioner development and targeted training
Focused on clinical reasoning, ethical judgement, and proportionate decision-making in real-world practice (including Capability PBS-informed learning)
Selective, referral-based participant and client support
Where specialist clinical input is required and scope can be clearly defined
Participant and client support is offered selectively and by referral, so we can maintain clinical quality and focus on supervision as our core service.
How we work together
If you are seeking clinical and practice supervision, start by submitting an enquiry and booking a discovery call.
If you are considering training or workshops, review the training approach and get in touch to discuss suitability and scope.
For anything else, please reach out and we will respond as soon as possible.