NDIS Functional Capacity Assessment Reports: An OT and Allied Health Guide

The two-purpose framing

• Access evidence — does the participant meet the disability or early-intervention requirements?
• Planning evidence — what supports are reasonable and necessary?

Some reports are commissioned for one purpose only; many are commissioned for both. The structure adapts but the core sections are common.

Standard structure

1. Identifying information, referrer, purpose.
2. Background — diagnoses, history, current supports.
3. Sources — interview, observation, standardised assessments, file review, collateral.
4. Standardised assessments — named, scored, interpreted (commonly: WHODAS 2.0, AMPS, Vineland-3, COPM, FIM).
5. Functional capacity by NDIS domain:

- Mobility

- Communication

- Social interaction

- Learning

- Self-care

- Self-management

For each domain: current capacity, supports currently used, capacity with and without support, change over time, prognosis.

1. Disability impact — how the impairment(s) affect functional capacity.
2. Permanence statement (s 24) or early-intervention case (s 25).
3. Recommended supports — type, frequency, duration, cost rationale.
4. Goal-aligned outcomes — what would change with the recommended supports.
5. Limitations and reviewer-reading notes.

Domain-level detail

NDIA planners read by domain. Each domain section should include:

• A baseline narrative.
• The standardised score(s) with interpretation.
• Specific examples of capacity (e.g. "Showers independently in a step-in shower with rails; cannot transfer in/out of a bath; requires verbal prompting to apply soap").
• The supports currently in place.
• The supports recommended.

Vague domain descriptions ("communication is difficult") do not size supports.

Related reading

• NDIS Plan Reassessment Reports: An Allied Health Guide
• NDIS Documentation: AI for Writing Compliant Reports Faster
• NDIS Assistive Technology Assessments: OT Equipment Funding Reports