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

NDIS Functional Capacity Assessments (FCAs) test access to the scheme and inform funding decisions. The report structure must satisfy the access criteria under s 24 of the NDIS Act and the early-intervention criteria under s 25, while providing the granular detail planners use to size supports.

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  1. The two-purpose framing
  2. Standard structure
  3. Domain-level detail
  4. Related reading

Summary

NDIS Functional Capacity Assessment (FCA) reports serve two purposes: providing access evidence under s 24 (or early intervention under s 25) and informing the size and shape of supports in the participant's plan. A defensible FCA names the assessment tools used, addresses the six functional domains, and ties findings to specific support recommendations.

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.

How we review this guide

Library guides reference original Australian source authorities — not secondary commentary — and are updated when source material changes. Each guide cites the regulator, item descriptor, or governing standard it draws from so you can verify it directly.

Sources checked
  • NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
Review cadence
Reviewed annually and whenever a cited source authority publishes a material change. Last reviewed .
Not advice
Reference content for Australian practitioners and education staff. Not legal, clinical, or billing advice — verify against your governing body and current source documents.

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