Frequently Asked Questions

A Functional Capacity Assessment (FCA) is a structured clinical evaluation that documents how a person's disability affects their ability to carry out everyday activities. Rather than focusing on diagnosis, an FCA quantifies the practical impact of impairment across the eight NDIS functional domains — self-care, mobility, communication, social interaction, learning, self-management, community participation and domestic life. It is the most commonly requested piece of evidence for NDIS plan reassessments, SIL applications, SDA applications, ILO funding and high-cost Assistive Technology.

The NDIS is a functional impact scheme — funding decisions are made on how a person's disability affects daily life, not on the diagnosis itself. The FCA is the document that translates lived experience into the structured evidence planners need to satisfy the six reasonable and necessary criteria in section 34 of the NDIS Act. Without a current FCA, planners default to standard hour benchmarks, which almost always under-fund the participant's actual needs.

The terms Functional Capacity Assessment (FCA) and Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) are used interchangeably in Australia. Both describe a structured clinical evaluation of a person's functional capacity. The NDIS more commonly uses the term FCA. In workers compensation and medico-legal contexts, the term FCE is more frequent. The underlying methodology is the same.

FCAs are billed under the NDIS Capacity Building — Improved Daily Living line item, using current NDIS Pricing Arrangements rates. The assessment itself sits within Capacity Building, while the supports the FCA recommends (e.g. SIL, AT, in-home support) may sit across Core, Capacity Building and Capital depending on the recommendation. We accept plan managed, self managed and NDIA managed participants on equal terms.

Yes. Our reports are written specifically against the reasonable and necessary criteria and the eight NDIS functional domains, and follow the structure NDIA planners expect. We have a very high rate of full funding approval at first submission. For complex applications — SIL, SDA, high-cost AT, AAT escalations — our reports are designed to provide the structured evidence required at each decision point.

Yes — a current FCA is the single highest-impact document in any plan review. Most plan funding decisions are made against the evidence pack rather than face-to-face with the participant, which means the quality and recency of the FCA directly affects funding outcomes. We recommend the FCA is completed within 12 months of the plan review and ideally re-issued where significant change of circumstances has occurred.

Yes. The NDIA explicitly recognises virtual functional capacity assessment as equivalent to in-person assessment when conducted by a suitably qualified clinician with appropriate collateral. Telehealth FCA has been standard practice since the COVID-19 period and is now firmly established as a clinical norm — particularly for participants in regional and remote Australia, participants with sensory or mobility difficulties, and participants who experience clinic-based assessment as distressing.

A smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop with a camera and microphone, plus a stable internet connection. We use Zoom and Microsoft Teams as our default platforms. Where video is not feasible — for example in very remote postcodes with limited connectivity — we conduct the assessment by phone supplemented by structured photo and video collateral submitted by a family member or Support Coordinator.

Yes — and often more so. When conducted by an experienced clinician with appropriate collateral protocols, telehealth FCA produces reports of equivalent or greater clinical depth than in-person assessment. The participant is observed in their own environment rather than under clinic conditions, the assessment can be split across multiple sessions to manage fatigue, and collateral informants can join in real time rather than being summarised second-hand.

Standard FCA reports are issued within 5 business days of the final clinical interview. Most participants complete intake, funding confirmation and the first interview within five to ten business days of initial contact, which means most end-to-end timelines from initial enquiry to issued report are under three weeks. This is a fraction of the wait time at most in-person providers, where waits of three to six months are common.

Yes. Urgent 3–5 business day turnarounds are available on request, subject to clinician availability and complexity. Urgent assessments are particularly useful for time-critical plan reviews, hospital discharge planning, AAT or internal review deadlines, and SIL or SDA decisions where the participant is at risk in their current arrangement. Please call during business hours to confirm urgent availability.

Our Supported Independent Living assessment reports include a comprehensive functional baseline across all eight NDIS domains, a detailed support task analysis (assist, supervise, prompt, observe), a behavioural profile with behaviour-of-concern overlay, a recommended Roster of Care broken down in 30-minute increments, explicit support ratio reasoning (1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 2:1, active overnight or sleepover), and co-tenant compatibility analysis where shared SIL is proposed. Reports typically run 45–70 pages.

Yes. We write Specialist Disability Accommodation evidence reports across all four design categories — Improved Liveability, Fully Accessible, Robust, and High Physical Support. Our SDA reports address the three NDIA threshold tests (extreme functional impairment, most appropriate design category, SDA as the most appropriate response) and include structured environmental evidence linking each requested design feature to a specific functional need.

Yes. We are a purely independent assessment service and have never delivered SIL, SDA, STA, ILO or any other paid disability support. This independence is structural, not promotional — it is the reason our reports carry weight with NDIA planners who increasingly scrutinise provider-led assessments for commercial bias.

Yes. While Occupational Therapists are the most commonly known FCA providers, physiotherapists are equally well credentialed to complete NDIS FCAs — and bring a distinct clinical lens that is especially valuable for participants with physical disability, neurological conditions, falls risk, chronic pain or musculoskeletal complexity. A physiotherapy functional capacity assessment follows the same NDIS-aligned structure as any other FCA, while adding depth in biomechanics, transfer analysis, equipment justification and pain-impact documentation.

FCA Reports Australia is Occupational Therapist-led. Where a participant's primary functional driver is predominantly physical — gait, transfers, equipment justification, neurological motor recovery or chronic-pain exertion tolerance — we are transparent about scope and can refer to a physiotherapy-led FCA provider where that profession-match produces a stronger report. The NDIA accepts both Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists as suitably qualified FCA assessors.

Depending on the participant's clinical profile and the specific question being asked, our clinicians may draw on tools including the WHODAS 2.0 (World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule), the Care and Needs Scale (CANS) for high-support neurological cohorts, the Life Skills Profile (LSP-16) and HoNOS for psychosocial disability, the Lawton IADL and Katz ADL for daily living capacity, the Berg Balance Scale and Timed Up and Go for falls and mobility, and the K10 and DASS-21 for psychological distress screening.

Standardised tools are valuable but never sufficient in isolation. The strongest NDIS FCA reports integrate validated tools alongside structured clinical interview, lived-experience narrative and collateral evidence from family, support workers and treating teams. A purely tool-driven FCA misses important nuance; a purely narrative FCA lacks benchmarks against established norms. Our reports combine both approaches.

Any NDIS participant whose plan funds an FCA under Capacity Building — Improved Daily Living can access our service. There is no diagnostic restriction — we assess across physical, psychosocial, autism, intellectual, neurological, sensory and developmental disability profiles. Non-NDIS clients (workers compensation, medico-legal, private rehabilitation) can also access functional capacity assessment privately, though pricing differs from NDIS rates.

Our primary practice is with adolescent and adult participants. For paediatric functional capacity assessment (under 14), we can refer to a trusted partner with paediatric specialisation. For adolescents transitioning into adult NDIS pathways (15+), our service is ideally positioned — many of our assessments support school-to-work, school-leaver and home-and-living transitions.

FCA recommendations span the full NDIS funding catalogue. Common recommendations include in-home support hours, community access support, transport, capacity building therapy (occupational therapy, psychology, speech, physiotherapy), Support Coordination, recovery coaching, behaviour support, allied health, consumables, Assistive Technology, home modifications and home and living supports such as SIL, ILO or SDA. Every recommendation is quantified and linked to a specific functional need.

Yes. We routinely write FCAs that support NDIA internal reviews and AAT (Administrative Appeals Tribunal) proceedings. Reports are structured to provide the defensible, evidence-anchored functional narrative required in these forums, with explicit mapping to the six reasonable and necessary criteria and the planner's prior reasoning. For active AAT cases, we work directly with the participant's legal representative on report scope.

Yes — every Australian postcode is covered by our virtual model. We have completed FCAs across major capitals (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin, Canberra), every regional centre, and across remote and very remote postcodes including the Pilbara, Kimberley, APY Lands, Cape York, Gulf country, Top End, central Australia and Bass Strait islands. For participants with limited internet connectivity, we conduct assessments by phone supplemented by photo collateral.

FCA Reports Australia bills under the NDIS Capacity Building — Improved Daily Living line item using current NDIS price guide rates. Plan managed, self managed and NDIA managed participants are all accepted.

Yes. Research and NDIA guidance both support virtual clinical assessment when conducted by a suitably qualified clinician with appropriate collateral. We use Zoom, Teams or phone, and supplement the interview with support worker observation, photos and home walk-throughs where relevant.

Reports are issued within 5 business days of the final interview, provided all collateral documents have been received. Urgent turnarounds (3–5 business days) are available on request.

Yes. Our reports are written specifically against the NDIS reasonable and necessary criteria and the functional domains used in NDIA decision-making. We have an extremely high rate of funding approval on submitted reports.

Yes. Our clinicians have specific training in paediatric assessment, psychosocial disability and complex co-morbidities including ABI, autism, intellectual disability and degenerative neurological conditions.

Respite is one use of STA. STA is the broader NDIS funding category that funds accommodation plus 24/7 support — respite for carers is one valid use, but STA can also be used for trial stays, crisis support and skill development.

Up to 14 days per stay, with the total annual amount based on the participant’s assessed need and goals.

No, we are independent assessors only. We do not provide STA accommodation. This independence strengthens the evidentiary value of our reports for the NDIA.

Yes — many participants transition from SIL to ILO. The ILO Stage 1 funding is specifically designed to explore whether ILO is a better fit.

Stage 1 reports typically take 4–6 weeks of design work followed by a written report. Standard FCA components are completed within our normal 5 business day turnaround.

No, we are independent assessors only. We never provide SIL services, which keeps our reports impartial.

Our SIL reports average 45–70 pages and include a fully costed Roster of Care.

Yes — depending on the clinical question, we draw from the PIRS, LSP-16, HoNOS, WHODAS 2.0 and the K10.

No — we are independent assessors and prescribers only.