What the NDIS actually requires
The NDIS does not specify a single profession for Functional Capacity Assessment. The NDIA's Operational Guidelines refer to a 'suitably qualified' allied health professional — a definition that explicitly includes Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Pathologists, Psychologists, Social Workers, Rehabilitation Counsellors and other AHPRA-registered or nationally-registered professions. The test is not the profession label — it is whether the assessor has the clinical experience to evaluate the specific functional questions the report needs to answer.
When physiotherapy-led FCA is the strongest choice
Physiotherapy training centres on movement, function, and the relationship between physical capacity and daily activity. A physiotherapy-led FCA brings specific depth in: mobility analysis (gait, balance, transfers, ambulation patterns), falls and risk assessment, manual handling and 24-hour postural care, neurological rehabilitation (stroke, ABI, MS, spinal cord injury), cardiorespiratory and ICU sequelae, post-orthopaedic functional recovery, fatigue profiling and pain-function interaction, and assistive technology justification (wheelchairs, mobility aids, transfer equipment). For participants whose primary functional limitation is physical, a physiotherapy-led FCA produces more accurate quantification than non-physiotherapy-trained assessment.
When occupational therapy-led FCA is the stronger choice
Occupational Therapy training centres on the relationship between cognition, sensory processing, environment and meaningful occupation. An OT-led FCA brings specific depth in: cognitive and executive function assessment, sensory processing and regulation, daily living skill assessment (cooking, finance, medication management), home and equipment modification, psychosocial disability and recovery framework, autism and ADHD assessment, paediatric assessment using developmental frameworks, and behaviour-of-concern analysis. For participants whose primary functional limitation is cognitive, sensory or psychosocial, an OT-led FCA produces more accurate documentation.
Why multidisciplinary input is the gold standard
For most NDIS participants, real functional limitation crosses multiple domains. A participant with MS has motor symptoms (physio strength) AND fatigue impact on cognition (OT strength) AND psychosocial sequelae (OT/psychology strength). The strongest FCA reports — particularly for SIL, SDA and complex plan reassessments — are written by one lead clinician (physio or OT depending on presentation) and peer-reviewed by a clinician from the complementary discipline. That is the model we use at FCA Reports Australia.
About Ryan Fuller, our Founder and Principal Physiotherapist
Ryan Fuller, our Founder, is an AHPRA-registered Physiotherapist who completed his Bachelor of Health Science and Master of Physiotherapy at La Trobe University. His clinical foundation includes intensive care (ICU), orthopaedic and post-surgical rehabilitation, cardiorespiratory physiotherapy, neurological rehabilitation (stroke, ABI, MS, spinal cord), inpatient and outpatient hospital practice, and private practice. He has built FCA Reports Australia's Functional Capacity Assessment methodology around peer-reviewed evidence and the NDIS Act reasonable-and-necessary framework. Learn more about Ryan and the multidisciplinary team on our About page.
How to choose the right assessor for your participant
Three quick questions help select the right lead clinician: (1) What is the primary functional limitation — physical, cognitive, sensory or psychosocial? Physical → physio-led. Cognitive/sensory/psychosocial → OT-led. (2) Is the report needed for SIL, SDA or behaviour-of-concern funding? These usually benefit from multidisciplinary peer review regardless of lead clinician. (3) Is there an existing assessor relationship that should continue? Continuity of clinical context often outweighs a discipline-match preference for participants who already trust a particular clinician.
What about other professions?
Psychologists, Speech Pathologists, Social Workers and Rehabilitation Counsellors can also complete FCAs where their training matches the presentation. A speech pathologist-led FCA can be excellent for participants where communication is the primary functional limitation. A psychologist-led FCA can be strongest for complex psychosocial presentations. The principle holds: 'suitably qualified' means matched to the specific functional questions the report needs to answer.
What we do at FCA Reports Australia
We are a multidisciplinary practice co-led by a Physiotherapist (Ryan Fuller) and an Occupational Therapist (Amy-Lynne Simmons). Every FCA is allocated to the lead clinician whose discipline best matches the participant's primary functional profile, and is peer-reviewed before delivery by a clinician from the complementary discipline. That is the model we believe produces the most defensible, balanced and useful reports for participants and the Support Coordinators who advocate for them.
$2,910 inc. GST · 7 business days · 100% telehealth · peer-reviewed by AHPRA-registered clinicians.