Functional capacity assessment in Victoria

What is a functional capacity assessment for the NDIS?

A functional capacity assessment (FCA) is an evaluation, usually carried out by an occupational therapist, of how a disability affects a person’s daily tasks: self-care, mobility, domestic life, communication and community participation. The assessor writes a report linking these findings to specific support needs, which is the evidence the NDIA uses to decide funding for plan reviews and access requests (NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27). You will also see it called a functional assessment or an FCA report. It is not a diagnosis; it documents function, what the person can do, where they need help, and how much.

When does the NDIA rely on a functional capacity assessment?

Planners lean on an FCA whenever they need evidence of functional need rather than diagnosis. The common triggers are plan reassessments where you are asking for more funded support, Supported Independent Living applications where the report justifies the level of shared or individual support, Specialist Disability Accommodation applications, and requests for assistive technology or home modifications where the assessor links each item to a functional outcome. A first access request can also turn on one, since NDIS access criteria are written in functional terms. In every case the planner reads the FCA as independent evidence; a report that simply repeats what the family asked for carries little weight.

Who can do a functional capacity assessment?

Occupational therapists complete most FCAs because assessing daily function is the core of occupational therapy practice. Physiotherapists, speech pathologists and psychologists can assess function within their own domains, mobility, communication and cognition respectively, and a complex report sometimes combines disciplines. Whoever assesses must hold current AHPRA registration (AHPRA, 2026), and for agency-managed funding the organisation must appear on the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission provider register. There is no separate FCA certification; experience writing reports the NDIA accepts is the real qualification, so ask how many assessments the therapist has completed for your situation, whether that is SIL, assistive technology or first access.

How to choose a provider from the list above

The list above is ranked using the criteria explained in the methodology above it. Four checks matter most when you compare providers yourself.

Registration. Confirm the assessor, usually an OT but sometimes a physiotherapist, speech pathologist or psychologist, holds current AHPRA registration and, for agency-managed funding, appears on the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission provider register.

Response time. A slow first reply delays your assessment date and any plan review that depends on it. Check the response time by state table further down this page.

Pricing transparency. Ask for a written estimate of total hours against the $193.99 occupational therapy cap in the NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27, and confirm whether report writing is billed separately.

Coverage. Carevo lists 1,927 occupational therapists nationally; ask whether the assessor actually services your suburb rather than a neighbouring one.

How much does a functional capacity assessment cost?

FCAs are billed hourly from the Capacity Building budget at the occupational therapy cap of $193.99 an hour (NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27); there is no fixed FCA price. The total depends on hours: direct assessment, often across more than one session, a home visit, scoring of standardised tools, and report writing, which is usually the largest single block.

In practice the numbers cluster. Providers commonly quote 4 to 10 hours including the report, which at the 2026-27 cap puts most assessments between about $800 and $2,000 (provider price lists checked September 2026). The NDIA’s own guidance gives a range of 1 to 10 hours of assessment time depending on the disability and the professional, before scoring and writing are added. Reports written to support a SIL or SDA application sit at the top of the range or above it because they cover more domains in more detail, and the 2026-27 schedule includes dedicated NDIA Requested Reports line items, so report writing is priced work rather than something a provider absorbs.

Before booking, ask for a written estimate of total hours with report writing included in it. If a quote lands well above the hourly cap multiplied by a plausible hour count, ask for the breakdown before you agree. Where the NDIA itself requests the assessment, ask whether it is funded outside your plan budget.

Which funding pays for a functional capacity assessment, and who qualifies?

Most participants fund an FCA from Capacity Building, Improved Daily Living, at the occupational therapy rate capped at $193.99 an hour (NDIS Pricing Schedule 2026-27). Anyone with an active NDIS plan and Capacity Building funding can request one, typically for a plan review, an access request, or a claim tied to SDA, SIL, assistive technology or home modifications. First-time applicants can instead have the assessment funded under assessment for supports rather than an existing plan budget. Support at Home and CHSP do not fund FCAs; aged care functional needs are assessed separately through the Single Assessment System (Department of Health and Aged Care, 2025).

What should a good FCA report contain?

A report the NDIA can act on covers the functional domains in the NDIS access criteria: mobility, communication, social interaction, learning, self-care and self-management. For each, it should state current ability, the support currently received and the support actually required, backed by standardised assessment tools rather than observation alone. The recommendations section is what planners read first: specific supports, specific hours, and a clear line from each recommendation back to the functional evidence. Ask to see a de-identified sample report before you commit; a two page summary will not carry a SIL or SDA application.

When should I book an FCA before a plan review?

Work backwards from the reassessment date. Waitlists of one to three weeks are typical just to start, the assessment itself may run across several sessions, and report writing adds more time after the final session. Starting the process two to three months before a scheduled plan reassessment gives a sensible buffer, and earlier again if SDA or SIL is involved, since those applications pass through additional review. If the reassessment is already close, say so up front; some providers can prioritise report writing, and your support coordinator can request a short deferral if the report will not land in time.

Availability across Australia

Carevo lists 1,927 occupational therapists among 8,918 suburbs with provider coverage nationally, with FCA assessors concentrated most heavily in New South Wales and Victoria. If the report needs to support an assistive technology assessment or a first-time NDIS access request, mention this when you enquire so the provider structures the report to match.

Get matched with a functional capacity assessment

What makes an FCA report succeed or fail at the NDIA

Most rejected reports fail for the same handful of reasons, and all of them are avoidable if you brief the assessor properly.

Function, not diagnosis. The NDIA already knows the diagnosis. What decides funding is what the person can and cannot do, in specific tasks, on their worst days as well as their best. A report that describes the condition rather than the functional impact does not answer the question asked.

Evidence for each domain. The assessment should address the six functional domains the NDIS uses: mobility, communication, social interaction, learning, self-care and self-management. A report silent on a domain gives the planner nothing to fund in it.

Variability described explicitly. Conditions that fluctuate are systematically under-funded when a report captures a single good day. The assessor should state frequency, duration and what the person cannot do during a flare.

Recommendations tied to supports. “Requires assistance with personal care” is weaker than stating the hours, the type of support and why. Planners fund what is specified.

Currency. Reports more than about 12 months old carry less weight at reassessment, particularly where needs have changed.

Give the assessor context before they arrive: the plan goals, what is being sought, and where the last plan fell short. An assessor working blind writes a general report.

Preparing for the assessment day

The assessment measures function, so how you present on the day changes the result. That is not a reason to perform, it is a reason to be accurate.

Keep a two-week diary before the appointment recording what needed help, how long tasks took, and any days lost to fatigue or pain. Bring it. Memory for bad weeks is unreliable and the diary is the single most useful thing families bring.

Have a support person present who sees the person on ordinary days. Their account of what actually happens at home often differs from the participant’s self-report, and both belong in the report.

Do not do the assessment on an unusually good day if the condition fluctuates, and say so if it is one. Tell the assessor what a bad day looks like in concrete terms. And be honest about what is difficult rather than what you manage with effort: pushing through is a coping strategy, not an absence of need, and it should be documented as such.

How this page is compiled

The provider rankings and figures on this page come from Carevo platform records, including provider registrations, measured response times and coverage, together with the cited official sources. Carevo is an Australian platform that connects families with NDIS and aged care providers. Carevo does not deliver care itself.

Funding sources and checks

Check the current NDIA pricing arrangements and Support at Home program rules for the proposed service. Funding depends on the approved support and available budget; a Carevo listing is not approval. Confirm availability and a start date directly with the provider.