What Is a Functional Capacity Assessment?

A Functional Capacity Assessment (FCA) is a detailed occupational therapy assessment that explores how a person’s disability affects their ability to complete everyday tasks. It forms the basis for NDIS funding decisions and is often required for plan reassessments, support reviews, and housing or assistive technology requests.

FCAs provide clear, objective evidence of your current level of functioning, the support you need, and how that support will help you work toward your goals.

What’s Included in Our FCA Reports?

We take a holistic, person-centred approach to every assessment. Each report includes:

  • Activities of Daily Living (ADLs): personal care, showering, dressing, grooming, and toileting

  • Instrumental ADLs (IADLs): tasks like cooking, cleaning, shopping, managing money and appointments

  • Community Access: capacity for attending social, vocational, or recreational activities

  • Mobility & Transfers: ability to safely move around the home and community

  • Use of Assistive Technology: current equipment and future needs

  • Informal Supports: role of family, carers, or friends in daily life

  • Capacity to Make Decisions: safety awareness, executive function, and cognitive supports

  • NDIS Goal Alignment: practical recommendations mapped to participant goals and reasonable and necessary criteria

Use of Standardised Assessments

To ensure accuracy and clinical rigour, our reports incorporate validated assessment tools where appropriate. These may include:

  • Care and Needs Scale (CANS) – to measure required support hours

  • Modified Barthel Index (MBI) – for assessing daily personal care independence

  • Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale – to assess function in complex daily tasks

  • WHODAS 2.0 – a global disability measure aligned with the International Classification of Functioning (ICF)

  • Sensory Profile – where sensory processing or regulation needs are relevant

  • Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales – for assessing adaptive functioning in children or those with cognitive disability

  • Other tools as needed based on individual presentation and referral reason

Standardised scores are clearly reported and interpreted to provide objective evidence that supports funding decisions.

When Is an FCA Needed?

We provide Functional Capacity Assessments to support:

  • Plan reassessments and plan reviews

  • Life transitions (e.g. from school or out of the family home)

  • Justification of increased support needs (e.g. 1:1 or 2:1 support)

  • Accessing assistive technology or home modifications

  • Applications for Supported Independent Living (SIL) or Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA)

  • NDIS access requests or appeals (e.g. AAT processes)

What to Expect from the Process

  1. Initial Contact & Consent
    We liaise with you or your support team to gather background information and clarify your goals.

  2. Comprehensive Assessment
    Your occupational therapist will conduct interviews and observations, and administer standardised assessments tailored to your needs.

  3. Collaboration & Evidence Gathering
    We collect input from family, support workers, and other health professionals (with consent) to capture a full picture of your daily functioning.

  4. Report Writing
    We prepare a detailed report, including clinical observations, assessment results, and evidence-based recommendations.

  5. Ongoing Support
    We remain available to explain the report, liaise with NDIS stakeholders, or provide clarification if required.

Person typing on a laptop keyboard with multiple computer monitors in the background.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

If you would like to refer yourself, a family member, or someone you support for a Functional Capacity Assessment (FCA), you can do so using our simple referral form. If you have questions about the process, we’re happy to help.