NDIS Functional Capacity Assessments

Available across Greater Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, the Gold Coast, and Toowoomba.

A Functional Capacity Assessment examines how a participant’s disability affects their ability to complete everyday activities, manage daily responsibilities, participate in their community, and work towards their goals.

People Centred Therapies completes detailed, individualised assessments that consider the participant’s strengths, functional limitations, current supports, risks, environment, and everyday circumstances.

Our occupational therapists use interviews, observation, relevant documentation, clinical assessment, and appropriate standardised tools to develop clear recommendations regarding the participant’s functional needs and required supports.

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What Is a Functional Capacity Assessment?

A Functional Capacity Assessment, commonly referred to as an FCA, is an occupational therapy assessment of how a participant functions across important areas of everyday life.

It considers what the participant can do independently, where they require prompting, supervision, physical assistance, equipment, or environmental support, and what may occur if their needs are not adequately met.

The assessment focuses on the functional impact of disability rather than diagnosis alone. People with the same diagnosis may have very different strengths, support needs, risks, environments, and goals.

An FCA may also examine how the participant’s needs could change over time and what supports may assist them to maintain safety, build capacity, participate in meaningful activities, and work towards greater independence.

When May a Functional Capacity Assessment Be Helpful?

A Functional Capacity Assessment may be helpful when detailed evidence is required to explain the participant’s current functioning, support needs, risks, or changing circumstances.

  • Preparing evidence for an NDIS plan reassessment;

  • Documenting a change in functional capacity or support needs;

  • Identifying the level of assistance required across daily activities;

  • Clarifying the participant’s current formal and informal supports;

  • Identifying risks if support needs are not met;

  • Considering assistive technology or home modifications;

  • Considering home and living options;

  • Identifying capacity-building and therapeutic needs;

  • Informing core-support recommendations;

  • Identifying gaps in the participant’s current support arrangements;

  • Supporting life-stage and long-term planning; and

  • Providing updated clinical evidence following changes in health, disability, housing, behaviour, or circumstances.

The purpose and scope of the FCA will depend on the participant’s individual circumstances and the reason the assessment has been requested.

What May Be Assessed During an FCA?

The areas assessed are selected according to the participant’s age, disability, goals, circumstances, and reason for referral. Not every FCA will examine every area in the same level of detail.

  • The occupational therapist may assess mobility, balance, transfers, fine motor skills, coordination, physical endurance, sensation, and the participant’s ability to move safely within their home and community.

    This may include consideration of:

    • floor, chair, bed, shower, toilet, and vehicle transfers;

    • walking and community mobility;

    • balance and falls risk;

    • fine motor function;

    • strength and coordination;

    • physical access to everyday environments;

    • equipment required for safe movement; and

    • the level of assistance or supervision required.

  • The assessment may consider how cognitive functioning affects the participant’s ability to understand information, complete tasks, make decisions, manage risks, and participate in everyday activities.

    Areas may include:

    • orientation;

    • memory;

    • attention;

    • learning;

    • problem-solving;

    • safety awareness;

    • judgement;

    • decision-making;

    • insight; and

    • executive functioning.

  • The occupational therapist may consider whether sensory processing differences affect the participant’s regulation, comfort, behaviour, attention, routines, relationships, or participation in everyday environments.

    Where appropriate, the FCA may recommend a more detailed sensory assessment or occupational therapy intervention to develop and implement sensory strategies.

  • The assessment may consider how the participant understands and communicates information, expresses needs, maintains relationships, interprets social situations, and participates with other people.

    This may include consideration of receptive and expressive communication, speech, social interaction, communication supports, and the participant’s ability to engage safely and effectively with others.

  • The occupational therapist may consider how mood, emotional regulation, mental-health fluctuations, perceptual experiences, motivation, or behaviour affect the participant’s ability to participate in everyday activities.

    The FCA does not replace psychological, psychiatric, or behaviour support assessment. Where appropriate, recommendations may be made for further assessment or intervention by the relevant discipline.

  • Activities of daily living are the personal activities required to care for oneself.

    The assessment may examine the participant’s ability to complete:

    • showering;

    • personal hygiene and grooming;

    • dressing;

    • eating and drinking;

    • toileting and continence-related activities;

    • sleep routines;

    • personal-health activities; and

    • other personal or intimate activities relevant to the participant’s circumstances.

    For each area, the occupational therapist may consider the participant’s current ability, support required, relevant goals, risks if needs are unmet, and appropriate recommendations.

  • Instrumental activities of daily living are the more complex tasks required to manage a household and participate in the community.

    The assessment may consider:

    • use of phones, computers, and other devices;

    • shopping;

    • meal preparation and cooking;

    • cleaning and household maintenance;

    • gardening;

    • laundry;

    • medication management;

    • transport and travel;

    • budgeting and financial management; and

    • management of appointments and responsibilities.

  • The FCA may consider how the participant engages in meaningful life roles and activities, including:

    • leisure and recreation;

    • community access;

    • social participation;

    • education;

    • employment;

    • volunteering;

    • coordination of their supports;

    • management of their NDIS plan; and

    • other activities that are important to the participant.

  • The occupational therapist may assess whether the participant’s equipment, home environment, or community environments support or restrict their safety and participation.

    This may include consideration of:

    • current assistive technology;

    • low-, mid-, or high-cost equipment needs;

    • mobility and transfer equipment;

    • communication or cognitive aids;

    • sensory supports;

    • home modifications;

    • vehicle modifications;

    • accessibility barriers;

    • suitability of the current living environment; and

    • whether existing modifications continue to meet the participant’s needs.

Understanding Current Supports, Risks, and Future Needs

An FCA does not assess skills in isolation. It also examines the support available to the participant and the consequences that may arise when support needs are not met.

The occupational therapist may consider:

  • Current formal support hours;

  • Assistance provided by family, friends, or other informal supports;

  • The type, frequency, and intensity of support required;

  • Whether the participant can safely be left without assistance;

  • Risks associated with mobility, self-care, cognition, behaviour, health, or the environment;

  • The sustainability of current informal support arrangements;

  • The impact of caring responsibilities on family members;

  • Whether the participant’s current living arrangements remain suitable;

  • Likely changes in needs across future life stages; and

  • Opportunities to build skills or reduce reliance on support where appropriate.

The report may include a summary of functional limitations, their impact on daily life, the risk if needs remain unmet, and the support required to manage those risks.

How We Complete a Functional Capacity Assessment

Each assessment is planned according to the participant’s circumstances and the information required. The number of appointments, people consulted, records reviewed, and assessment tools used will vary.

Step 1: Referral and Assessment Planning

PCT reviews the referral to understand why the FCA has been requested, the participant’s location, the information required, and the likely scope of assessment.

The occupational therapist then plans the assessment process and identifies any documents or stakeholders that may need to be included.

Step 2: Initial Interview

The occupational therapist meets with the participant and, where appropriate, relevant family members, carers, support workers, or other people involved in their support.

The initial interview gathers information about the participant’s history, disability, goals, daily routines, current supports, living arrangements, strengths, concerns, and functional needs.

Step 3: Observation of Everyday Functioning

The occupational therapist may observe the participant completing relevant tasks, moving through their environment, communicating with others, or managing everyday activities.

Observation helps identify the level of prompting, supervision, physical assistance, equipment, or environmental support required.

Step 4: Review of Relevant Documentation

With appropriate consent, the occupational therapist may review information such as:

  • The participant’s NDIS plan and goals;

  • Previous occupational therapy assessments;

  • Medical or allied health reports;

  • Behaviour Support Plans;

  • Support plans;

  • Progress notes;

  • Incident or risk information;

  • Assistive technology documentation;

  • Housing information; and

  • Other records relevant to the assessment.

Step 6: Consultation With Other People

The occupational therapist may use appropriate standardised assessments, structured questionnaires, clinical interviews, task-based assessment, and non-standardised occupational therapy methods.

PCT’s FCA includes a range of possible assessments covering disability, daily living, cognition, support needs, community participation, independence, and caregiver impact. The tools selected depend on the participant’s age, presentation, communication needs, diagnosis, goals, and assessment purpose.

  • World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0;

  • Life Skills Profile;

  • Care and Needs Scale;

  • Modified Barthel Index;

  • Australian Modified Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale;

  • Community Integration Questionnaire–Revised;

  • Functional Independence Measure;

  • Montreal Cognitive Assessment;

  • Mini-Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination;

  • Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination;

  • Six-Item Cognitive Impairment Test; and

  • Relevant caregiver-impact or burnout measures.

Not every assessment tool is used with every participant. Assessment tools are selected when they are clinically appropriate and relevant to the referral question.

Step 5: Standardised and Clinical Assessment

With appropriate consent, the occupational therapist may consult with relevant people, including:

  • Family members;

  • Support workers;

  • Support coordinators;

  • Teachers or education staff;

  • Employers;

  • Allied health professionals;

  • Behaviour support practitioners;

  • Medical professionals; and

  • Housing or service providers.

This can help identify how the participant’s functioning and support needs vary across people, activities, and environments.

Step 7: Analysis and Report Preparation

The occupational therapist analyses the information gathered and prepares a comprehensive report describing the participant’s functional presentation, support needs, risks, goals, and recommendations.

What Is Included in a PCT FCA Report?

The exact content depends on the participant and the reason for referral. A PCT FCA report may include:

  • A summary of functional impact and risk;

  • Relevant history and current circumstances;

  • Current treatment and professional involvement;

  • Living arrangements and environmental suitability;

  • Physical functioning;

  • Cognition;

  • Sensory processing;

  • Communication and social interaction;

  • Psychological and emotional functioning;

  • Behaviour-related functional impacts;

  • Activities of daily living;

  • Instrumental activities of daily living;

  • Occupational performance;

  • Assistive technology and home-modification needs;

  • Current formal and informal supports;

  • Recommended supports;

  • Therapeutic recommendations;

  • Life-stage and long-term planning;

  • Core-support recommendations;

  • Capacity-building recommendations;

  • Capital-support recommendations; and

  • Standardised-assessment results and interpretation.

What Recommendations May Be Included?

Recommendations are based on the participant’s assessed functional needs, disability-related limitations, goals, risks, current supports, environment, and available evidence.

Recommendations are individualised. Not every FCA will include recommendations in every area.

  • Where supported by the assessment findings, recommendations may address the assistance required for the participant to complete everyday activities safely and participate in their home and community.

    • Personal care assistance

    • In-home support

    • Community access support

    • Domestic assistance

    • Gardening and yard maintenance

    • Meal preparation and delivery

    • Transport support

    • Short-term respite

    • Group-based activities

    • Employment support

    • Consumables

    • Continence products

    • Low-cost assistive technology

    • The ratio of support required

    • The number of support hours required

    • The frequency and timing of support

    Where appropriate, the occupational therapist may describe the type, frequency, duration, intensity, and ratio of support required.

    Recommendations will be linked to the participant’s functional presentation, current support arrangements, identified risks, and disability-related needs.

  • The FCA may identify a need for further assessment, intervention, or capacity building from occupational therapy or another relevant discipline.

    Recommendations may relate to:

    • Occupational Therapy

    • Physiotherapy

    • Speech Pathology

    • Psychology

    • Specialist Behaviour Support

    • Registered Nursing

    • Dietetics

    • Exercise Physiology

    • Podiatry

    • Employment Support

    • Support Coordination

    • Specialist Support Coordination

    • Plan Management

    • Life-transition support

    • Skill-development programs

    Recommendations involving another profession indicate that discipline-specific assessment or intervention may be clinically appropriate.

    The occupational therapist does not replace assessment or clinical decision-making by another professional discipline.

  • The assessment may identify equipment, technology, modifications, or environmental supports that could improve the participant’s safety, independence, access, or participation.

    Recommendations may relate to:

    • Low-cost assistive technology

    • Mid-cost assistive technology

    • High-cost assistive technology

    • Mobility equipment

    • Transfer equipment

    • Personal care equipment

    • Cognitive aids

    • Communication aids

    • Sensory supports

    • Home modifications

    • Vehicle modifications

    • Environmental adjustments

    • Specialist equipment trials

    • Further assistive technology assessment

    Where more detailed assessment, equipment trials, supplier consultation, or quotations are required, the FCA may recommend a separate assistive technology or home-modification assessment.

  • Where relevant to the referral, the FCA may consider whether the participant’s current living arrangements and support structure are suitable for their needs.

    Recommendations may relate to:

    • Support within the participant’s current home

    • Changes to the participant’s support roster

    • Supported Independent Living

    • Individualised Living Options

    • Specialist Disability Accommodation

    • Home modifications

    • Assistive technology

    • Overnight support

    • Supervision requirements

    • Alternative living arrangements

    • Further Home and Living assessment

    Recommendations are based on the participant’s functional capacity, risks, support needs, goals, environmental requirements, and current circumstances.

  • The FCA may consider how the participant’s support needs could change over time.

    This may include consideration of:

    • Current support needs

    • Anticipated needs over the next five years

    • Anticipated needs over the next ten years

    • Anticipated needs over the next fifteen years

    • Changes associated with ageing

    • Changes in health or mobility

    • Changes in family or informal support

    • Future housing needs

    • Transitions from school to employment

    • Transitions towards greater independence

    • Opportunities to build functional capacity

    • Risks associated with delayed support or planning

    Long-term recommendations are based on the information available at the time of assessment and should be reviewed when the participant’s circumstances change.

Our Approach to Functional Capacity Assessment

  • We consider the participant’s diagnosis alongside their strengths, goals, preferences, relationships, routines, environment, support network, and lived experience.

    A diagnosis may help explain aspects of a participant’s presentation, but it does not determine their individual functional capacity or support needs.

  • We examine how the participant completes everyday activities and the support required to initiate, organise, sustain, and complete those activities safely and effectively.

    We also consider whether the participant can perform an activity consistently across different environments and over time.

  • Where appropriate, our conclusions draw on:

    • Participant consultation

    • Direct observation

    • Clinical interview

    • Task-based assessment

    • Standardised assessment

    • Non-standardised assessment

    • Review of relevant documentation

    • Information from family members

    • Information from support workers

    • Information from other professionals

    • Environmental assessment

    • Clinical reasoning

    No single assessment score, observation, or stakeholder report is considered in isolation.

  • Our reports aim to explain:

    • What the participant can complete independently

    • Where the participant experiences difficulty

    • What prompting or supervision is required

    • What physical assistance is required

    • What equipment or environmental support is required

    • How frequently support is required

    • What risks may arise if support is not available

    • How current supports affect the participant’s functioning

    • Whether current support arrangements appear sustainable

  • Recommendations are linked to the participant’s functional presentation, disability-related needs, goals, risks, current support arrangements, and everyday circumstances.

    Our reports aim to clearly explain the clinical reasoning supporting each recommendation.

  • Recommendations are designed to support meaningful changes in everyday life.

    This may include improving safety, building functional skills, increasing participation, strengthening support arrangements, reducing avoidable risk, and supporting greater independence where this is achievable and meaningful to the participant.

Functional Capacity Assessment FAQs

  • A participant, nominee, family member, support coordinator, plan manager, treating professional, or another authorised person may submit a referral.

    The participant or their authorised representative must provide consent before assessment information is gathered or shared.

  • No. Assessment methods are selected according to the participant’s age, disability, presentation, communication needs, goals, and reason for referral.

    A participant may complete one or more standardised assessments. In other circumstances, the occupational therapist may rely more heavily on clinical interview, observation, task-based assessment, documentation, and stakeholder consultation.

  • Not necessarily. The assessment is tailored to the participant and the purpose of the referral.

    The occupational therapist will focus on the areas that are relevant to the participant’s disability, goals, current support needs, risks, and circumstances.

  • A home or community visit may be recommended when the environment is relevant to understanding the participant’s functioning, equipment, living arrangements, support needs, or risks.

    The location and format of appointments will depend on the assessment purpose, clinical requirements, participant circumstances, and service availability.

  • Yes. With appropriate consent, relevant people may provide information about the participant’s daily functioning, support needs, strengths, risks, and circumstances.

    This information is considered alongside the other evidence gathered during the assessment.

  • Where clinically appropriate and supported by the assessment evidence, the occupational therapist may describe the type, intensity, frequency, duration, or ratio of formal support required.

    Recommendations are based on the participant’s functional needs, risks, current supports, goals, and circumstances.

  • Yes. The FCA may identify a need for occupational therapy or further assessment and intervention from another relevant discipline.

    Recommendations involving another profession do not replace discipline-specific assessment by that professional.

  • Yes. The FCA may identify a potential need for assistive technology, equipment, environmental changes, or home modifications.

    A separate assessment, equipment trial, supplier quotation, or specialised report may still be required before a particular item or modification can be recommended in detail.

  • No. The FCA provides clinical evidence and recommendations.

    Funding decisions remain the responsibility of the NDIA and are made in accordance with the NDIS legislation and applicable funding criteria.

  • The time required depends on the participant’s circumstances, assessment scope, number of appointments, records available, assessment tools used, consultation requirements, and report complexity.

    PCT will discuss the proposed assessment process and estimated service requirements after reviewing the referral.

  • PCT provides Functional Capacity Assessments across Greater Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, the Gold Coast, and Toowoomba.

    Availability depends on the participant’s location, assessment requirements, travel considerations, and clinician capacity.

Functional Capacity Assessments Across Brisbane and Surrounding Regions

People Centred Therapies provides community-based Functional Capacity Assessments across:

  • Greater Brisbane

  • Ipswich

  • Logan

  • The Gold Coast

  • Toowoomba

Assessments may occur in the participant’s home, community, or another relevant environment where clinically appropriate.

Service availability depends on the participant’s exact location, assessment requirements, travel considerations, and clinician capacity.

View Our Service Locations

Request a Functional Capacity Assessment

Complete our referral form with information about the participant, the reason the FCA is being requested, their location, and the preferred contact person.

Our team will review the referral and contact the nominated person to discuss service suitability, availability, assessment requirements, and the proposed next steps.

Make an FCA Referral
Contact PCT
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