An OT FCA may add useful information when an assessment question concerns everyday activities and support needs that are not adequately described in the existing evidence.
Medical and other treating reports can already contain substantial functional information. An FCA should complement that evidence, not assume that a second report is always required because the first was written by a doctor or another profession.
Define the question
Please identify the intended use of the report and the gap it needs to address. The question may concern an NDIS access application, changed assistance, participation across settings or another specific purpose.
A DSP-related request needs to be identified from the outset because its requirements differ from NDIS planning. Expert witness and medico-legal reporting are not part of this general FCA service.
Include any deadline and relevant assessment already underway. This helps avoid overlapping work and makes it possible to check whether the proposed method is suitable.
Information that may help
Where relevant to the purpose, treating information may include the diagnosis and its basis, treatment history, current management, likely course and any uncertainty about permanence or change.
Functional observations are also useful. Please distinguish what you have observed or assessed from what the person or another contributor has reported. Existing information about activities, assistance and changes over time may reduce the need to repeat questions or commission further work.
The assessment should not require a more definite prognosis than the evidence permits. If a question remains uncertain, that is relevant information to retain.
What the OT assessment adds
The FCA can examine the steps involved in activities and the relationship between abilities, environment and assistance. It may bring together information across settings and explain the reasons for support recommendations.
The report should identify its sources and limits. For telehealth, this includes distinguishing reported activities from direct observation. Some questions need an in-person assessment, measurements, trials or another specialist service.
An FCA does not determine NDIS eligibility or funding. It should not infer a diagnosis or medical conclusion that the available evidence does not support.
Consent and communication
Confirm the person's consent to the referral and appropriate sharing of relevant information, or identify the lawful representative arrangement. Seeds also needs to confirm the intended report recipient.
Referring, arranging or paying for an assessment does not automatically entitle a person or organisation to the full report. Copies and further liaison should follow appropriate consent or other lawful authority.
After the assessment
Questions about factual accuracy can be raised within two days of receiving the report and are corrected at no charge; relevant new evidence can also be raised. The report's clinical conclusions must remain independent of a preferred funding outcome, while being open to reconsideration where the evidence warrants it.
Further information
Related articles
- What an occupational therapist does in an FCA
- Diagnosis and functional capacity: how the evidence differs
- Do you need an FCA to apply for the NDIS?
- Can an FCA help with a Disability Support Pension claim?
- Requesting an FCA: a guide for support coordinators and plan managers
- An FCA for your child: what to expect