A useful FCA referral identifies the question the assessment needs to answer. For example, the request may concern changed daily assistance, an upcoming transition or a specific gap in existing evidence.
Please explain the purpose before sending a large volume of records. A general request for more funding does not provide enough information to define the assessment.
What to include in the enquiry
Provide the person's contact arrangements, the reason for the assessment, any deadline and the relevant access or communication needs. State your role and how the person has agreed to your involvement.
Identify existing assessments and treating information that may answer part of the question. For a home and living matter, describe the particular pathway and any specialist work already underway so that the scope can be coordinated.
Seeds confirms suitability, the service agreement and the secure process for sending documents before the assessment proceeds.
Keep consent and authority clear
A participant may use help to understand the service and communicate their decision. Where a representative acts for them, the relevant authority and its limits need to be checked.
A support coordinator's involvement does not automatically provide authority for clinical consent or unrestricted access to health information. A plan manager's role in paying an invoice also does not automatically require the full clinical report.
Confirm the authorised recipient and any agreed sharing. Someone signing as a representative should identify themselves and their role, not sign as though they are the participant.
Send evidence that addresses the question
Relevant documents may include the current plan, previous assessments, treating reports and records of changes in assistance. Explain the significance of older material and distinguish current information from historical background.
Follow the preparation deadline and upload instructions. If important information becomes available later, contact Seeds so its relevance and any effect on timing or scope can be considered.
Worker and family accounts can contribute useful observations. Identify the source, setting and period covered rather than presenting all information as directly assessed fact.
Funding and timing
Confirm the agreed fee, invoice recipient and proposed funding arrangement. Seeds currently works with self-managed and plan-managed participants, not NDIA-managed participants through this service. Eligibility to claim still needs to be checked for the particular plan and service.
Give external deadlines at enquiry stage. An assessment booking does not extend an NDIA or tribunal deadline, and delivery must be agreed rather than assumed.
Clinical conclusions and next steps
The report addresses the agreed questions, but recommendations must follow the evidence. A requested number of hours or support category cannot be guaranteed in advance.
Factual errors can be raised within two days of receiving the report and are corrected at no charge; relevant new information can also be raised after delivery. Clinical independence does not mean a conclusion can never be reconsidered.
Finally, a clinical referral is not the same as a formal plan-reassessment request. Check the current NDIA process and who is authorised to lodge it. Coordinators can help prepare evidence without assuming that professional involvement alone gives that authority.
Further information
Related articles
- How to prepare for your FCA
- After your FCA report: checking it and using it
- Using an FCA for an NDIS plan reassessment
- FCAs, SIL, SDA and complex support needs
- Can NDIS funding pay for an FCA?
- How an FCA can complement medical and treating evidence
- How an FCA contributes to an NDIS decision
- Sample FCA reports: what to look for