An FCA may be payable from NDIS funding when the assessment is an eligible support, relates to the person's disability-related needs and is consistent with their plan and the applicable rules.
Check this before booking. An unused balance or a provider's willingness to work with NDIS participants does not, on its own, confirm that a claim is appropriate.
Check the purpose and budget
Improved Daily Living is a common category for relevant OT assessment. However, the correct funding arrangement needs to be checked against the actual service and plan rather than assumed from a general article.
The current NDIS item schedule includes OT services in more than one context. This is not permission to claim any FCA from any category. In particular, do not assume an unused Core balance can simply be redirected to a privately commissioned report.
Ask what the assessment is intended to establish and which funding rules apply. Your plan manager or NDIS contact may help clarify the plan requirements. The provider also needs to use an appropriate description and claim arrangement for the service delivered.
Plan-managed funding
Confirm the payer details, the quote and any requirements for the invoice before the assessment. A plan manager's involvement does not remove the need for the service to be eligible under the plan.
Seeds needs the agreed invoicing details and consent for any relevant information sharing. A plan manager does not automatically need the full clinical report simply because they process the invoice.
Self-managed funding
Current NDIA guidance describes two ways to pay after a support has been received: request the funds and then pay the provider, or pay the provider and seek reimbursement. The relevant records and claim requirements still apply.
This does not authorise claiming for undelivered assessment work. Confirm the service, invoice and delivery arrangements, particularly when a report is released after payment.
Keep the necessary records and check the current claiming timeframes. Announced rule changes have different start dates, so older advice may no longer apply when you make the claim.
The Seeds service model
Seeds currently works with self-managed and plan-managed participants, but not NDIA-managed participants through this service. The standard fee and any different scope are agreed in writing before booking.
Payment and funding eligibility are separate questions. The practice's payment terms do not guarantee that the NDIA will meet the cost.
Before NDIS access
A privately commissioned FCA obtained before becoming a participant is not automatically reimbursed if access is approved later. Ask whether the evidence you already have is sufficient and whether any appropriate access-assistance service is available.
For a DSP claim or another non-NDIS purpose, do not assume that NDIS funding can be used simply because the report describes disability. The purpose of the expense matters.