Allied health reports and evidence for an NDIS plan reassessment

Before a plan reassessment, the NDIS wants evidence that your supports are working. For many people, the best evidence is a report from their allied health professional. This guide explains what the NDIS asks reports to show and how to get a good one.

The short answer

The NDIS says a plan reassessment report explains your therapist's approach and shows the outcomes and progress you have made towards your goals. It also recommends what supports you may need next, with reasons.

The NDIS uses this to help decide whether supports meet its reasonable and necessary criteria. Start by asking your therapist early. Good reports take time to write.

Why evidence matters

The NDIS can only include supports that its rules say it can fund. A planner reviews your current plan, how you have used it, and the evidence you give them.

Evidence can include assessments or reports from treating healthcare professionals, therapists or support workers. The NDIS says these show how your supports help you work towards your goals. They can also recommend supports you may need in the future.

For more on the funding test, read what is reasonable and necessary.

What the NDIS asks a report to cover

The NDIS gives therapists a step-by-step guide. A report should include:

• Service details. The type of service, the therapy approach, how long and how often, the goals, and the intended outcome.
• Progress. How your functional capacity has changed. The NDIS gives examples of measures, such as the Timed Up and Go test, the 6-minute walk test and the Berg Balance Scale.
• Therapies tried. Evidence of what has been trialled.
• Barriers. Anything that got in the way, and how it was handled.
• Risks. Any risks while supports were delivered, and what was done.
• Next steps. Other NDIS, informal, community or mainstream supports that could help.
• Recommendations. Evidence-based, with reasons for any request for more or different supports.

A worked example

The NDIS gives this example. A person's goal is to get up from a bed or chair and walk independently at home. Their therapist measures standing balance and lower limb strength at the start. After a block of therapy, those measures have improved.

The report links the result to the goal. Better balance and strength mean the person can move around the home on their own. That link, from the measure to the goal, is what planners look for.

How to ask for a report

1. Ask early. Tell your therapist when your reassessment is due. Your my NDIS contact usually checks in 2 to 3 months before.
2. Share your goals. Tell them what has changed in your life and what you want next.
3. Ask what it costs and when it will be ready. Do this before you book.
4. Read the draft. Check it matches your experience. Ask for changes if it does not.
5. Ask for a plain summary for yourself.

Your therapist shares the final report with you. You then give it to the NDIS. If you agree, your therapist can also upload it to the provider portal.

Giving your evidence to the NDIS

The NDIS says you can give your evidence by using its service hub, by mail, or in person to your my NDIS contact or local office. Check ndis.gov.au for the current mailing address.

If you are asking for a reassessment outside your regular check-in, the evidence must show a significant, ongoing change. The NDIS says it usually needs to be recent: within 4 months of your request and dated after your current plan was approved. See how to request an unscheduled plan reassessment.

What happens next

A planner reviews your evidence and decides. The NDIS says it will let you know its decision within 90 days. There are three possible outcomes: it varies your plan, creates a new plan, or does not change your plan. See NDIS plan reassessment: what to expect.

If you disagree with a decision, you can ask for an internal review.

Finding therapists who write reports

Therapy is usually delivered by occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech pathologists and psychologists. Registered providers can have registration group 0128 for therapeutic supports. Some therapists are unregistered providers, which the NDIS allows for self-managed and plan-managed participants.

For more about how therapy fits in your plan, read allied health under the NDIS. The glossary explains allied health and plan reassessment.

Tips for a report that is easy to use

The NDIS does not give one template that every report must follow. But the steps it gives therapists show what makes a report useful.

• Keep it specific. Name the goal, the measure and the result. Avoid broad statements.
• Be honest about what did not work. The NDIS asks therapists to say why an outcome was not achieved, if relevant.
• Link each recommendation to a goal. The NDIS asks how the recommended supports connect to your therapy outcomes and goals.
• Show the risk of doing nothing. The NDIS asks therapists to think about the risks to you if the supports are not provided.
• Stay within scope. The NDIS asks how the supports are within the therapist's own scope of practice and expertise.

If you have more than one therapist, ask them to coordinate. A set of reports that match each other is easier for a planner to follow than reports that point in different directions.

If your report is late

Sometimes the report is not ready in time. Tell your my NDIS contact. The NDIS says your contact can help you gather the information and evidence you need, and may do this at your check-in. You can also ask what the NDIS can accept now, and what you can send later.

On Goodo

If you want to hear how other people asked for a good report, you can add your question to the Goodo list and we will email you when your area opens.

About this guide

Goodo is independent. We are not part of, or endorsed by, the NDIA or the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. This is general information, not medical or health advice. Rules change, so check ndis.gov.au or call the NDIS on 1800 800 110 about your own situation.