How to Prepare for Your NDIS Functional Capacity Assessment
Written by Nisha Bal, Seeds Occupational Therapy
If you've booked a Functional Capacity Assessment — or you're thinking about it — you might be wondering what you're actually supposed to do to get ready. What do you need to bring? How do you prepare? What if you don't have much documentation?
These are questions we hear all the time. And the honest answer is that preparation matters more than most people realise — not because the assessment will go badly without it, but because good preparation makes the report richer, more specific, and ultimately more useful for your NDIS application or plan review.
Here's what we tell every person who books with us.
The most important thing you can do before an FCA is gather your supporting documents. Not because we need a mountain of paperwork, but because documents give us a fuller picture of you or your child than any questionnaire can.
We're looking for things like recent GP letters, specialist reports, therapy notes, school reports, medication lists, previous assessments — basically anything that captures how your disability affects your daily life. You don't need all of these, and you don't need them to be recent. Even older documents can be helpful for understanding history and trajectory.
If you're unsure what to include, a simple rule: if a health professional has written something about your situation in the last few years, it's probably worth sending. We'll review it and use what's relevant.
The questionnaires are the part that can feel a bit overwhelming, so it helps to know what you're walking into.
After booking, we send structured online forms that ask about your daily life — things like how you manage self-care, cooking, getting around, working or studying, socialising, and managing your emotions. These aren't trick questions. There are no right or wrong answers. We're not testing you. We're trying to understand how your disability actually shows up in your daily life.
The most useful thing you can do is answer honestly — including on the hard days. It's natural to understate things, to downplay difficulty, or to describe how things go when you're at your best. But an FCA is specifically trying to capture the full picture, including when things are harder. Think about a typical week, not your best week.
If someone is supporting you to complete the forms — a carer, family member, or support coordinator — that's completely fine. For children, parents or carers often complete most of the questionnaire themselves, with input from schools where relevant.
And if the online forms feel unmanageable, just let us know. We can send them as a document you can fill in at your own pace, or discuss an alternative approach.
A lot of people come into the telehealth interview not quite knowing what to expect. It's not a test. It's more like a structured conversation.
Your assessor will ask you to walk them through your day-to-day life — what you can do, what you find difficult, what you need support with and how often. They might ask about specific tasks, specific environments, or specific situations. The interview usually takes around 60 minutes.
Don't try to perform. We're not looking for the most articulate version of your story. We're looking for the real one. If something is hard to explain, say so. If something varies day to day, say that too — because variability is itself important clinical information.
Some people find it helpful to jot down a few things before the interview — key challenges, things they want to make sure they mention, situations that have been particularly hard recently. It doesn't need to be structured. Just a few notes so you don't come out of the interview wishing you'd mentioned something.
One thing that often surprises people: the assessor's job is not to judge you. It's to understand you.
We have worked with people navigating extremely complex situations — significant mental health challenges, trauma histories, neurodivergence, chronic physical conditions. Whatever you're dealing with, we've likely sat with something similar before. You don't need to manage our reaction or soften what you share.
If you find the interview emotionally difficult, that's okay. We can slow down, take a break, come back to something later. The assessment is designed to work around you, not the other way around.
After the interview, Nisha reviews everything — your intake forms, your documents, and the interview notes — and writes the report. Most reports are delivered within two weeks of receiving all the information.
The report links your functional difficulties to specific, evidence-based support needs, using language that NDIS planners and reviewers understand. It's not just a description of your diagnosis. It's a clinical picture of how your disability affects what you can do, day to day, and what supports are needed as a result.
If you need anything clarified once you have the report — a summary letter, a follow-up, or a conversation before a planning meeting — we're here for that too.
One last thing worth saying: you don't need to have everything in order before you reach out. Some people contact us months before they're ready to book, just to ask questions. That's completely fine. We'd rather you get in touch early and feel clear about the process than push through something you're unsure about.
If you're considering an FCA with Seeds OT and want to talk it through first, you're welcome to email us at fca@seedsoccupationaltherapy.com.au.
And if you're ready to book — or want to read through everything first — our Getting Started page has the Welcome Guide, FAQ, and Service Agreement all in one place.