Functional Capacity Assessments for SIL, SDA and Home and Living
When someone asks the NDIA for home and living supports, such as supported independent living (SIL) or specialist disability accommodation (SDA), the NDIA needs evidence from a treating health professional such as an occupational therapist. An FCA can provide it. It should explain daily support and housing needs, how often and when help is needed, and why other options won't work.
What Does the NDIA Ask Home and Living Evidence to Show?
Three things, in the NDIA's words: daily support and housing needs, what the person can and can't do, and what else has been tried.
- Daily support and housing needs, including how often and when support is needed each day
- The things the person can and can't do because of their disability, and how that affects daily life and housing needs
- Other home and living options that were explored, and why they don't meet the person's disability-related support needs
The evidence should be recent and from a relevant treating health professional. The NDIA says they may need to write a report or complete an assessment, and that other professionals or providers can sometimes give evidence too.
What Does an FCA Need to Show for SIL?
The pattern of support across a whole day and night, because SIL is funded for people who need help or supervision around the clock.
The NDIS says SIL may suit people who need a support worker with them 24 hours a day, including overnight, help with daily activities for at least 8 of those hours, and some help or supervision for the rest. A useful FCA for SIL describes which tasks need help, at what times, how much help, what happens overnight and what risks there are without support.
Since 1 October 2026, SIL can only be delivered by providers who are registered or applied to register before that date. That affects who provides the SIL, not who writes the assessment.
Need a Functional Capacity Assessment?
We'll connect you with an occupational therapy practice that does FCAs and may have space.
What Does an FCA Need to Show for SDA?
Whether the person has an extreme functional impairment or very high support needs, and which home features they need.
The NDIA's SDA guideline says it may ask for allied health professional reports and reports about daily support and housing needs, and that it looks at allied health reports when it works out the SDA design category. It can also include funding in a plan to assess home and living needs if it needs more information. An FCA for SDA often describes things like the space needed around the bed, bathroom and kitchen, and how the home's features would make other supports easier or safer.
What If Home and Living Supports Are Already in the Plan?
Then the NDIA wants evidence of what has changed, dated after the last plan was approved.
To change existing home and living supports, the evidence needs to explain significant changes to daily support and housing needs and to functional capacity, and how they affect daily life. Our guide to an FCA for a plan reassessment covers the process.
How Do You Send Home and Living Evidence to the NDIA?
Through the NDIS service hub, by mail to NDIA, GPO Box 700, Canberra ACT 2601, or in person to your my NDIS contact or local office.
Say why you're sending it. If the NDIA includes home and living supports, a planner will meet with you to explain the plan. If it doesn't, it will tell you why, and you can ask for a review of the decision.
Questions People Ask
Do I need an FCA to get SIL?
The NDIA needs evidence from a treating health professional about daily support and housing needs. An FCA by an occupational therapist is a common way to provide it.
Can the NDIA fund the assessment for home and living?
Yes. The NDIA says it can include funding in a plan to assess home and living needs if it needs more information.
Who should do an FCA for SDA?
A relevant treating health professional. The NDIA says it looks at allied health reports, and occupational therapists often do these assessments.
What's the difference between SIL and SDA?
SDA is the housing itself, built for people with very high support needs. SIL is funding for support workers in the home. Some people have both.
Keep Reading
- FCAs and the NDISHow the NDIA uses a functional capacity assessment: access requests, plan supports, reassessments, home and living and reviews.
- The FCA reportWhat goes in an FCA report for the NDIS: the details the NDIA looks for, how recommendations should be written, and what to check before the report is sent.
- FCA for a plan reassessmentUsing a functional capacity assessment for an NDIS plan reassessment: what counts as a significant change, how recent evidence must be and when to book.
- OT functional capacity assessmentsWhy occupational therapists do most NDIS functional capacity assessments, what an OT FCA involves, what it can lead to, and the OT price limit for 2026-27.
- How it worksHow we connect you with a practice that does FCAs, and what happens to your details.
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