Who can request a Functional Capacity Assessment?

Families, carers or professionals involved in your child’s care can request a Functional Capacity Assessment.

Is a referral required for a Functional Capacity Assessment?

No referral is needed. Families are welcome to self-refer directly, and professionals can also refer if preferred.

How long does the assessment take?

A Functional Capacity Assessment typically includes a 60–90 minute phone consultation, followed by a 45-minute face-to-face session if required, which may be split over multiple sessions depending on your child’s needs and age. Report writing usually takes around 10 hours, and we aim to deliver the final report within four weeks.

Can this be used for NDIS funding or plan reviews?

Yes. Our Functional Capacity Assessments are designed to provide detailed, evidence-based information to support NDIS funding applications, plan reviews and therapy planning.

How is a Functional Capacity Assessment different from regular therapy?

Therapy focuses on achieving goals through ongoing sessions, while a Functional Capacity Assessment is a comprehensive assessment that measures your child’s current abilities and identifies support needed for daily life and participation.

Functional Capacity Assessments

Therapist observing and assessing a child’s functional mobility and independence skills

Understanding your child’s abilities, strengths, and support needs — so they can thrive in everyday life.

A Functional Capacity Assessment (FCA) helps families understand how their child participates in daily activities — from moving and playing to communicating and self-care. At Little Bodies Therapy, our FCAs are collaborative, child-friendly, and goal-focused. We combine standardised testing, clinical observation, and conversations with families to build a complete picture of your child’s strengths, challenges, and support needs.

Each assessment is designed to support real-world outcomes and provide evidence for NDIS funding, plan reviews, and therapy recommendations, ensuring your child receives the right level of support to meet their goals.

Book Your Assessment

A Functional Capacity Assessment provides clear, practical insights to help guide your child’s therapy and funding pathway.

It offers:

A detailed understanding of your child’s functional abilities across daily activities (personal and domestic), socialisation, communication, motor skills (fine and gross motor, mobility), and participation.

Evidence to support NDIS applications or reviews, helping ensure your child’s plan reflects their individual needs and goals.
Insight into your child’s care and support requirements, including their level of dependence, to better inform planning and funding needs.
Identification of strengths and areas for targeted support, guiding therapy priorities and home strategies.
A way to track progress and measure outcomes over time.
A clear plan for ongoing support.

Core Methods
and Approaches

Our assessments are completed by experienced paediatric therapists who specialise in evaluating a child’s function in both structured and everyday settings.

Comprehensive evaluation
Assessing daily living skills, social participation, cognition, motor skills (gross and fine motor) and communication.

Multidisciplinary approach
Assessments are conducted by our senior occupational therapists, with consultation as required from your child’s multi-disciplinary team.

Evidence-informed tools
Using standardised assessments and clinical observation to ensure reliable, NDIS-ready data.

Collaborative goal-setting
Families and carers are involved at every stage, helping translate findings into practical, meaningful outcomes.

What to Expect in Sessions

We make the assessment process as clear and comfortable as possible for both children and parents.

Initial discussion

We start with a detailed phone consultation (around 60–90 minutes) to understand your child’s history, current supports, and goals. During this phone call, some standardised assessments can be completed with yourself or sent to you following the call for completion.

Assessment session

A face-to-face assessment session may be required following the initial discussion, where your child may complete a variety of standardised tests to support recommended therapy requests.

Written report

Within approximately four weeks, families receive a detailed, easy-to-understand report summarising findings, recommendations, and goal-based strategies. Your therapist will guide you through the report and help plan next steps.

FAQs

Families, carers, or professionals involved in your child’s care can request an FCA.
No referral needed — families are welcome to self-refer directly. Professionals can also refer if preferred.
An FCA typically includes a 60–90 minute phone consultation, followed by a 45-minute face-to-face session, if required — which may be split over multiple sessions depending on your child’s needs and age.
Report writing usually takes around 10 hours, and we aim to deliver the final report within four weeks.
Yes. Our FCAs are designed to provide detailed, evidence-based information to support NDIS funding applications, plan reviews, and therapy planning.
While therapy focuses on achieving goals through ongoing sessions, an FCA is a comprehensive assessment that measures your child’s current abilities and identifies support needed for daily life and participation.

Child and therapist interacting during a structured assessment session at Little Bodies Therapy

Know their needs. Plan their future.

With the help of our experienced and dedicated team, get the insights you need to plan support, funding, and therapy for your child - with confidence.

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