What the support needs assessment is
Under new framework planning, your NDIS budget is built from an assessment of the support you need, rather than mainly from reports and requests for particular supports. The support needs assessment, sometimes just called the needs assessment, is that assessment.
The government says the aim is fairer and more consistent plans, so people with similar needs and circumstances get similar budgets, with more flexible funding and clearer reasons for decisions.
Who does it
A trained NDIS assessor carries it out. Assessors complete a training and accreditation program developed with the University of Melbourne and the Centre for Disability Studies. This is not your own therapist: it is an assessment arranged by the NDIA for the purpose of setting your budget.
What it looks at
The assessment is a semi structured interview, a guided conversation rather than a test. It considers:
- Your functional capacity: what you can do and where you need help, day and night
- Your life stage, such as starting school, leaving home, working or getting older
- Your environment, including where you live and the informal support around you
The tool behind it
The NDIA has said the assessment is based on version 6 of the I-CAN (Instrument for the Classification and Assessment of Support Needs), developed by the Centre for Disability Studies. It looks at support needs across 12 areas of life and is designed for people aged 16 and over, so children will be assessed differently. People with more complex needs may also have further targeted assessments.
What you get afterwards
You receive a support needs assessment report. It explains how your budget was decided and helps you get started with your new plan. Read it carefully and check it reflects your life accurately, including your hard days, not just your good ones.
How it differs from other assessments
- A functional capacity assessment is written by a therapist you choose, about you, with recommendations. It is still useful evidence, but it is not the support needs assessment
- The support needs assessment sets plan budgets. The government says it is not used to decide whether you can access the NDIS
- From 1 January 2028 a separate, standardised assessment of functional capacity will be used for NDIS access decisions
When you will have one, and how to prepare
Participants start moving to new framework planning gradually from 1 April 2027, and everyone will have moved by 31 December 2030. You do not need to apply. The NDIA will contact you and support you to prepare for the assessment and to use your new plan.
Until then, a few simple steps make the interview easier:
- Keep a log of the support you need across a typical week, day and night, including help family give for free
- Note what changes on bad days or during flare ups
- Ask someone who knows you well to be with you, such as a family member, nominee or advocate
- Keep your current therapy and medical reports together in case they are needed