The 12 I-CAN Domains Explained

What you need to know before your NDIS assessment

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and reflects publicly available information about the NDIS I-CAN assessment framework. This guide does not constitute professional disability support advice.

The NDIS I-CAN v6 assessment measures your support needs across 12 distinct life domains. Each domain represents a different area of daily functioning, and together they build a comprehensive picture of how your disability affects your life.

Understanding what each domain covers — and what kind of information is most relevant — can help you prepare effectively for your assessment and ensure your genuine needs are clearly communicated.

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Why Domains Matter

The domain structure serves two important purposes:

1. Standardisation: By using the same 12 domains for every participant, the NDIA can compare support needs consistently across the country.
2. Comprehensiveness: The domains cover the full range of daily life — from personal care to employment — so that no area of support need is overlooked.

Your assessor will work through each domain systematically, asking questions and gathering evidence about how your disability affects functioning in that area. The results determine the funding levels for different support categories in your NDIS plan.

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Domain 1: Daily Activities

What it covers: Your ability to manage routine tasks and organise your day independently.

This domain looks at whether you can plan and carry out structured daily routines — getting up, managing your schedule, handling appointments, making decisions, and coping with changes or unexpected events.

Relevant examples:

• Difficulty keeping track of time or maintaining a daily schedule
• Need for prompting or reminders to complete tasks
• Trouble making decisions or prioritising activities
• Struggling to adapt when routines change

Evidence that helps: Occupational therapy assessments, daily support logs, reports from support workers describing the type and frequency of prompts required.

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Domain 2: Domestic Life

What it covers: Your ability to manage the household — cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping, and maintaining a safe living environment.

This domain assesses whether you can perform the practical tasks required to run a household, either independently or with assistance.

Relevant examples:

• Unable to prepare safe meals independently
• Difficulty managing household cleaning to a liveable standard
• Challenges with grocery shopping (physically or cognitively)
• Need for support to manage finances or household budgeting

Evidence that helps: Occupational therapy home assessment reports, support worker notes, therapy goals related to independent living skills.

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Domain 3: Interpersonal Interactions

What it covers: Your ability to form and maintain relationships — with family, friends, support workers, and the broader community.

This domain examines social skills, communication in relationships, managing conflict, and responding appropriately to others in social settings.

Relevant examples:

• Difficulty reading social cues or understanding others' perspectives
• Behaviour in social situations that affects relationships
• Significant anxiety in social settings
• Challenges forming and maintaining friendships

Evidence that helps: Psychology reports, autism assessments, school reports (for children), support coordinator observations, therapy progress notes.

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Domain 4: Learning & Education

What it covers: Your ability to participate in formal or informal learning — school, TAFE, university, or acquiring new skills.

For children and young people, this domain is particularly significant. For adults, it covers ongoing skill development and vocational training.

Relevant examples:

• Requiring specialist supports to access mainstream education
• Difficulties with literacy, numeracy, or memory that affect learning
• Need for a teacher's aide or specialised instruction
• Challenges transitioning between educational settings

Evidence that helps: School reports, specialist teacher assessments, speech pathology reports (for communication in learning contexts), educational psychologist assessments.

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Domain 5: Mobility

What it covers: Your physical ability to move — walking, transferring, climbing stairs, using vehicles, and getting around your community.

This domain is often associated with physical disabilities but also includes conditions that affect stamina, balance, or coordination.

Relevant examples:

• Using a wheelchair, walker, or other mobility aid
• Difficulty with transfers (getting in/out of bed, chairs, vehicles)
• Limited ability to walk distances or use public transport
• Requiring support when navigating unfamiliar environments

Evidence that helps: Physiotherapy assessments, medical reports, vehicle modification reports, previous Assistive Technology (AT) recommendations.

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Domain 6: Self-Care

What it covers: Personal hygiene, dressing, eating, drinking, toileting, and managing your own health and medications.

Self-care is often one of the most significant domains for participants requiring daily personal support.

Relevant examples:

• Need for assistance with showering, bathing, or grooming
• Difficulty dressing independently
• Requiring support with eating (preparation, feeding, or swallowing)
• Assistance needed with continence management
• Prompting or support for medication management

Evidence that helps: OT daily living assessments, nursing assessments, carer reports detailing the type and duration of daily personal care provided.

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Domain 7: Communication

What it covers: Your ability to express yourself and understand others — through speech, writing, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), or other means.

This domain applies to participants with speech or language impairments, but also to those whose communication is significantly affected by cognitive, sensory, or mental health conditions.

Relevant examples:

• Using AAC devices or communication boards
• Significant difficulty understanding spoken or written instructions
• Expressive language challenges affecting participation
• Need for an interpreter or communication support

Evidence that helps: Speech pathology assessment reports, AAC device recommendations, audiological assessments, school communication plans.

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Domain 8: Community Life

What it covers: Your ability to participate in recreation, leisure, social activities, and your local community.

This domain is about quality of life and social inclusion — activities beyond the home and workplace.

Relevant examples:

• Difficulty accessing community events or venues
• Requiring a support worker to participate in recreational activities
• Isolation due to disability impacting community access
• Challenges using public transport to reach community venues

Evidence that helps: Support coordinator reports, participant goals documentation, allied health recommendations regarding community participation, social work assessments.

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Domain 9: Employment

What it covers: Your ability to seek, obtain, and maintain employment — or to participate in structured vocational activities.

For participants with employment goals, this domain can significantly affect plan funding for employment-related supports.

Relevant examples:

• Requiring a job coach or workplace support
• Difficulty managing workplace tasks, interactions, or environments due to disability
• Need for assistive technology or workplace modifications
• Significantly reduced work capacity

Evidence that helps: Vocational assessment reports, Disability Employment Services (DES) records, OT workplace assessments, medical evidence regarding work capacity.

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Domain 10: Health Management

What it covers: Your ability to manage ongoing health conditions, medications, medical appointments, and preventive care.

This domain applies to participants whose disability requires ongoing health monitoring or management that goes beyond typical medical care.

Relevant examples:

• Complex medication regimes requiring supervision
• Frequent medical appointments that require support to attend
• Difficulty understanding or following medical advice
• Management of complex health conditions intersecting with disability

Evidence that helps: Medical specialist reports, GP letters, hospital discharge summaries, nursing assessment reports.

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Domain 11: Behavioural Support

What it covers: Behaviour that may challenge — including self-injurious behaviour, aggression, property destruction, or other behaviours that pose risk to the participant or others.

This domain recognises that some participants require specialised supports to keep themselves and others safe, and to develop more adaptive behaviours over time.

Relevant examples:

• History of behaviours of concern documented by therapists or services
• Existing Behaviour Support Plan (BSP)
• Requiring specific environmental modifications or positive behaviour supports
• Significant self-injurious behaviour

Evidence that helps: Existing Behaviour Support Plans, psychology and behaviour support practitioner reports, incident reports, school behaviour documentation.

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Domain 12: Physical Health

What it covers: Your physical health and stamina — how your disability or associated health conditions affect your capacity to engage in daily life.

This domain focuses on physical capacity rather than health management tasks, capturing how physical health conditions intersect with disability.

Relevant examples:

• Fatigue significantly limiting daily activities
• Physical health complications of a primary disability condition
• Chronic pain affecting function
• Respiratory or cardiovascular conditions intersecting with disability

Evidence that helps: Specialist medical reports, physiotherapy assessments, fatigue management reports, respiratory or cardiac assessment documentation.

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Summary: The 12 I-CAN Domains at a Glance

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do all 12 I-CAN domains affect my NDIS funding?

All 12 domains are assessed, but your funding is allocated based on where your needs are significant. A domain where your functioning is not significantly impacted may result in little or no funding for that area. The domains with the highest impact typically drive the most funding.

What if I have significant needs in only a few I-CAN domains?

That is entirely normal. Many participants have significant support needs in some domains and minimal or no needs in others. The assessment is designed to capture the full picture and allocate funding appropriately.

Can I provide written information about my domains before the assessment?

Yes. Providing a written summary of your daily challenges — domain by domain — is excellent preparation and helps ensure the assessor has clear information. See our guide: How to prepare for your I-CAN v6 assessment for a step-by-step approach.

What if I don't know how to describe my needs in clinical terms?

You do not need to use clinical language. Describe your daily experience in your own words. Your assessor is trained to interpret everyday descriptions and map them to the domains. What matters most is that you are specific and honest about your challenges.

Are children assessed differently across the 12 I-CAN domains?

The 12 domains apply across all ages, but assessors are trained to apply them in an age-appropriate way. For children, some domains such as Employment may receive less emphasis, while Learning & Education and Communication are often particularly significant.

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Sources: NDIS website — Support needs assessment, WHO ICF Framework, Centre for Disability Studies