How to Describe Physical Disability Support Needs for Your I-CAN v6 Assessment

A practical guide for people with physical impairment, chronic illness, and acquired disability

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It reflects publicly available information about the NDIS I-CAN v6 assessment framework as at June 2026. This guide does not constitute professional disability support, medical, or legal advice. For personalised guidance, contact the NDIA on 1800 800 110, your Support Coordinator, or a disability advocacy organisation.

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Physical disability takes many forms — spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury, degenerative conditions, limb difference, chronic pain and fatigue conditions, and many others. What they share is this: the functional impact on daily life is what matters for the I-CAN v6 assessment, not the name of the condition.

For many people with physical disability, preparation for the I-CAN v6 comes with a specific challenge: the difference between what they could theoretically do in a clinical environment and what they can actually manage in daily life is often significant — and if that gap is not clearly documented, the assessment will not capture it.

This guide gives you a practical, domain-by-domain approach to describing your genuine functional needs.

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The Core Principle: Daily Life, Not Clinical Capacity

The I-CAN v6 assessment measures your functional capacity in daily life — not your performance on a standardised clinical test, and not your capacity at your absolute best.

For people with physical disability, this distinction matters enormously.

You may be able to transfer independently in ideal conditions — with the right equipment, on a good day, having rested beforehand. What you may not be able to do is transfer independently after a night of poor sleep, having already showered and dressed, in a bathroom that is not perfectly set up. Both are real. The assessment needs to know about both.

Aim to describe:

• What you can do independently, reliably, and safely — without assistance, even if it takes longer
• What you can do with difficulty — requiring significant effort, taking much longer than average, carrying pain or fatigue consequences
• What you cannot do independently and require assistance for
• How this varies across good days and difficult days

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Pain, Fatigue, and the Invisible Functional Load

Two functional impacts that are consistently under-documented in physical disability assessments are pain and fatigue.

Both are invisible to an observer. Both are highly variable. And both are among the most significant contributors to genuine support needs for many people with physical and chronic conditions.

If you experience pain or fatigue that affects your daily functioning, document it specifically:

• How many days per week do you experience significant pain or fatigue?
• What severity does it typically reach (using a 0–10 scale if helpful)?
• What activities does it prevent or significantly impair?
• How does a high-pain or high-fatigue day compare to a moderate day in terms of what you can manage?
• What is the "cost" of activities — does showering in the morning mean you cannot manage anything else for two or three hours?

Quantified, specific descriptions are far more useful than general statements. "I experience significant fatigue on 5–6 days per week, rating 7–9 out of 10, which means I can typically complete one demanding activity per day before needing extended rest" tells the assessor something meaningful. "I get tired" does not.

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Domain-by-Domain Guidance

Self Care

Self-care is typically the most directly relevant domain for physical disability — and the one where functional language most clearly differs from clinical language.

What to describe: Your genuine ability to manage personal hygiene (showering, bathing, grooming), dressing, toileting, eating, and medication management — how long it takes, what assistance you require, and what happens when that assistance is not available.

Prompts:

• How long does showering take you? Do you require any assistance?
• Can you dress independently? If so, does it take significantly longer than average? Are there items of clothing you cannot manage?
• Do you require assistance with toileting? How frequently?
• Can you prepare and eat meals independently? What is the impact of fatigue or pain on this?

Example: "Showering takes me approximately 50 minutes with my shower chair and handheld shower head. I require assistance to wash my hair because I cannot maintain my arm above shoulder height for the duration required. Dressing takes about 40 minutes. I cannot manage buttons or zippers reliably with my right hand, and I use adapted clothing where possible. Without assistance, I estimate dressing would take over an hour."

General Tasks and Demands

Physical disability can affect the ability to manage daily routines, medications, and safety — particularly where fatigue, pain, or limited hand function complicate time-sensitive or complex tasks.

What to describe: Whether you can follow a daily routine reliably, including the care routines that physical disability requires; your ability to manage medications (especially relevant for complex medication regimens); any safety concerns related to your physical condition in daily life.

Prompts:

• Can you follow your daily care routine independently, or does it depend on support worker availability?
• Can you manage your medications reliably — including complex regimens, injections, or monitoring requirements?
• Are there safety concerns in your daily life related to your physical condition (fall risk, inability to respond to emergencies, medication error risk)?

Domestic Life

What to describe: Your ability to manage household tasks, cooking, shopping, and home maintenance. Be specific about what you can manage, what takes significantly longer due to your disability, and what you cannot do without assistance.

Prompts:

• Can you shop for groceries independently? What physical barriers or fatigue limits apply?
• Can you cook full meals independently? What aids do you use?
• Can you manage laundry — loading the machine, carrying laundry, folding?
• Can you vacuum, mop, or manage general household cleaning?
• What happens when household tasks are not completed?

Example: "I can cook simple meals using a perch stool to reduce standing time, and adapted utensils. I cannot lift heavy pots or carry items while walking with my frame. I cannot vacuum — the combination of posture required and the weight of the vacuum cleaner exceeds my capacity. Laundry is possible but painful; I manage it approximately once every 10 days, which is less frequent than I need. I cannot do a full grocery shop independently — fatigue and physical limitations mean I manage small, frequent shops only."

Communication

For most people with physical disability, communication itself is intact. However, describe any relevant exceptions:

• If fatigue from a neurological condition (such as MS or acquired brain injury) significantly affects your ability to communicate during or after effortful activities
• If a physical condition affects speech production, writing, or typing
• If you require communication aids

Mobility

This is frequently the central domain for physical disability.

What to describe: Your mobility in different environments — the home, community, on stairs, on uneven ground, over distances — what aids or equipment you use, and what the limits of your mobility are in practical terms.

Prompts:

• Can you walk? For how long and over what distance, reliably and safely?
• Do you use a wheelchair, walking frame, crutches, or other mobility aids?
• Can you manage stairs? In all environments?
• What happens when you exceed your mobility limits — pain, falling, extended recovery?
• Are there environments you cannot access due to your mobility limitations?

Example: "I use a manual wheelchair for community access. I can propel the wheelchair independently on flat surfaces for approximately 200 metres before fatigue prevents further independent propulsion. I cannot self-propel on inclines or rough ground. In my home, I use a walking frame for short distances between rooms. I cannot manage stairs without assistance, which prevents me from accessing approximately 40 per cent of community venues without advance planning."

Remember: Also describe what you cannot do with current equipment. If your manual wheelchair means you cannot access certain environments that a power wheelchair would allow, that is relevant. The gap between current equipment and what would allow full participation matters.

Interpersonal Interactions & Relationships

Physical disability can affect interpersonal relationships and social interactions in ways that are not always obvious.

What to describe: Any ways in which your disability affects your ability to initiate or maintain relationships, participate in social gatherings, or interact in community settings.

Example: "My communication fatigue from my acquired brain injury means I struggle to follow fast-paced social conversations, particularly in groups. I can manage one-to-one conversations well but find group social settings highly effortful. By mid-evening at any social event, I experience enough cognitive fatigue that I cannot effectively communicate and need to leave. This has significantly reduced my social participation."

Learning & Applying Knowledge

If you are currently studying, or have had to reduce or abandon education due to your physical disability, describe the functional barriers.

Example: "I attempted to return to university study two years after my spinal cord injury. I had to withdraw because I could not manage the energy demands of getting to campus alongside the cognitive demands of study. Online options helped with attendance but did not address the fatigue issue adequately."

Life Long Learning

Physical disability often disrupts or limits vocational participation. Describing your vocational goals — and the specific physical barriers to achieving them — is more useful for the assessment than simply describing current employment status.

What to describe: What your vocational goals or aspirations are; the specific physical barriers (fatigue, pain, mobility, attendance limitations) that prevent or limit pursuing them; what adjustments or support would make employment or skill development possible.

Prompts:

• What type of work do you aspire to do, or have you done previously?
• What specific physical barriers prevent you from pursuing this?
• What adjustments or support would be required?

Example: "I want to return to work in some capacity. Before my injury I worked full-time. I attempted retraining in an office-based role but found that sitting for extended periods causes significant back pain within 90 minutes, requiring me to lie down. This prevents sustained full-day employment in any setting. I currently work 8 hours per week, which is the maximum I can sustain before pain and fatigue prevent further function. With a fully ergonomic workstation and flexible hours, I may be able to build to 15 hours over time."

Mental & Emotional Health

Living with physical disability carries a significant mental health burden that is often overlooked. Depression and anxiety are significantly more common in people with acquired physical disability or chronic conditions than in the general population.

What to describe: Any mental health conditions present; how the emotional and psychological impact of your physical disability affects your functioning; whether mental health support is in place and accessible.

Example: "I have developed significant depression since my injury, which was not present before. I see a psychologist monthly. The depression particularly affects my motivation to engage in rehabilitation and self-care, which creates a compounding effect on physical functioning. I also experience health anxiety related to my condition — fear of deterioration affects my quality of life significantly."

Community, Social & Civic Life

What to describe: Your actual level of participation in community activities, versus what you would be able to achieve with adequate support.

Prompts:

• What community activities do you currently participate in?
• What prevents you from participating in activities you would otherwise value?
• Does transport, physical accessibility, fatigue, or pain restrict your participation?

Example: "My community participation is very limited. I attend a weekly aquatic therapy session, which is the only structured activity I manage. I previously played wheelchair basketball but the combination of transport barriers and fatigue after sessions became unmanageable. I have not attended any social events for several months because my current NDIS plan does not fund the support worker hours I need to access the community safely in the evening."

Domestic Life

See the section above for how physical disability affects shopping, cooking, cleaning, and household management specifically.

What to describe: Whether you can independently manage the full range of domestic tasks; what support or adapted equipment enables you to manage; and what you cannot manage even with current supports.

Example: "I live alone with funded support worker hours. I require personal care assistance in the morning (approximately 2 hours for showering, dressing, and preparing breakfast) and two evenings per week for domestic assistance — including cooking an evening meal and household cleaning. Without this support, I would not be able to maintain adequate self-care or a safe home environment. I have a shower chair and grab rails, but still require functional home modifications — specifically a height-adjustable kitchen bench — that are not yet in my plan."

Behaviours of Concern

For most people with physical disability, this domain will have minimal relevance. Note any relevant exceptions — for example, if an acquired brain injury or neurological condition affects emotional regulation or behaviour.

Physical Health

What to describe: Your physical health conditions and the ongoing management they require. This is central for physical disability participants — describe conditions, medications, appointments, pain, and the cumulative daily burden of health management.

Example: "I attend physiotherapy twice weekly, occupational therapy fortnightly, and my neurologist quarterly. Managing these appointments — including transport, recovery time, and administrative tasks — takes approximately one day per week of functional capacity. I take seven medications daily; managing these reliably requires a structured system because fatigue affects memory. I experience chronic pain rated 6–8 out of 10 on most days, which limits what I can attempt and affects my sleep, mood, and overall functioning."

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How to Strengthen Your Documentation

Keep a daily diary for at least four weeks before your assessment. Record what you can and cannot manage each day, including pain and fatigue levels, and any assistance you needed. Even brief daily entries build a specific, credible picture that a single assessment session cannot replicate.

Ask your occupational therapist for a functional summary. OT reports are among the most useful documents for physical disability assessments. Ask your OT specifically for a report that describes your functional capacity across I-CAN domain areas in daily-life terms — not just rehabilitation goals or equipment recommendations.

Document equipment and modifications. List what assistive technology and home modifications you currently have, what they enable you to do, and what gaps remain between your current equipment and what you would need for fuller participation.

Describe the "cost" of activities. Many people with physical disability can do certain things — but at a cost. Showering takes two hours of recovery time. Going to an appointment means being unable to cook dinner that evening. Documenting this cost is legitimate and important. It describes the real functional burden of your disability more accurately than a binary "can/cannot" account.

Do not present your best capacity as your typical capacity. The tendency to put your best foot forward — to show the assessor you are managing, to avoid appearing helpless — is natural. It can also result in a plan that does not reflect what you actually need. Accuracy, not performance, serves you best here.

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Sources: NDIA — Support needs assessment framework, NDIS Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Act 2024, People With Disability Australia (PWDA), Occupational Therapy Australia, Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA)