NDIS I-CAN v6 Evidence Guide

What reports and documents actually help — and what to do if you don't have them

Disclaimer: This article reflects publicly available information about the I-CAN v6 assessment process as at August 2026. This guide does not constitute professional disability support or legal advice.

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Not all evidence is equal in the I-CAN v6 assessment.

Some participants arrive with folders of clinical reports and still receive plans that don't reflect their genuine needs — because the reports describe diagnoses and treatment goals rather than daily functional limitations. Others arrive with modest documentation but a clear, specific, well-observed account of how their disability affects every area of daily life — and receive accurate, well-supported plans.

This guide explains what evidence actually helps, what to ask your allied health team to include, how recent your reports need to be, and what to do if you don't have professional documentation.

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Why Evidence Matters in the I-CAN v6

The I-CAN v6 assessment is structured around a 60 to 90-minute conversation between the participant and an accredited assessor. That conversation is the primary assessment mechanism.

Supporting documents serve three purposes:

1. Corroboration — they confirm and substantiate what you describe verbally, making your account more credible and specific
2. Filling gaps — aspects of your functioning that are difficult to describe verbally, or that you may understate under the pressure of an assessment, can be captured in written documentation
3. Demonstrating the full range — for fluctuating conditions, or conditions where presentation varies significantly between settings, documents help the assessor understand what is not visible in the assessment room

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Documents That Carry the Most Weight

1. Occupational Therapy Functional Assessment

The single most valuable document for almost all I-CAN v6 assessments.

A well-written OT functional assessment describes:

• What you can and cannot do across daily life activities
• The level of assistance you require for specific tasks
• The frequency and severity of limitations
• Safety risks
• Equipment needs and functional justification

What to ask your OT for: A functional summary framed in I-CAN v6 domain terms — describing daily life functional capacity, not just clinical observations or rehabilitation goals. Specifically request that the report describes what you can and cannot do in Self Care, Domestic Life, Mobility, and any other domains relevant to your disability, in terms of frequency, level of assistance, and what happens without support.

Currency: Should be within the past two years wherever possible. For progressive or fluctuating conditions, even more recent is better.

2. Specialist Medical Reports

Reports from treating specialists (neurologist, physiatrist, rheumatologist, psychiatrist, etc.) are valuable for establishing the nature and severity of your condition and its trajectory.

What to ask for: A letter or report that includes not only diagnosis and treatment but also describes the functional impact — how the condition affects daily activities, what symptoms are present, what the prognosis and trajectory are.

What to watch for: Many specialist letters describe diagnosis, test results, and medication, but say little about functional impact. A diagnosis letter alone tells the assessor very little. Ask your specialist to include a paragraph specifically about functional impact and daily life limitations.

3. Behaviour Support Plans (BSPs)

For participants with behaviours of concern, an active and current BSP is among the most important documents. It demonstrates that behaviours have been formally assessed, are being managed with a structured plan, and require skilled, trained support.

Bring a current BSP and a summary of when it was developed, who developed it, and what it involves.

4. Physiotherapy Assessments

Particularly valuable for documenting mobility capacity, transfer ability, fatigue, and physical endurance. A physiotherapy report that describes your functional mobility — walking distance, transfer independence, fall risk, and the physical costs of mobility — complements an OT assessment well.

5. Speech Pathology Reports

Essential for participants with communication difficulties, AAC use, or dysphagia. A speech pathology report that describes communication capacity across different settings (familiar vs unfamiliar, calm vs pressured) is particularly useful, given that many communication difficulties are more apparent under demand than in a quiet one-on-one assessment.

6. Psychological or Neuropsychological Assessments

For cognitive, mental health, or psychosocial disability, a current psychological or neuropsychological assessment describing functional cognitive capacity — memory, executive function, processing speed, emotional regulation — provides evidence for domains where self-report is unreliable or limited.

7. Carer or Support Worker Statements

A written statement from a family member, carer, or support worker who knows you well is one of the most powerful forms of supporting evidence. Why? Because it describes your daily functioning from an observer's perspective — seeing what you do and do not do in real life, not what you manage in a clinical assessment.

A good carer statement covers:

• What assistance you currently provide and how often
• What you observe the participant to be able and unable to do independently
• Specific incidents or patterns that illustrate support needs
• What you believe would happen if support were not available

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Documents That Are Often Submitted But Have Less Impact

Diagnosis letters without functional detail

A letter stating "the patient has a diagnosis of X" provides useful background but does not itself describe support needs. The assessor needs to know how the diagnosis affects daily functioning, not just that the diagnosis exists.

Old reports more than two years out of date

For stable conditions, older reports can still provide useful context. For progressive, fluctuating, or recently acquired conditions, they may significantly understate current support needs. Always supplement old reports with a current functional update if possible.

Generic clinic letters or specialist correspondence

Brief clinical letters written for general purposes (referral letters, clinic summary letters) often lack the specificity needed for an I-CAN assessment. They can provide useful background but are not a substitute for a purpose-written functional report.

School reports

For adults, school reports are rarely relevant to current functional capacity. For children, a current educational assessment or support plan is more useful than historical school reports.

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Evidence by Domain: A Quick Reference

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What If You Don't Have Reports?

Not having professional reports does not prevent you from having an effective I-CAN v6 assessment. The assessor gathers information through conversation as well as documents.

But if you lack supporting evidence, your own written preparation document becomes even more important.

Keep a daily diary for four weeks. Brief daily notes — what you could and could not manage, what assistance you needed, pain and fatigue levels, what did not get done — build a specific, credible picture of daily functioning that a conversation alone cannot replicate.

Write a domain-by-domain preparation document. Describe how your disability affects each I-CAN domain in plain language, with specific examples, frequency, and severity. This is exactly what ICANReady is designed to help you do.

Bring a support person who knows you well. A family member or carer who can corroborate your descriptions and add their own observations is a valuable substitute for professional reports in many circumstances.

Ask your GP for a functional summary. Even if you don't have specialist reports, a current GP letter that describes your conditions, their functional impact, and your medication can provide useful supporting context.

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How to Ask Your Allied Health Team

Many allied health professionals are willing to provide functional summaries for NDIS assessments — they simply need to know what is useful. Here is what to ask:

"I am preparing for my NDIS I-CAN v6 assessment. Could you provide a functional summary that describes how my [condition] affects my ability to perform daily activities — what I can and cannot do, how often, with what level of assistance, and what the functional consequences are if support is not available? It would be particularly useful if this is framed in terms of the I-CAN v6 domain areas: Self Care, Domestic Life, Mobility, Communication, and so on."

Most OTs, speech pathologists, physiotherapists, and psychologists with NDIS experience will understand this request and be able to provide a useful document.

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ICANReady helps you build a structured preparation document that covers all 12 I-CAN domains — providing the kind of specific, functional, daily-life evidence that supports a thorough and accurate assessment, even when professional reports are limited.

Try ICANReady free →

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Sources: Centre for Disability Studies I-CAN v6 framework, NDIA Support Needs Assessment guidance (ndis.gov.au), Occupational Therapy Australia, Disability Advocacy Network Australia (dana.org.au)