Costly NDIS medical reports to prove disability scrapped in favour of interview with internal assessor
A major shake-up of the NDIS will see expensive medical reports scrapped, with funding decided by internal assessors. Here’s what it means for you.
A controversial process which saw National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants spending thousands of dollars on expensive medical reports to prove their disability is to be scrapped.
Here’s what you need to know:
What’s changing?
At the moment participants who seek funds need to prove they have a disability in order to get support. Often that comes in the guise of expensive medical reports from GPs, specialists or allied health professionals. Participants have long criticised this process due to concerns reports are either not being read or ignored by staff making decisions about NDIS plans. Many of these reports which can cost thousands of dollars are paid for by the taxpayer.
Controversially, former CEO of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) Rebecca Falkingham revealed earlier this year that staff didn’t have the time to read reports that were hundreds of pages long.
From mid-2026, participants aged 16 and older who are having their plans reviewed, will undergo an interview, up to three hours long, with agency assessors. The NDIA says this will improve consistency. They will ask about their support needs, rather than the way they are impaired.
What will the assessment look like?
The NDIA has procured a license for a new needs assessment tool, known as the Instrument for Classification and Assessment of Support Needs (I-CAN) version 6.
This tool will focus on a participant’s disability support needs rather than functional impairments.
It will be used by trained, accredited assessors employed by the NDIA to help assess a participant’s disability support needs.
I-CAN questions are related to 12 domains and some examples include questions about mobility such as how someone moves about, any equipment that is needed to get about and any transport support needs.
There are also questions about communication, such as what someone’s preferred methods of communicating and any support needs they have.
Additional assessments will be provided for people with complex needs.
Tell me more about this new tool?
I-CAN has been designed by the University of Melbourne and the Centre for Disability Studies.
It has been refined over 20 years and is used in programs including the national Disability Support for Older Australians program.
The two bodies will work with the NDIA to use and modify the tool to ensure it is fit-for-purpose within the scheme.
Its selection follows a competitive procurement process, supported by a disability lived experience expert advisory group.
What are the concerns?
Some people in the disability community are worried that internal assessments won’t reflect their needs in the same way as a report from a medical professional who knows them.
Every Australian Counts has launched a petition calling for participants to be still allowed to provide a medical report if they want.
With two days to go before the petition closes there are almost 5000 signatures.
It says there are concerns a technological tool will be based on a computer algorithm.
It says it is “best practice that a professional who knows a participant well, is well placed to advise needs”.
What NDIS Minister Jenny McAllister say?
Minister Jenny McAllister says this new process will make the NDIS fairer, simpler, and easier for participants.
She says medical reports can cost a lot of money for people to source and some people can’t afford them if they don’t have the funds available in their plans to pay for them.
“This is a crucial step towards ensuring that we use the latest technology to make sure that we meet the needs of Australians with disability,” she says.
Reaction
The Specialist Disability Accommodation Alliance says the reform presents a vital opportunity to establish a fairer, more consistent, and person-centred approach to identifying support needs.
However, it says the new tool must be co-designed, tested, and refined with input from people with disabilities to ensure it is genuinely inclusive, culturally safe, and responsive to a wide range of support needs and that NDIA staff receive comprehensive training.
Originally published as Costly NDIS medical reports to prove disability scrapped in favour of interview with internal assessor
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