The NDIS I-CAN Assessment Is Coming. Here Is What It Is and How to Walk In Prepared.

There is a big change coming to the NDIS that has received far less attention than the funding cuts and eligibility overhaul — and for many participants, it may have a more immediate and direct impact on their plan than anything else announced this year. It is called the I-CAN. The participants who understand what it involves — and prepare for it — will be in a fundamentally different position to those who walk in cold.

What exactly is the I-CAN assessment?

The I-CAN (Instrument for Classification and Assessment of Support Needs, version 6) is a nationally standardised tool that replaces the old model of collecting allied health reports and submitting them to the NDIA for planning purposes. Instead of your plan being shaped primarily by documents written by your treating team, it will now be shaped by a structured, in-person conversation between you and a trained NDIA assessor.

The NDIA describes it as a "semi-structured interview" — not a test, not a medical exam, but a guided conversation about your daily life and where you genuinely need support to live well. The assessor comes to you, at a time and place that works for you, and you are encouraged to bring a family member, carer, or advocate.

What you say in this conversation — and how clearly you can describe your real, day-to-day support needs — will directly influence the funding the NDIA allocates to your plan.

The 12 areas of daily life the assessor will explore

The I-CAN covers 12 domains of daily functioning. For each area, the assessor will ask about what you can do independently, what you struggle with, what support you currently receive, and what would happen without that support.

• Mobility — Moving around your home and community
• Self-Care — Personal hygiene, dressing, eating, toileting
• Communication — Expressing and understanding information
• Learning — Acquiring new skills and knowledge
• Applying Knowledge — Decision-making, problem solving, managing tasks
• General Tasks — Managing daily routines and demands
• Social Interaction — Relating to others, forming relationships
• Domestic Life — Household tasks, cooking, cleaning, budgeting
• Community Life — Accessing services, transport, appointments
• Social Life — Friendships, recreation, participation
• Mental Health — Emotional wellbeing, anxiety, mood regulation
• Behaviours of Concern — Behaviours that require specialist support

What happens on the day

• The assessor comes to you. A trained, accredited NDIA assessor will visit you at your home or another location of your choosing. You choose the time. You can have a family member, carer, support coordinator, or disability advocate present throughout.
• A structured conversation about your daily life. The assessor will walk through each of the 12 domains and ask how you manage each area, what support you currently receive, and what would happen without it. The conversation can take up to three hours but does not need to be completed in one sitting.
• Your responses shape your funding score. The assessor uses the I-CAN tool to score your support needs across all 12 domains. This score feeds directly into the calculation of your plan budget. The clearer and more specific your responses, the more accurately the tool captures your real support needs.
• Your existing reports still matter — as supporting evidence. Your GP letters, OT reports, therapy assessments, and specialist opinions are still important. They now play a supporting role — corroborating what you describe in the interview rather than being the primary basis for your plan. Make sure your treating team's reports are current and aligned with your I-CAN responses.

How to prepare — six things to do before your assessment

• Start a daily support journal now. For the next few weeks, keep simple notes about where you needed support each day — personal care, cooking, transport, social situations, managing tasks. Include both routine support and moments where things were harder than usual. Real, specific examples are far more powerful in the interview than general statements.
• Map your needs against the 12 domains before the day. Go through each of the 12 I-CAN domains listed above and write down, for each one: what you can do independently, what you need support with, how often, and what happens without that support. This is the single most effective way to ensure nothing is missed in the conversation.
• Talk about your hardest days, not just your average days. Many participants unconsciously describe their best functioning when speaking to professionals, because it feels more dignified. In the I-CAN context, the assessor needs to hear about variability — the days your condition flares, the effort behind tasks that look simple from the outside, the cost of coping that is invisible to others.
• Bring a support person — always. A family member, carer, support coordinator, or disability advocate can add context, correct gaps, and ensure your full picture is captured. They can speak to what they observe in your daily life that you might not think to mention. Do not attend alone if you can avoid it.
• Ask your treating team to align their reports to the I-CAN domains. OT assessments, GP letters, and therapy reports are now supporting documents, not primary evidence. Ask your treating professionals to frame their reports around the 12 domains and to use language that directly addresses functional capacity, support frequency, and what would happen without support.
• Prepare your goals and what you want your plan to achieve. The I-CAN assessment is also connected to your planning conversation. Being clear about your goals — what you want to be able to do, what independence looks like for you, and what is currently out of reach — helps the assessor understand not just your current needs but your future direction. Use PlanMind's free Goal Planner and Plan Decoder to get your thinking organised before the day.