What an FCA covers, and what it doesn’t
What a functional capacity assessment looks at, what it cannot decide, and what you get at the end of one.
A functional capacity assessment describes what someone can and cannot do across the parts of daily life, and what would change that. It is the piece of evidence a funder leans on hardest, and it is also the one most often asked to answer questions it was never designed to answer.
What it looks at
- Daily living: showering, dressing, meals, medication, housework, shopping.
- Mobility and transfers: moving around the home, getting in and out of bed, chairs, cars, and around the community.
- Communication: being understood, understanding others, managing phone calls and appointments.
- Cognition: planning, memory, initiation, problem-solving, safety awareness.
- Social and community participation: what someone does outside the house, and what stops them.
Assessment happens where the difficulty actually is, which usually means at home. A kitchen tells you more about meal preparation than a clinic room ever will, and a bathroom answers questions no interview can.
Function is described across good days and bad ones. A report describing someone at their best is not evidence, because it is not what the funder is being asked to fund.
What it is not
It is not a diagnosis
An FCA describes function, not medical condition. Diagnosis comes from the treating team, and the assessment works from it rather than towards it.
It is not, by itself, a decision about housing
An FCA can carry a housing section, and often should. But specialist disability accommodation and supported independent living have their own evidence requirements on top. Ask for those explicitly at referral if that is where the plan is heading, rather than hoping a general FCA will cover it.
It is not an equipment script
Recommending that someone needs a wheelchair is not the same as specifying one. Prescription is separate work, with its own trial and quoting process: see how an assistive technology assessment runs.
It is not a support plan
It evidences what support is reasonable and necessary. Turning that into a roster of care is the coordinator’s work, not the assessment’s.
What you get
A written report the funder can act on: what was observed, what was measured, what it means for daily life, and what is recommended with reasons attached. Standardised measures are used where they add something rather than by default: a score with no explanation attached does not help a delegate make a decision.
From the last assessment visit to the final report is usually two to three weeks. Complex situations take longer, and we say so at the visit rather than letting the date quietly slide.
How long it takes
Expect more than one contact. A typical assessment involves an initial visit, often a second one to see a different part of the day or to speak with support workers, then the report. Complex situations take longer, and a report rushed to hit a plan date tends to come back with questions.
Where we do this
- Murray Bridge Functional Capacity Assessments
- Mount Barker Functional Capacity Assessments
- Gawler Functional Capacity Assessments
- The Adelaide Hills Functional Capacity Assessments
- The Riverland Functional Capacity Assessments
- Southern Adelaide Functional Capacity Assessments
- Adelaide Functional Capacity Assessments
Common questions
How long does a functional capacity assessment take?
Usually more than a single visit: an initial assessment, often a second contact, then the written report. Complex situations take longer.
Does the assessment have to happen at home?
Wherever the difficulty actually is. That is usually home, but it can be a workplace or the community if that is where the barrier shows up.
Can an FCA be done by telehealth?
Parts of one can, and what that looks like is set out separately. Anything that depends on seeing the environment, home modifications above all, needs someone on site.
Will the report include housing recommendations?
It can, and it should if that is the decision being made. Say so at referral, because specialist disability accommodation and supported independent living carry extra evidence requirements.
Work with us
Referrals open right here. Questions go to the same inbox.
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