NDIS Occupational Therapy Explained: What to Expect From Your First Assessment
If you or a family member has just been approved for NDIS funding, one of the first names you'll come across is an occupational therapist, or OT. For many participants and their families, the first OT assessment raises plenty of questions: what actually happens, how long it takes, and how it affects the funding in your plan. Here's what to expect from an initial assessment with Renew Living, whether you're in Melbourne or Canberra.
What is an NDIS occupational therapy assessment?
An NDIS OT assessment is a structured conversation and observation session, usually held in your own home. Your occupational therapist gets to know how your disability, or the disability of a family member you support, shows up in everyday life: things like getting dressed, playing and learning, joining in family routines, moving safely around the house, or getting out into the community. It isn't a test. It's about understanding your goals and the gap between where you or your family member are at now and what you want to be able to do.
What happens during the visit?
Most initial assessments run 60 to 90 minutes and typically include a conversation about your goals and daily routine, an observation of how you or your family member move through the day and take part in everyday tasks, a discussion of strategies, equipment, or changes to the home or routine that might help, and time for your questions about how OT fits into your broader NDIS plan. Nothing about the process should feel rushed. Your OT is building an accurate picture of your life, not ticking boxes on a form.
Who is this assessment for?
You don't need a diagnosis in hand to benefit from an OT assessment. Renew Living works with NDIS participants of all ages, across physical, sensory, intellectual, and psychosocial disability, as well as people newly approved for funding who aren't yet sure what supports will help most. If you're unsure whether OT is the right starting point, that's a completely normal question to bring along and raise during the assessment itself.
How does this connect to my NDIS plan?
After the assessment, your OT uses what they've learned to guide the next steps, whether that's ongoing therapy or specifying additional support through a written report. Either way, you come away with the information you need to understand what's next, and the support to work toward your goals.
How long until my first appointment?
Renew Living are committed to making contact within 24 hours of a referral and will schedule assessments as quickly as capacity allows. When you speak with one of our team members on the phone we will let you know specifically what wait times, if any, there are for an assessment.
What should I have ready?
It helps to have your NDIS plan or a summary of your funding categories, a general sense of your goals (or your family member’s), and any existing reports from other allied health providers, educators, or your GP. Nothing formal is required; your OT will guide the conversation.
What if I've had an OT assessment with another provider before?
That's fine, and often helpful. Bring any existing reports along; your Renew Living OT will use them as a starting point rather than beginning from scratch, and will focus the new assessment on what's changed or what still needs addressing.
Getting started
A support coordinator, family member, plan manager, or you directly can make a referral. Renew Living's OTs work across Melbourne and Canberra, see clients in their own homes, and include clinicians fluent in several languages for participants who prefer to work in their first language.
Ready to book an assessment? Submit a referral and our team will be in touch within 24 hours.