Evidence That Moves an NDIS Plan Reassessment

What actually counts as evidence

Evidence that moves a reassessment describes function on ordinary days, was written recently, comes from someone qualified to say it, and is specific about what happens when support is not there. Everything else is background.

Families often arrive at a reassessment with a thick folder and still get a plan that looks like last year's. Usually the folder is full of diagnosis. A diagnosis explains why you need support. It does not tell a delegate how many hours, at what ratio, at what time of day, and that is the question a plan actually answers.

The four tests a document has to pass

Recent. A report from three years ago describes a person who may no longer exist. Anything central to your case should have been written or updated within the last twelve months.

Functional. The document should say what the person can do, what they cannot do alone, and what help looks like. "Requires assistance with personal care" is a category. "Needs physical assistance to transfer, two people for showering, and prompting through each step of dressing" is evidence.

Attributable. It should be clear who wrote it and what qualifies them to say it. An occupational therapist writing about transfers carries weight. The same sentence in an email from a family member carries a different kind of weight, which is not the same as none.

Consequential. The strongest line in any report is the one that says what happens without the support. Not "would benefit from", but what the actual risk or loss is.

The diary that beats a letter

A two to four week log kept by whoever is providing support is often the most useful document in the file, and it costs nothing but the effort. Record the date, the time, what happened, how long it took, and who did it.

It works because it converts an impression into a pattern. "He is up a lot at night" becomes eleven wake-ups across fourteen nights, averaging twenty minutes each, with three that ran past an hour. A delegate can do something with the second version.

It also catches the supports nobody has counted. Informal help from a parent, sibling or partner is real support, and leaving it out of the record makes the need look smaller than it is. If you are documenting overnight needs specifically, our piece on active and passive overnight support explains what distinction the notes should capture.

Who writes what

Allied health professionals write about function in their area: occupational therapists on daily living and equipment, physiotherapists on mobility and transfers, speech pathologists on communication and mealtime support, psychologists and behaviour support practitioners on behaviour support needs.

Treating doctors write about the condition, its trajectory and clinical risk. They are usually not the right people to specify support hours, and reports that try tend to be thin on the detail that matters.

Providers write about delivery: what the roster looks like now, what is not working, what has changed. Families and participants write about the ordinary day, which is the part nobody else sees. Our guide to eligibility and evidence goes through this split in more detail for home and living supports.

Five things that quietly weaken a file

• Reports that describe a good day, because the appointment happened on one.
• Copy and paste between documents, which makes three sources look like one.
• Goals written so broadly that no particular support follows from them.
• Supports listed with no indication of frequency or duration.
• Nothing at all about what the household is currently absorbing informally.

None of these are dramatic failures. They are the reason a file that looks complete produces a plan that does not fit.

Timing, and what to do this month

Start collecting six months before the reassessment, not six weeks. Allied health appointments book out, reports take weeks to write, and a report commissioned in a hurry is usually the generic one.

Three practical steps for this month: ask each of your current therapists when their most recent report was written and whether it still reflects the person; start the log; and write your own one page summary of what a typical week actually contains, including the parts you do yourself.

Funding decisions sit with the NDIA and turn on the evidence in front of the delegate. What you control is whether that evidence describes the real week. If you also want to prepare for the meeting itself, our notes on preparing for a planning meeting cover the conversation rather than the paperwork.

Frequently asked questions

How recent does an NDIS report need to be?

There is no single rule, but anything central to your case is best written or updated within the last twelve months. Older reports still have a place for establishing history and diagnosis. For current support needs, a delegate is deciding what you need now, so the document that describes now is the one that carries the argument.

Can I write evidence myself, or does it have to be a professional?

You can and should. A participant or family account of an ordinary week is evidence, and it covers what no professional sees. It works best alongside allied health reports rather than instead of them: the therapist establishes function in their area, and your record shows frequency, duration and what happens when support is not there.

Does a support log really make a difference?

It converts impressions into patterns, which is what a delegate can act on. Two to four weeks of dated entries recording what happened, how long it took and who provided the help gives specific frequency and duration figures. Those are exactly the details generic reports leave out.

Should I mention support my family provides for free?

Yes. Informal support is a fact about your situation, and leaving it out makes the need look smaller than it is. Record who does what, how often and how long it takes. Families sometimes omit it because it feels like proof they are managing, and the effect is the opposite of what they intend.