I-CAN v6: What the New NDIS Assessment Tool Means for Allied Health
From 1 April 2027 the NDIS plans to set participant budgets from a support needs assessment built on I-CAN v6, rather than from an allied health report. The NDIA moved the start from mid-2026 to April 2027 in its 22 April 2026 announcement, and its new way of planning page now says the assessments start from April 2027. If you write FCAs, that single change is worth understanding early, because it moves your report from the thing that sets the budget to the evidence that supports it.
Here is a plain account of what I-CAN v6 is, how the assessment works, the twelve life domains it covers, and where a current, well written report still carries weight. It is written for OTs, physiotherapists, psychologists and other allied health clinicians in the Australian NDIS.
Contents
What I-CAN v6 actually is
I-CAN stands for the Instrument for the Classification and Assessment of Support Needs, and version 6 is the one the NDIS is adopting. It is not new technology. I-CAN was developed by the Centre for Disability Studies, and it has been used in the disability sector for over twenty years. The NDIA has engaged the University of Melbourne, in partnership with the Centre, to build its assessment on it. It is person centred, strengths based, and built on the World Health Organization ICF framework, the same framework a good FCA already draws on.
Under the new framework planning approach, a trained, accredited NDIS assessor uses I-CAN v6 to work out a participant’s support needs, and that becomes the basis for their budget. The stated aim, in the NDIS’s own words, is a fairer and more consistent process with less reliance on expensive professional reports.
The twelve life domains it covers
The assessment looks at function across twelve life domains, grouped the way the ICF groups them:
- Mobility
- Self-care
- Communication
- Interpersonal relationships
- Physical health
- Mental and emotional health
- Domestic life
- Community, social and civic life
- Learning and education
- Work and employment
- General tasks and demands
- Behaviour and safety
How the assessment works
The core of I-CAN v6 is a guided conversation, usually around three hours and able to be split across sessions, between a trained assessor and the participant. Family, carers or supporters can be there. The assessor explores what the person can do, how often they need support, and how much support they need, then writes it up in strengths based language. A separate questionnaire covers personal and environmental circumstances.
Two things matter here for clinicians. The assessor is a trained, accredited NDIS assessor, in the NDIA’s own words from its September 2025 announcement, and not necessarily an allied health professional. And the final plan is approved by a real person, not an algorithm.
When it starts
The NDIA announced on 22 April 2026 that new framework planning is delayed until 1 April 2027, and its planning page, current as of 26 August 2026, says support needs assessments are being introduced from April 2027. The September 2025 announcement said assessors would meet participants aged 16 and over first; children under 16 are not in the first stage. Treat exact dates as moving until the NDIS confirms them, and check the NDIS planning page before you tell a client a date.
Where your reports still fit
Reports are not going away. Under the new approach you can still submit allied health reports and specialist letters as supporting evidence, and the assessor considers them alongside the I-CAN conversation. Reports dated within the last two years carry the most weight.
What changes is the job your report is doing. It no longer sets the budget on its own. It gives the assessor a clear, current, functional picture of your client, especially where needs are complex. That puts a premium on three things: recency, functional detail rather than diagnosis, and coverage that maps to the domains the assessment uses.
How to write a report that still carries weight
Lead with function, not diagnosis. Say what the person can and cannot do day to day, and what happens without support.
Map to the domains. If your report speaks to mobility, self-care, communication and the rest in the assessment’s own terms, an assessor can line it up against their findings quickly.
Keep it current. A report older than two years carries less weight, so date it clearly and update it before a reassessment.
Be specific and honest about support: how often it is needed, how intense it is, and who currently provides it, including whether that informal support is sustainable.
Where Carearoo fits
The practical problem this creates is time. Your report now needs to be current, functional and domain aligned every time a client comes up for reassessment, which means writing more of them, faster, without dropping quality. The structure that holds up is the one in how to write an NDIS functional capacity assessment. Carearoo drafts a full FCA or progress report from your notes onto your own template in about five minutes, structured around function and the ICF domains, ready for you to review, edit and sign. It stays a draft under your clinical authority. If I-CAN v6 changes how often you need a current report, a faster way to produce one is worth having.
Frequently asked questions
Does I-CAN v6 replace allied health reports?
Not entirely. It replaces the report as the primary way budgets are set, but you can still submit reports and specialist letters as supporting evidence. They carry the most weight when dated within the last two years.
Who carries out the I-CAN v6 assessment?
A trained, accredited NDIS assessor, who is not necessarily an allied health professional, in a guided conversation with the participant. The final plan is approved by a person at the NDIA, not an algorithm.
When does I-CAN v6 start?
From 1 April 2027. The NDIA announced the delay from mid-2026 on 22 April 2026, and its planning page says assessments start from April 2027, with participants aged 16 and over first. Confirm exact dates with the NDIS, as detail is still being finalised.
What are the twelve domains?
Mobility, self-care, communication, interpersonal relationships, physical health, mental and emotional health, domestic life, community and civic life, learning and education, work and employment, general tasks and demands, and behaviour and safety, grouped along WHO ICF lines.
How this guide was written
Carearoo researches and drafts its guides with AI assistance, working from the primary sources linked in the text, and a person checks every fact against those sources before it is published. Last checked 7 September 2026.
Have this report drafted in about five minutes
Carearoo drafts the report from your notes on your own Word template. You review and sign off. We'll draft one of your de-identified cases for free so you can judge the output yourself. No cost, no pitch. After that it's $99 a report.