NDIS assessment tool update: I-CAN v6 selected

The NDIA has announced that the Instrument for the Classification and Assessment of Support Needs (I-CAN v6) will be adopted as the new tool for measuring participant support needs in the NDIS. Rollout is planned from mid-2026, in stages.

Assessments will be undertaken by trained, accredited assessors. The I-CAN website confirms that OTs can be accredited in the tool, but the NDIA has not yet outlined how the assessment workforce will be structured. While it is clear that assessments will be organised by the NDIA, it remains uncertain whether assessors will be directly employed by the Agency or engaged through contracted partners.

The I-CAN is not new to the sector. A customised version is being applied in the Disability Supports for Older Australians program, where assessments are completed by trained allied health professionals and used to guide service provision.

The staged rollout will mean that, for some time, many participants will continue under current planning processes while others transition to the new arrangements. OTs may therefore need to work across both systems in parallel.

OTA is reviewing the implementation details, transition arrangements and safeguards, and will continue to advocate for OTs to be recognised as central to the new assessment system, and for the process to be transparent, trauma-informed and culturally safe.

Read the NDIS Media releases here:

• New tool to deliver simpler pathway to disability supports | NDIS
• Developing a new support needs assessment | NDIS

Learn more about I-CAN v6 here:

• About the I-CAN