Navigating the NDIS Support Needs Assessment: I-CAN v6 and 2026 Reforms

The Support Needs Assessment (SNA) is a new, structured process the NDIA will use to determine a participant’s "reasonable and necessary" budget. It focuses on the level of support a person requires to live their daily life and achieve goals, rather than just identifying what they can or cannot do. This process is central to the "New Planning Framework" introduced by recent legislation

The NDIA plans to begin a staged rollout of the SNA from mid-2026. It is expected that all participants will transition to these new framework plans within approximately five years

Currently, the new assessment process and the associated I-CAN v6 tool are designed for participants aged 16 and over. There is no immediate intention to include children younger than 16 in the first rollout

The Instrument for the Classification and Assessment of Support Needs (I-CAN) version 6 is an Australian-designed, evidence-based tool that evaluates support needs across 12 domains of life, such as mobility, self-care, and community participation. The NDIA has licensed a customized version of this tool to serve as the foundation for the new SNA

While an FCA focuses on a person's functional impairments (deficits), the SNA focuses on support needs. The NDIA aims to move away from a "primary disability" or deficit-based approach. Additionally, unlike FCAs, which are often provided by a participant's own therapist, the SNA will be administered by NDIA-appointed assessors.

The NDIA’s goal is to reduce the burden on participants to source and pay for costly external reports. Their starting position is that new external evidence is not required for the broad SNA. However, specialized reports may still be necessary for "targeted assessments," such as those for high-cost assistive technology, home modifications, or complex behavior supports.

The NDIA is building a workforce of approximately 1,000 assessors. While the initial workforce will consist of allied health professionals, the agency plans to use a "train-the-trainer" model to eventually include non-allied health staff who are specifically trained and accredited to use the SNA tool. Participants will not have a choice in which assessor is assigned to them.

The assessment is designed as a semi-structured conversational interview

Duration: It is estimated to take roughly three hours.

Location: It can occur in person at an NDIA office, at the participant's home, or online.

Components: The meeting covers the customized I-CAN tool, a Personal and Environmental Circumstances (PEC) questionnaire (to capture things like living arrangements and informal supports), and any necessary targeted modules.

The scores from the assessment domains (measuring the frequency and intensity of support needed) will feed into a formula or algorithm to generate a total budget. These "New Framework Plans" will move away from line-by-line items toward a total funding amount split into:

Flexible Funding: Can be spent on any NDIS-approved support for that participant.

Stated Funding: Specifically earmarked for certain supports (like home mods) and cannot be moved.

Participants will receive a copy of their assessment report.

Under the new rules:

You cannot request changes to individual answers or scores within the report.

The overall SNA is a reviewable decision. If you believe the assessment is invalid, you can request an internal review to seek a brand-new assessment.

If dissatisfied with the internal review, participants can escalate the matter to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (ART). However, some community advocates are concerned that the ART may only be able to refer a person back for another assessment rather than varying the total budget directly.

The NDIA states the tool is holistic and can produce thousands of unique support profiles. For those with high complexity, targeted assessments will be used alongside the primary SNA. However, community members have expressed concern about whether a single "one size fits all" tool can truly capture the nuances of rare or complex conditions.