OT Assessment
What is making daily life harder, and what could help?
An OT assessment is the most common starting point.
An occupational therapy assessment explores what is happening in everyday life, what matters to the person and what may make an activity, routine or role more workable. The OT brings this information together to recommend a clear next step.
Not sure where to start? Contact us and we will guide you.
What do you want to understand next?
Which OT assessment fits the question?
01
OT Functional Assessment
What is making a specific everyday activity, routine or role difficult, and what could help?
The OT considers the person, the activity, the environment and available support. The agreed service includes a written report with practical recommendations.
02
Sensory Profile
How are sensory experiences such as sound, touch or movement affecting particular activities or environments?
This focused assessment considers sensory experiences within the person's wider everyday context.
03
Functional Capacity Assessment
What functional evidence is needed for a defined NDIS question?
An FCA provides a structured report for the NDIA to consider. It does not decide NDIS access, supports or funding.
Read about Functional Capacity AssessmentsUnsure which assessment fits? Describe the everyday question in your referral. Our team can check the appropriate service before any assessment is agreed.
When is an OT assessment useful?
You do not need to know which assessment to ask for. It may be useful when:
Everyday activities take more effort, prompting or support than before.
Health, routines, responsibilities or circumstances have changed.
Strategies you have tried have not helped enough.
An activity works in one place but becomes difficult somewhere else.
Different people are giving different advice and a clearer direction is needed.
A referrer needs an OT to assess the situation and recommend what should happen next.
Where previous reports, plans or other information exist, the OT decides what remains clinically relevant and what still needs to be assessed.
See how this service applies to different stages of life.
What does the OT consider during an assessment?
01
What matters to you
Your goals and the activities, routines, the people around you or roles you want/need to make more workable.
02
What feels difficult
What happens during the activity, how much effort or support it takes and what changes on a more difficult day.
03
What affects the activity
How the physical space, sensory experiences, timing, expectations, communication and available support make the activity easier or harder.
04
What already works
Your strengths, preferences, existing strategies and support that is already working.
Together, this creates a clearer functional picture:
how everyday activities are actually working in the person's life?
What happens during an OT assessment?
- 1
Define the question
We clarify what needs to be understood, why the answer is needed and who should be involved.
- 2
Review relevant information
The OT considers reports, plans and agreed input, then decides what is clinically relevant.
- 3
Explore everyday activities
Conversation, observation or selected tools may help show what helps and what gets in the way.
- 4
Bring the information together
The OT considers the person, activity, environment and available support together.
- 5
Explain the next steps
We explain the findings, recommendations and appropriate options to consider.
Not every assessment needs every tool, setting or person. We confirm the scope, expected output and cost before starting.
What will you receive after the assessment?
What you receive depends on the question and the type of assessment agreed. A standalone OT Functional Assessment report may include:
01
The assessment question
What the assessment was asked to clarify.
02
Strengths and goals
The person's roles, priorities and everyday context.
03
Activities and environment
The activities, settings and support considered.
04
Information gathered
Relevant conversation, observation and selected tools.
05
OT reasoning
How the information fits together functionally.
06
Practical next steps
Recommendations and appropriate options to consider.
Depending on the assessment, recommendations may include
- Practical strategies or changes to the activity, routine or environment.
- Changes to the type or level of support already available.
- Ongoing OT intervention, when this is clinically appropriate.
- Support from an allied health assistant under an OT plan.
- No further OT involvement where the current supports or strategies are already sufficient.
- Referral to another professional or service where OT is not the most appropriate next step.
- A more focused assessment, Functional Capacity Assessment or another service where further information is needed.
An OT assessment does not provide a medical diagnosis or guarantee that a funder will approve a recommendation.
What does an OT assessment cost?
Our current therapy rate is
$581.97
3 hours of OT work at $193.99 per hour
What the package includes?
The three hours cover the agreed assessment work and a written report with recommendations. Before starting, we confirm the question the assessment will answer, the scope and the expected output.
Planning to use Medicare or another funding source?
You can pay privately. With an eligible Medicare referral, a rebate may apply to an eligible OT consultation, but it does not cover the full package or report writing. Other funding depends on the plan and rules that apply. We confirm the payment arrangement before the assessment begins.
How to get started
Select Start a Referral below. This opens our New Patient Referral form, which you can complete for yourself or for the person who will receive the service.
You can start by describing the activity, the challenge, the goal, or what you have noticed and what you hope could become more workable.
The most useful part of the form
Tell us about the everyday activities that are difficult, the challenges you are seeing, what has already been tried and the person’s goals. Share as much useful detail as you can.
This helps us understand the clinical question, check which service may fit and consider which available OT may be the most suitable clinical match.
We consider service fit and current availability, then contact you or the nominated contact to organise the first appointment.
Our admin team will call you to sort out paperwork and book your Initial Appointment with your matched OT, which is usually a phone call first.
