The questions the NDIS will ask, answered before you're in the room
Free tool · Before the meeting
The questions the NDIS will ask, answered before you're in the room.
A plan meeting, an access request, a school support meeting. They all come down to the same thing: can you describe, specifically, what your child or young person does on their own, what help only they need, and what happens when it isn't there. This page helps you write that down, in the six areas the NDIS Act names, and print it on one page.
How to use it
Fill in what applies. Skip what doesn't. Then download.
- Write about a normal week, not a good day. The hard days are the evidence.
- Be concrete. "Struggles socially" tells a planner nothing. "Eats lunch alone most days and has not been invited anywhere outside school this year" tells them everything.
- Separate what they do alone from what only works with help. Since August 2026 the law defines functional capacity as what a person can do without assistance, so that line matters more than it used to.
- If your young person can speak for themselves, give them the "in their own words" box. Their account belongs in the room.
- When you're finished, tap "Download my summary". You get a one-to-two page PDF built only from what you wrote, with the empty boxes left out. Nothing you type is sent to us or saved anywhere.
Before the meeting · prepared by the family using the free tool at ucsol.com.au/before-the-meeting · This organises the family's own account. It is not a clinical assessment.
Step one
About the meeting.
Step two
The six areas.
These are the activities the NDIS Act lists (s 24(1)(c)). For each one there are three boxes. Leave blank any that don't apply.
1. Communication
Understanding what's said, saying what they need, reading and writing for everyday purposes.
What they do on their own What only works with help that other people their age don't need What happens when that help isn't there2. Social interaction
Making and keeping friends, joining in, managing the unwritten rules, handling conflict.
What they do on their own What only works with help that other people their age don't need What happens when that help isn't there3. Learning
Taking in new information and skills, at school, in study or at work.
What they do on their own What only works with help that other people their age don't need What happens when that help isn't there4. Mobility
Getting around the home and the community, including transport.
What they do on their own What only works with help that other people their age don't need What happens when that help isn't there5. Self-care
Personal care, routines, eating, sleep, keeping safe.
What they do on their own What only works with help that other people their age don't need What happens when that help isn't there6. Self-management
Planning, decisions, money, time, appointments, the organisation of daily life.
What they do on their own What only works with help that other people their age don't need What happens when that help isn't thereStep three
In their own words.
If your young person can tell their own story, this box is theirs. What's hard, what they want, what help they'd actually use. Written by them, or by you writing down exactly what they said.
Step four
Who else sees them regularly.
The PDF is built on your device from what you've typed. Nothing leaves this page, and it is gone when you close it, so download before you leave.
If the download button doesn't work in your browser, use Print (Ctrl+P, or Share then Print on a phone) and choose Save as PDF. Only the completed sections print.
What this is, and isn't
It organises your account. It doesn't assess anyone.
The structure follows the six activity areas in the NDIS Act 2013 and the way the Act now defines functional capacity (s 9B), so what you write lines up with what a planner is looking for. It is not a functional assessment and produces no scores. Where a decision needs standardised evidence, a functional assessment by a clinician is the next step, and this page is a good thing to bring to it.
Support coordinators are welcome to send this page to families before a reassessment. There's nothing to sign up for.
Optional
Want a reminder before your meeting?
We'll send a short checklist the week before, and nothing else unless you ask. Add the form block below this Code block in Squarespace: name, email, meeting date.
Common questions
What people usually ask.
Is anything I type saved or sent to you?
No. The page has no storage and no connection to us. Your words exist only in your browser until you print or save them, and disappear when you close the page.
Can I use this for a Thriving Kids or school meeting?
Yes. The six areas are a sensible structure for any meeting about support, and schools in particular respond to specific examples over general descriptions.
Does this replace a functional assessment?
No. It's the family's account, organised. A functional assessment adds standardised tools, clinical interpretation and a report written for the decision. Bring this page to one; it makes the assessment better.
Can my support coordinator share it?
Please do. It's free, there's no sign-up, and it works on a phone.