For each primary disability, these treating health professionals are the most appropriate to provide the standardised assessments that are considered "best practice" in evidence.
Treating health professional
Any member of a multidisciplinary team:
- ABI health professionals.
Disability evidence (in preference order)
- Care and need scale (CANS) (17 years and over)
- World Health Organisation disability assessment schedule (WHODAS) 2.0 (17 years and over) or PEDI-CAT (16 years and under).
Treating health professional
Any member of a multidisciplinary team:
- Psychologist
- Occupational Therapist
- Speech Therapist.
Disability evidence (in preference order)
- Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition (DSM-V)
- Vineland adaptive behavior scale (Vineland-II)
- World Health Organisation disability assessment schedule (WHODAS) 2.0 (17 years and over) or
- PEDI-CAT (16 years and under).
Treating health professional
- Occupational Therapist
- Physical Therapist
- Pediatrician
- Physiotherapist.
Disability evidence (in preference order)
- Gross motor functional classification scale (GMFCS)
- Other: Manual ability classification scale (MACS)
- Other: Communication function classification system (CFCS).
Treating health professional
- Audiologist.
Disability evidence (in preference order)
- Hearing impairment responses and groupings guide (17 years and over) or,
- PEDI-CAT (16 years and under)
- Other: Hearing acuity score.
Treating health professional
- Psychologist
- Occupational Therapist
- Speech Therapist.
Disability evidence (in preference order)
- Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition (DSM-V)
- Vineland adaptive behavior scale (Vineland-II)
- World Health Organisation disability assessment schedule (WHODAS) 2.0 (17 years and over) or PEDI-CAT (16 years and under).
Treating health professional
- Neurologist
- Disease steps trained Nurse examiner.
Disability evidence (in preference order)
- Disease steps
- Patient determined disease steps (PDDS)
- Other: Expanded disability status scale (EDSS).
Treating health professional
- Psychiatrist
- General Practitioner (GP)
- Psychologist (in limited circumstances).
Other specialist health professionals who can provide evidence:
- Clinical Psychiatric staff (eg. Mental health/Psychiatric nurses, Occupational Therapists, Social Workers)
- Mental Health Allied Health Professionals
- Australian Mental Health Outcomes and Classification Network (AMHOCN) trained mental health staff (including Mental Health Peer Workers).
Disability evidence
A statement from a treating health professional, including information about:
- how long they have been working with you
- evidence of the mental health condition, a diagnosis is helpful if available
- treatments you have explored and any you have not tried (with reasoning)
- how your mental health condition impacts on your everyday life (a functional assessment may be helpful).
Functional assessments (in order of preference):
These can be provided by a treating health professional or other people as listed above:
- Life Skills Profile 16 measure (LSP-16)
- Health of the Nation Outcomes Scale (HoNOS)
- World Health Organisation Disability Assessment Scale (WHODAS).
Find out more about providing supporting evidence on the Psychosocial disability page.
Treating health professional
Any member of a multidisciplinary team:
- Neurologist
- Physiotherapist
- Occupational Therapist
- Recreational Therapist
- Psychologist
- Psychiatrist.
Disability evidence (in preference order)
- Level of lesion, or
- American spinal injury association impairment scale (ASIA/AIS)
- World Health Organisation disability assessment schedule (WHODAS) 2.0 (17 years and over) or
- PEDI-CAT (16 years and under).
Treating health professional
Any member of a multidisciplinary team
- Neurologist.
Disability evidence (in preference order)
- Modified Rankin Scale (mRS).
Treating health professional
- Ophthalmologist.
Disability evidence (in preference order)
- Vision impairment questionnaire (17 years and over) or
- PEDI-CAT (16 years and under)
- Other: Visual acuity rating.
Treating health professional
- Occupational Therapist
- Speech Therapist
- Physiotherapist
- Social Worker.
Disability evidence (in preference order)
- World Health Organization disability assessment schedule
- (WHODAS) 2.0 (17 years and over)
- PEDI-CAT (16 years and under).
For some disabilities, information about impact on functionality may not be required. These disabilities are listed in the Operational Guidelines.
This page current as of
9 May 2024