NDIS Reports: How to help you Dietitian prepare

At Savvy Dietetics, many of our clients are NDIS participants, or looking to apply for NDIS access. With this, we are often asked to write reports to support NDIS access, or maintain NDIS access.

We’re more than happy to support you by preparing an NDIS report, provided we have the information and time needed to ensure it accurately reflects your needs and supports your application. We understand how important NDIS funding can be for our clients, particularly for accessing the supports they need to live well and manage their day-to-day lives, and we’re committed to supporting you through this process.

Report Turnaround Timeframe

Generally, we require three month’s notice on any upcoming due reports. Where possible, all information required to accurately prepare the report should be provided at the start of the process.

This is because our team has limited time each week to for non-clinical activities like report writing. Having enough notice allows our team to pace themselves, to avoid overworking and burnout. If you ask for a report to be prepared with less than three month’s notice, we may not be able to meet your preferred deadline.

To ensure we can accurately assess your needs and prepare a comprehensive report, you must have worked with your dietitian for at least four months, with a minimum of 2–3 consultations. Your dietitian may recommend an additional consultation if further background information is needed.

Types of Reports - and what to send us for each of these

NDIS Access Report

This is a report submitted when applying for NDIS funding. Note, a dietetic report alone will not be sufficient to apply for NDIS. You will also need reports from your medical team, and likely an Occupational Therapy Functional Capacity Assessment (FCA).

What to send us:

• A copy of your OT FCA, and any other draft reports from other members of your team

• A document summarising:

  • What disabilities you are seeking NDIS funding for, and a list of how exactly these disabilities impact your nutrition/gut health, and overall functional capacity across NDIS domains

  • If you have any other medical conditions which you are not seeking NDIS funding for

  • What strategies and interventions you have tried regarding nutrition and gut health, including timelines (e.g. modified texture or elimination diets, strategies, supplements)

  • A list of allied health and medical professionals you have seen regarding your nutrition and gut health, including timelines

  • If relevant, a list of your goals with accessing NDIS (from your OT FCA)

• A summary of what dietetic funding you are seeking from NDIS, which usually includes:

  • Dietetic consults - how often would you like dietetic consults? We will convert this into the equivalent hours per year used across dietetic consults and non-face-to-face time used to prepare your dietetic plans and any NDIS mandated reports.

  • Subsidised ready meals - if you would like to try to access these, we would estimate how many meals you would want funded per week (e.g. 7 per week, equivalent to lunch daily), and what brands may be relevant so we can provide a rough quote to NDIS.

  • Home Enteral Nutrition - in specific circumstances, we may also be able to ask for HEN products (oral nutrition supplements, or tube feeds and accessories)

  • NOTE, as dietitians, we are no longer able to request funding for general supplements, electrolytes, kitchen equipment, smart watches or similar, except for in exceptional circumstances.

End of Plan Report

This is a report summarising your dietetic care over your NDIS plan period. It is often used to justify ongoing funding. In some cases, we may also request additional funding.

What to send us:

• A word document (not PDF, photo or similar please) detailing all of the following please:

  • Your NDIS funded disabilities

  • Your other medical conditions

  • What your current level of dietetic funding is (total amount or how many hours per year)

  • Your last OT FCA report

  • NDIS goals from your last plan

• Please also let your dietitian know if you are looking to ask for additional dietetic funding

EOP reports usually take us 1-2 hours to write, which we invoice for in line with the current NDIS pricing guide. As end of plan dates are finalised ahead of time, we expect at least three months’ notice for these.

Change of Circumstances Report

This report is provided in support of a request to vary a participant’s current NDIS plan. For example, this may apply where a participant currently has funding for supports related to autism and is seeking recognition of hEDS and funding for additional disability-related supports.

What to send us:

• A detailed description of the goal of your Change of Circumstance submission (e.g. what disabilities and services you are currently funded for, and what disabilities and services you are seeking to have funded, or funding increased for)

  • Please include a break down of what you would like funded from the dietetic perspective (see ‘NDIS Access Report’ for options). We need to know whether we are asking for funding to be maintained, or whether we need to write detailed justifications for increased funding across different areas (e.g. consults, subsidised ready meals, home enteral nutrition).

  • If you are seeking to have certain disabilities funded under NDIS (e.g. they are not currently funded), you will need to supply us with the information listed in the ‘NDIS Access Report’ section.

• Draft reports from all other relevant members of your team (e.g. OT FCA)

ART Report

This is a report submitted as part of an Administrative Review Tribunal proceeding.

What to send us:

• A clear summary on the goal of your ART case, and any specific implications to dietetics (e.g. I am at ART to try and have hEDS added as a funded disability to my plan, which also includes adding requesting specific funding for individual dietetic consults and home enteral nutrition)

• Any deadlines (e.g. hearings, submission dates)

• A copy of targeted questions, if you are at a stage in the proceedings where you have been provided with these. If possible, please provide us (or ask your support coordinator to provide us) with feedback on how you would like us to respond to each question. We may also require an additional 30-60min consult to clarify any questions around this to ensure we can provide an report that meets your needs

Understanding our professional obligations as Dietitians

As Dietitians, we have a professional responsibility to ensure that all NDIS reports we prepare are accurate, evidence-based, and appropriately reflect your individual circumstances. In certain situations, we are personally liable for the information and recommendations provided in a report.

As such, there may be situations where we are unable to provide a recommendation for something specific, which may be due to many reasons (e.g. our understanding of NDIS legislation, therapies which do not yet have a sufficient evidence base, or something outside of our scope).

Your dietitian may request additional consults to collect information needed to write your report. They may also not be able to create a report if you do not provide the information needed in time.

For all reports, your dietitian will keep track of all time used for report-related activities, which we will invoice in line with the NDIS Pricing Limits for when delivering the first draft, and again at the final draft (if any edits are made).

We understand that the NDIS is a lifeline for many clients living with complex disabilities, and our team is committed to helping you advocate for the funding and supports you need. We know that preparing the above can often be exhausting and tedious, but we appreciate your time, effort and collaboration throughout this process.

Savvy Dietetics