Information about treating health professionals who can provide best practice evidence of disability.

Treating health professional

Any member of a multidisciplinary team:

  • ABI health professionals.

Disability evidence (in preference order)

  1. Care and need scale (CANS) (17 years and over)
  2. World Health Organisation disability assessment schedule (WHODAS) 2.0 (17 years and over) or PEDI-CAT (16 years and under).

Health professional

Autism diagnosed by a specialist multi-disciplinary team, paediatrician, psychiatrist or clinical psychologist:

  • Paediatrician
  • Psychologist
  • Psychiatrist
  • Occupational Therapist
  • Speech Therapist.

Disability evidence (in preference order)

  1. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition (DSM-V)
  2. Vineland adaptive behavior scale (Vineland-II)
  3. World Health Organisation disability assessment schedule (WHODAS) 2.0 (17 years and over) or
  4. PEDI-CAT (16 years and under).

Treating health professional

  • Occupational Therapist
  • Physical Therapist
  • Pediatrician
  • Physiotherapist.

Disability evidence (in preference order)

  1. Gross motor functional classification scale (GMFCS)
  2. Other: Manual ability classification scale (MACS)
  3. Other: Communication function classification system (CFCS).

Treating health professional

  • Audiologist.

Disability evidence (in preference order)

  1. Hearing impairment responses and groupings guide (17 years and over) or,
  2. PEDI-CAT (16 years and under)
  3. Other: Hearing acuity score.

Health professional

Any member of a multidisciplinary team, such as a:

  • Paediatrician
  • Psychologist
  • Occupational Therapist
  • Speech Therapist.

Disability evidence (in preference order)

  1. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition (DSM-V)
  2. Vineland adaptive behavior scale (Vineland-II)
  3. 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)

  1. Disease steps
  2. Patient determined disease steps (PDDS)
  3. Other: Expanded disability status scale (EDSS).

Health professional

  • Paediatrician
  • 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:

  1. Life Skills Profile 16 measure (LSP-16)
  2. Health of the Nation Outcomes Scale (HoNOS)
  3. 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)

  1. Level of lesion, or
  2. American spinal injury association impairment scale (ASIA/AIS)
  3. World Health Organisation disability assessment schedule (WHODAS) 2.0 (17 years and over) or
  4. PEDI-CAT (16 years and under).

Treating health professional

Any member of a multidisciplinary team

  • Neurologist.

Disability evidence (in preference order)

  1. Modified Rankin Scale (mRS).

Treating health professional

  • Ophthalmologist.

Disability evidence (in preference order)

  1. Vision impairment questionnaire (17 years and over) or
  2. PEDI-CAT (16 years and under)
  3. Other: Visual acuity rating.

Health professional

  • Paediatrician
  • Occupational Therapist
  • Speech Therapist
  • Physiotherapist
  • Social Worker.

Disability evidence (in preference order)

  1. World Health Organization disability assessment schedule
  2. (WHODAS) 2.0 (17 years and over)
  3. 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
15 November 2024