Host
How to be a better OT
Episode
How to be a better OT
Episode 2 · October 13, 2026
Tips for clinical report writing: NDIS and beyond
Occupational Therapist
Struggling to write long, complex OT reports without working unpaid hours? Or finding that your funding requests keep getting knocked back? Discover 5 essential principles to streamline your report writing, manage referrer expectations, and clearly articulate your client's support needs.
Episode Summary: In the Series 2 premiere of the How to Be a Better OT podcast, host Clare Batkin moves into a brand-new series focused on solving the most requested clinical topics. Kicking off with report writing – a vital skill for OTs working in the NDIS, aged care, and private practice – Clare shares 5 key tips to elevate your reports. Learn how to clarify the "functional why," gather robust multi-source data, write clear impairment-focused descriptions, format for busy readers, and apply the PEO model to your own writing routine.
Key Takeaways:
- Clarifying Purpose & Expectations: Why you must understand why an FCA or AT report is needed and how to manage referrer expectations when available funding hours are limited.
- Information Gathering That Makes or Breaks Your Report: Why relying solely on client interviews isn't enough. Discover how to incorporate carer feedback, MDT reports, and creative functional observations.
- Describing Function Clearly: The 4 critical elements every description must include (data source, quantification, assistance needed, and risks). Learn why NDIS reports require an impairment-focused approach over strengths-focused language, and why the word "independent" should be used with extreme caution.
- Formatting for Busy Readers: How to make 15+ page reports skimmable for NDIA planners using section subheadings, hyperlinked tables of contents, dot points, footnotes/endnotes, and an executive summary.
- Applying the PEO Lens to Your Writing: How analysing your Person factors (working in short bursts vs. half-day blocks), Environment factors (office body-doubling vs. quiet work-from-home days), and Occupation factors (brain-dumping function before writing recommendations) can eliminate writing overwhelm.
Links & Resources Mentioned:
- Freebie Tutorial: Watch the YOTT Tutorial: NDIS Report Writing in the Learning Library or via YouTube and see visual examples of how to describe your clients function.
- Freebie Download: Access the Executive Summary Example Template from the Learning Library.
- Blog Post: Read the guide on applying the PEO Approach to Report Writing.
- Course: Enrol in The OT Guide to Completing a Functional Capacity Assessment online course.
- Course: Learn how to capture and report capacity building progress in the online course Measuring Outcomes to Prove Our Value.
- Deep Dive: Access functional assessment tutorials inside the Connector Membership or Skills for OT CPD Bundle.
- Template: Purchase the white-labelled FCA Report Template.
- 1:1 Support: Book a private 1:1 report review or Zoom consultation directly with Clare.
If you found these report writing tips helpful, please subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a colleague! Be sure to tune in next time for Episode 2 of Series 2, where we will cover how to choose and use standardised assessments across any clinical setting.
Want to continue learning with Clare? Here are your options:
Check out my FREE Learning Library full of resources and courses
Sign-up for one-on-one or group training and support
Book a time for a chat to see how I can help
Sign-up for a Your OT Tutor membership
Follow me on social media – vist my Linktree for the links you need!
No transcript available for this episode.