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Family Law Medico Legal Reports

family law ot report

Family law matters can be complicated, though even more so when one party has a disability, a child of the partnership has a disability, or family violence has caused alleged psychological injury which results in additional care needs or reduced earning capacity for one party.

An OT report is used to define the functional impact of any disability, and to determine what care, equipment and home modifications are required as a result, and what those needs are likely to cost over time. An OT can also assess the work capacity for either party to determine the impact on future earning capacity. These reports are used when determining property settlements, spousal maintenance, parenting orders, and child support for family law matters that are in mediation, or that are being contested in the Family Court.

Independent OT Medico Legal has prepared functional capacity reports for family law matters since 1984. Two senior occupational therapists attend every assessment at no extra cost, enabling our robust peer review system.

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40+ Years Experience
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When OT Evidence Helps in Family Law

Where one party has a disability, whether long-standing or acquired during the relationship, the OT report defines current functional capacity and projects lifetime care, equipment and home modification needs. Where this disability impacts one party’s capacity to work, a thorough work capacity assessment and report can also be prepared to help define future earnings.

Property settlement and spousal maintenance calculations need this evidence to be defensible. We utilise medical records provided, our own physical cognitive assessments, and detailed interview to provide a robust report which is suitable for negotiated settlement, mediation or contested hearing.

Where a child has a disability and will be primarily cared for by one party, the OT assessment quantifies the day-to-day care load on the primary carer and projects the child’s lifetime support needs across phases of their life.

The report may be used to inform parenting orders, child support and any departure application by setting out the actual hours of care, equipment and home modifications required, and the impact on the primary carer’s capacity to undertake paid employment.

Where family violence has caused psychological injury, the OT report describes the functional impact in observable terms: concentration, emotional regulation, tolerance for interpersonal stress, and capacity to sustain employment. It addresses the realistic prospect of paid work in the short, medium and long term.

The report uses the same trauma-informed assessment format described below, and where indicated separates the functional impact of the family violence from any pre-existing condition.

What unites these matters is the question the OT answers: what does this person (or this child) need as a result of their condition or disability, and what is the realistic cost of meeting that need over time.

What the Report Quantifies

Typical Assessment Outputs

Whatever the underlying scenario, the OT report sets out the same quantified elements in concrete, costed terms:

  • Past gratuitous care provided by family members or informal supports.
  • Current and projected paid attendant care, with hours provided by task, and calculated per week/annum.
  • Equipment requirements, including mobility, communication, environmental and assistive technology where necessary.
  • Home modifications appropriate to the current residence and likely long-term housing.
  • Domestic services, including cleaning, laundry, meal preparation and garden maintenance, quantified by hours per week/annum.
  • Functional impact on earning capacity, including residual capacity for paid work where relevant.
  • Specialist support needs, including case management, allied health and therapy.

Depending on the matter, the functional impact may mean that one party has difficulty driving, attending to domestic tasks, attending to self-care, providing parenting care to a dependant, or completing work tasks. The OT assessment defines the functional impact and costs the associated care, domestic services and equipment required as a result.

Who We Work With

Our family law reports are prepared on instruction from solicitors acting for either party, from single-expert and court-appointed engagements; and from Family Dispute Resolution practitioners working to inform settlement before contested hearing. We apply the same methodology regardless of the instructing party.

Family Law Firms

Solicitors acting for either party in property settlement, spousal maintenance, parenting and child support matters across all Australian jurisdictions.

Single Expert Appointments

Single-expert briefings agreed between parties and court-appointed engagements under the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia rules.

Mediators & FDR Practitioners

Family Dispute Resolution practitioners and mediators briefing OT evidence to inform settlement discussions before a matter proceeds to contested hearing.

Our senior occupational therapists cover all seven states and territories, and every assessment is conducted in line with the two-OT model described below. In-home assessment is preferred where day-to-day care and the home environment are central to the question.

What Our Reports Cover

A family law report is an evidentiary document built to support property settlement, spousal maintenance, parenting orders and child support, and to hold up under scrutiny at mediation, conciliation conference or contested hearing.

Functional Capacity

Concrete description of current functional capacity across physical, cognitive and psychological domains, drawn from medical records and direct assessment observations.

Past and Future Care

Gratuitous care quantified from injury or onset to the date of assessment; and lifetime paid attendant care costed by phase of life. Where 24-hour, waking-night or sleepover care is clinically indicated, we explain why and how often this is required.

Equipment and Home Modifications

Mobility, communication, environmental and assistive technology equipment will be recommended as required, with replacement cycles specified. Home modifications appropriate to the current residence and likely long-term housing, including specialist disability accommodation will be specified where indicated.

Domestic Services and Family Support

The need for support with cleaning, laundry, meal preparation, garden maintenance and dependent care is determined through assessment, and quantified in hours by task; including the primary carer's load where a child has a disability.

Earning Capacity

Where relevant: residual capacity for paid work is determined; along with the modifications that would make a return sustainable, and the realistic prospect of paid employment in the short, medium and long term, having regard to the person's age, education, training and experience.

Causation and Pre-existing Conditions

Functional impact of the family-violence injury or disability is separated from any pre-existing impairment; drawing on medical records, general practitioner notes, specialist reports and the person's own account. Where the evidence is mixed, we say so.

Our Medico Legal Professionals

Our Approach

Two senior occupational therapists are present at every examination; trauma-informed assessment provided in the setting that suits the matter; and a senior clinical review on every report to ensure every report is thorough, robust and defensible.

1

Two Senior OTs at Every IME

  • Two senior occupational therapists attend every family law assessment, included at no additional cost to the referrer.
  • Two sets of observations and a shared analysis of function, particularly valuable where psychological injury, family violence or complex care interact.
  • Reports are authored by one occupational therapist, with the second therapist providing peer review.
2

Trauma-Informed Throughout

  • Assessments are planned in collaboration with the claimant, paced to their tolerance, with a support person welcome to attend.
  • Family violence assessments call for additional care around timing, location, safety, and the absence of the other party.
  • In-home assessment is preferred where day-to-day care and the home environment are central to the question.
3

Senior Review and Track Record

  • Every report is reviewed by a senior clinician before it leaves our office. This peer-review culture is central to the consistency and defensibility of our work.
  • Evidence given in family law matters across Australian jurisdictions.
  • 40+ years of practice and thousands of medico-legal reports delivered across Australia.

"Our practice is trauma-informed: assessments are paced to the tolerance of the person, and conducted with the dignity a family law assessment requires."

Why Choose Independent OT Medico Legal

Family law matters demand occupational therapy evidence that is independent of either party, and defensible at mediation, conciliation conference or contested hearing.

Two Senior OTs at Every Assessment

Two senior occupational therapists attend every family law IME, included at no additional cost to the referrer. Two sets of observations and a shared analysis of function is particularly important in cases involving psychological injury, family violence, or complex care needs. Reports are authored by one occupational therapist, with the second therapist providing peer review.

Senior Clinicians Only

The occupational therapists we allocate to family law matters bring substantial experience across all areas of disability, including paediatrics, musculoskeletal injury, cognitive impairment, and psychological injury; with direct exposure to lifetime care planning, attendant-care costing and earning-capacity assessment.

Single Expert Witness Capability

We accept single-expert briefings agreed between parties, and court-appointed engagements under the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia rules.

Trauma-Informed Throughout

All our therapists are trained in trauma informed practice. This is particularly relevant for family violence matters, though is relevant in some way to all assessments. Our assessments are scheduled and conducted with safety, dignity and with the claimant's tolerance considered throughout the assessment process. Support persons are welcome, and brief rest breaks are encouraged if necessary throughout the assessment.

Genuinely Dual-Side Practice

We accept instructions from solicitors acting for either party, applying the same methodology regardless of which side has briefed us.

Led By a Principal With 40+ Years Experience

Our principal, Rebecca Thompson, has more than four decades of experience and provides close clinical supervision to the team. Available for conclaves, joint reports and cross-examination, drawing on 40+ years of medico-legal practice across Australia since 1984.

What Our Clients Say

Frequently Asked Questions

OT evidence may be required wherever the financial settlement, spousal maintenance or parenting orders depend on a defensible projection of care, equipment, domestic services or earning capacity. It is typically requested in matters involving one party with significant disability, a child with a disability who will be primarily cared for by one party, or family violence with sustained functional impact on the affected party’s ability to engage in paid employment. The OT report provides a clear summary of the functional impact of the injury or illness on whichever party; and the costs of care, equipment and services required as a result so that informed decisions can be made.

Yes. We routinely accept single-expert briefings agreed between parties and court-appointed engagements under the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia rules. Where you and the other party have agreed on us as the single expert, we will be guided by the joint Letter of Instruction.

Our practice is trauma-informed. Assessments are scheduled at a time and location chosen with safety in mind, typically without the other party present. We welcome a support person, plan for breaks, and pace the day around the claimant’s tolerance. Where additional protective arrangements are required, including a remote or hybrid format, a third-party setting, or extended timing across multiple shorter sessions, we work with the instructing solicitor and the person to be assessed to set up an appropriate assessment format.

Both. Where a child has a disability and will be primarily cared for by one party, we assess the child in the home environment to define current and projected support needs, and assess the impact on the primary carer’s capacity to provide that care and where relevant, to undertake paid employment. Both perspectives are needed to inform parenting orders, child support and any departure application. Where the child is very young or has communication needs, we may also draw on treating-clinician records, school reports and the primary carer’s account alongside our own observations to determine the child’s care needs.

Most family law reports are released within four weeks of the assessment date. Where a matter is urgent, for example listed for hearing or a looming mediation, we accommodate expedited turnaround where possible. Let us know the date constraint at the point of instruction so we can confirm scope, framing and timing.

Medico-Legal Services: Professionals at an outdoor table exchange documents, with a laptop nearby, suggesting a consultation or legal review.

Contact Us for Family Law Medico Legal Reports

Most matters benefit from a short conversation before formal instruction so we can confirm scope, framing and timing. Reach us by:

Email: hello@iotml.com.au (the easiest way for most law firms to send a brief)

Phone: 0427 435 591, Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm AWST

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