Our reference: FOI 24/25-0754
GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110 4 February 2025 ndis.gov.au
Paul Carter Right to Know
By email: foi+request-12333-c7ee4148@righttoknow.org.au
Dear Paul Carter
Freedom of Information request — Notification of Decision
Thank you for your correspondence of 16 November 2024, in which you requested access to documents held by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).
The purpose of this letter is to provide you with a decision on your request.
Scope of your request
You have requested access to the following documents:
“…- A list of all possible selections or entries in the “assessed impairment” field of a participant or prospective participant’s file on PACE. And the corresponding disability/impairment category, type or other code/s those possible entries is assigned by the NDIA.
- All current articles or guidance for staff on how to add, change, or request to add/change a NDIS participant’s disability/impairment in their file…”
Processing period
We have been experiencing processing delays and were not able to provide you with our decision by the due date. Consequently, we are deemed to have refused your application under section 15AC of the FOI Act. I sincerely apologise for the delay in releasing this decision to you.
We have continued processing your request. In the interests of not causing any further delays, I have decided not to apply for an extension to the processing period from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) under section 15AC of the FOI Act to protect your internal review rights. However, your right to apply for an external review with
1
the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner remains protected. Please see Attachment B for more information about your rights of review.
Decision on access to documents
I am authorised to make decisions under section 23(1) of the FOI Act. My decision on your request and the reasons for my decision are set out below.
I have identified 19 documents, which fall within the scope of your request.
These documents were identified by conducting searches of NDIA’s systems, using all reasonable search terms that could return documents relevant to your request, and consulting with relevant NDIA staff who could be expected to be able to identify documents within the scope of the request.
I have decided to:
- grant access to 18 documents in full
- grant access to 1 document in part
In reaching my decision, I took the following into account:
- your correspondence outlining the scope of your request
- the nature and content of the documents falling within the scope of your request
- the FOI Act
- the FOI Guidelines published under section 93A of the FOI Act
- consultation with relevant NDIA staff
- factors relevant to my assessment of whether or not disclosure would be in the public interest
- the NDIA’s operating environment and functions.
Reasons for decision
Certain operations of agencies (section 47E(d))
Section 47E(d) of the FOI Act conditionally exempts a document if its disclosure would, or could reasonably be expected to, have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations of an agency.
Document 19 contain information relating to certain operations of the NDIA, specifically:
2