FOI-2 23/24-1100 DOCUMENT 23
OFFICIAL: SENSITIVEOur reference: FOI 23/24-XXXX Your reference: XXXX
GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110 ndis.gov.au
13 May 2024
First and Last name Position (if applicable) Organisation (if applicable) Street Address SUBURB STATE POSTCODE By email: (e.g. John.smith@email.com.au)
Dear First and Last name
Freedom of Information request — Request consultation process
Thank you for your correspondence of [Date Month Year], in which you requested access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to documents held by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).
Scope of your request
For personal: You have requested access to documents from the NDIS file of (no salutation) First and Last name (CRM Ref: XXXXXXXX). Specifically, you requested access to:
“[Verbatim request]” (Please insert [sic] after any spelling or grammatical mistakes in the original quoted request.)
For non-personal: You have requested access to the following documents:
“[Verbatim request]” (Please insert [sic] after any spelling or grammatical mistakes in the original quoted request.)
If applicable: You have revised the scope of your request to be for the following documents:
“[Verbatim revised request]” (Please insert [sic] after any spelling or grammatical mistakes in the quoted request.)
If applicable: I am satisfied that you have the authority to receive the requested information on behalf of [First and Last name].
Practical refusal
I am authorised to make decisions under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
For 24AA(1)(b): I am writing to advise that your request does not provide enough information about the documents you are seeking as is reasonably necessary to allow us to identify them. This is called a ‘practical refusal reason’ under section 24AA of the FOI Act.
For 24AA(1)(a): I am writing to advise that the work involved in processing your request in its current form would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the NDIA from its
OFFICIAL: SENSITIVEPage 57 of 61 1
OFFICIAL: SENSITIVE
other operations due to its [size/complexity/broad scope/other] [chose one]. This is called a ‘practical refusal reason’ under section 24AA of the FOI Act.
On this basis, I intend to refuse your request. However, before I make a final decision, I am writing to provide you with an opportunity to revise your request. This is called a ‘request consultation process’ as set out under section 24AB of the FOI Act. You have 14 days to respond to this notice in one of the ways set out below.
Why I intend to refuse your request [include matter history here]
For 24AA(1)(b): On [Date Month Year], we advised you that your request did not satisfy section 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act, as the terms of your request were too broad and we were unable to identify the specific documents sought. We sought further information from you about the documents you were requesting access to.
ONLY where applicable - We have conducted preliminary searches of the NDIA’s systems, using all reasonable search terms that could return documents relevant to your request. In addition, we have consulted with relevant NDIA staff who could be expected to be able to identify documents within the scope of the request, including staff who are knowledgeable about how to conduct searches of the NDIA’s systems. Those searches indicate that the NDIA has more than X,XXX or is unable to locate documents that may be relevant to your request. This outcome shows that the terms of your request do not provide sufficient information to allow us to identify the specific documents that you are seeking.
For 24AA(1)(a): I have conducted a preliminary search for documents which are likely to be relevant to your request. This search has revealed that the NDIA is in possession of more than X,XXX individual documents matching the scope of your request, not including any attachments which may be contained within those documents.
On my reasonable estimate, I consider that there is more than XXXX pages worth of material that falls within the scope of your request as currently worded, not including XXXX. At a conservative estimate of 1 minute per page, this would take an FOI officer more than XX hours to simply review and collate the documents.
The documents that are assessed as being within scope of the request will then need to be reviewed for any sensitivities and possible exemption under the FOI Act and scheduled, we will need to consider any consultations and carry these out if required, a decision will need to be made on each document, and a decision letter prepared. This will significantly increase the hours that it will take an FOI officer to process your request.
As a result, I am of the view that the work involved in the processing of this request would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the NDIA from its other operations.
Request consultation process
You now have an opportunity to revise your request to enable it to proceed.
Revising your request can mean narrowing the scope of the request to make it more manageable or explaining in more detail the documents you wish to access. For example, by providing more specific information about exactly what documents you are interested in, the NDIA will be able to pinpoint the documents more quickly and avoid using excessive resources to process documents you are not interested in.
To reduce the scope of your request, you might like to consider:
-
[add example].
OFFICIAL: SENSITIVE
Page 58 of 61 2
OFFICIAL: SENSITIVE
You have 14 days from the date you receive this letter to contact me and do one of the following: a. withdraw your request b. make a revised request c. indicate that you do not wish to revise the request.
During this period, you are welcome to seek assistance to revise your request. If you revise your request in a way that adequately addresses the practical refusal reason outlined above, we will recommence processing it.
Please note that the time taken to consult with you regarding the scope of your request is not taken into account for the purposes of the timeframe for processing your request.
You can contact me by email at foi@ndis.gov.au.
Alternatively, you can reply in writing to the following address:
Freedom of Information Section Complaints Management & FOI Branch General Counsel Division National Disability Insurance Agency GPO Box 700 CANBERRA ACT 2601
If you do not contact me within this period, that is by [Date Month Year], your FOI request will be taken to have been withdrawn under subsection 24AB(7) and will not be dealt with any further.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Yours sincerely
Name Delegation Complaints Management & FOI Branch General Counsel Division
OFFICIAL: SENSITIVE
3 Page 59 of 61