Our reference: FOI 24/25-0733
GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110 ndis.gov.au
25 March 2025
Julie Keys
By email: foi+request-12302-0fb6265e@righttoknow.org.au
Dear Julie Keys
Freedom of Information request — Request consultation process
Thank you for your correspondence of 7 November 2024, 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
You have requested access to the following documents:
“I am seeking information on the drugs that Australians with ME/CFS are expected to consider prior to gaining access to the NDIS.
The 2024 TAB document found at the link below lists a number of drugs that to the best of my knowledge are NOT generally available in Australia for treating or managing ME/CFS.
Given that the NDIA has advised that it has not information other than its TAB document I am now seeking information/correspondence/notes on how the drug list was determined…”
On 19 December 2024, you have revised the scope of your request to be for the following documents:
“I confirm that I am seeking the following information:
Internal communication referencing the Table 1 Symptom Management strategies contained within the 2024 TAB document ‘Myalgic encephalomyelitis / Chronic fatigue syndrome’.
This document lists a number of drugs and I am seeking information on the source of each of these recommendations for the various drugs that are listed…”
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Internal Consultation
Based on the revised scope, I initiated a search for documents within the NDIA’s Technical Advice and Practice Improvement Branch (TAPIB). TAPIB has advised that to determine if there has been any communication across the branch referencing Table 1 – Symptom Management Strategies in the paper titled “Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome” (dated 18/03/2024), the business area would need to contact all 138 advisors and assistant directors and request each staff to review their Outlook folders, personal files, and Microsoft Teams chats to see if they have mentioned the specific table. The documentation of the instructions, execution of the process, and subsequent oversight and compilation for this FOI request is anticipated to take more than 150 hours to complete.
Any documents that are provided would then need to be assessed as being within scope of the request and then will need to be reviewed for any sensitivities and possible exemption under the FOI Act and scheduled. We would then 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.
Practical refusal reason
As a result of my enquiries, I am satisfied that the work involved in processing the request in its current form would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the Agency from its other operations.1
I therefore intend to refuse your request on the basis of a ‘practical refusal reason’ under section 24AA of the FOI Act. A practical refusal reason exists if either (or both) of the following applies:
a) the work involved in the processing of the request would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the Agency from its other operations; and/or b) the request does not satisfy the requirement in section 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act, which requires an FOI applicant to provide such information concerning the document/s they are seeking access to, to enable the Agency to be able to identify it or them
In reaching this view, I have taken account the following:
- the internal advice from TAPIB, who are the subject matter experts within the NDIA.
However, before I make a final decision, I am writing to provide you with an opportunity to revise your request.2 This is called a ‘request consultation process’ as set out under section 24AB of the FOI Act.
I am authorised to make this decision under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
1 Section 24AA of the FOI Act
2 Section 24AB of the FOI Act.
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Request consultation process
In circumstances where an Agency is considering a practical refusal, it is required to undertake a request consultation process under section 24AB of the FOI Act. The purpose of this letter is to initiate that process. You now have 14 days to do one of the following:
- withdraw your request;
- make a revised request; or
- indicate that you do not wish to revise the request (in which case the current scope of your request will stand).
If you do not do one of the three things listed above during the consultation period, your request will be processed on the basis of the current scope, and it is likely to be refused on the basis that processing it would represent a substantial and unreasonable diversion of the Agency’s resources.
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 calculating the timeframe for processing your request.
If you wish to discuss this process, please contact me by email at foi@ndis.gov.au.
If you do not contact me within this period, that is by 9 April 2025, I am required to provide you with a decision on access on the basis that a ‘practical refusal reason’ exists under section 24AA of the FOI Act.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Yours sincerely
Wendy (WNN633) Senior Freedom of Information Officer Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch Reviews and Information Release Division
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