NDIS correspondence: Notice of revised decision under section 55G of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 - FOI 25/26-0524 | FOI release material

Our reference: FOI 25/26-0524 OAIC reference: MR25/

GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110 ndis.gov.au

22 January 2026

Mae

By email: foi+request-13553-659b5347@righttoknow.org.au

Dear Mae

Freedom of Information request — Notice of revised decision under section 55G of the Freedom of Information Act 1982

Thank you for your correspondence of 29 August 2025, seeking access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to documents held by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).

The purpose of this letter is to provide you with a revised decision on your request.

Scope of your request

You have requested access to the following documents:

“I request access to all documents, in their original, unredacted format where possible, that contain information related to the NDIA’s management, policy, and data on chronic pain and fibromyalgia, including but not limited to:

Internal Policy and Guidance Documents:

All current and superseded internal policies, guidelines, and procedures for NDIA staff regarding the assessment of chronic pain and fibromyalgia.

Documents outlining the NDIA’s position on chronic pain and fibromyalgia as primary and/or secondary disabilities for the purpose of NDIS access and planning.

Reports, Data, and Research:

Any reports, research papers, or summaries held by the NDIA concerning chronic pain or fibromyalgia.

Delivered by the National Disability Insurance Agency 1

Statistical data on the number of NDIS participants with a primary or secondary diagnosis of chronic pain or fibromyalgia, including data on their funded supports and outcomes.

Statistics on the number of people who have been approved for NDIS access with chronic pain and/or fibromyalgia as their primary disability, broken down by year for the last five years.

Training and Communication Materials:

Training materials, presentations, or handbooks used to educate NDIA staff on chronic pain and fibromyalgia and their impact on a participant’s functional capacity.

Correspondence or records of meetings between the NDIA and external medical bodies, research organisations, or government departments regarding chronic pain and fibromyalgia.”

Processing period

A 30-day statutory period for processing your request commenced from 30 August 2025 in accordance with section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act.

Extension of time

The original due date for our access decision was 29 September 2025. On 2 September 2025, you agreed to a 30-day extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act, making 29 October 2025 the new date to provide you with a decision on access. We have been experiencing processing delays and were not able to provide you with our decision by that date. Consequently, your application was regarded as a deemed refusal under section 15AC of the FOI Act. We sincerely apologise for this.

We note you have now applied to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for a review by the Information Commissioner (IC) of our deemed refusal.

Revised decision under section 55G

Section 55G of the FOI Act provides that, at any time during an IC review, an agency may vary an access refusal decision in favour of the applicant by giving access to documents in accordance with the request (revised decision).

Section 55G(2) provides that an agency must notify the IC of the revised decision, and that decision becomes the decision under review.

Decision on access to documents

I am authorised to make decision under section 23(1) of the FOI Act, including revised decisions under section 55G of that Act. My revised decision on your request and the reasons for my decision are set out below.

Administrative access

Some of the documents that fall within the scope of your request have been disclosed in the context of other FOI requests and are referred to in the NDIA’s FOI Disclosure Log. Because these documents have already been the subject of FOI decisions, it is not necessary for me to make another decision on their disclosure, and I have decided to provide them to you on an administrative basis.

Search efforts

The FOI Guidelines provide that agencies and ministers should undertake a reasonable search on a flexible and common-sense interpretation of the terms of the request. At a minimum, an agency is required to have regard to the following in undertaking these

searches:

• the subject matter of the documents • the current and past file management systems • the record management systems in place • the individuals and line areas within an agency or minister’s office who may be able to assist with the location of documents, and • the age of the documents.

Having regard to these Guidelines, I engaged in search consultations with the following internal business area to obtain documents within their possession which may fall within the scope of your FOI request:

• Service Guidance Branch • Technical Advice and Practice Improvement Branch • Data and Analytics Branch • Policy and Practice Leadership, Service Design and Improvement Division • Frontline Capability Branch • Participant Outcomes, Evidence and Evaluation Branch.

I advise that senior staff in the business area conducted searches for the documents and located 15 documents relevant to the scope of your request.

I have identified 15 documents, which fall within the scope of your request.

Document 15 has been produced using information provided by Data and Analytics Branch. The production of a document is permitted by section 17(1)(c) of the FOI Act in circumstances where the information sought is not contained in a discrete document of an agency, but the agency can produce a written document containing the requested information, by the use of a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available for retrieving or collating stored information. I have therefore treated your request as if it included a request for Document 15 in accordance with section 17(1)(c).

In relation to Document 15, it should be noted that:

• Historical reporting of non-primary disabilities has been inconsistent. • Data and Analytics Branch are unable to report outcomes for the relevant cohort of participants, as the data that exists is insufficient and/or incomplete, such that it is not possible to draw meaningful conclusions.

I have decided to grant access to 12 documents in full, and 3 documents 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 • the notice of IC review • consultation with relevant NDIA staff • the NDIA’s operating environment and functions.

Access to edited copies with irrelevant material deleted (section 22)

I have identified that Documents 12 to 14 contain material that is irrelevant to your request. The irrelevant material relates to names and contact details of NDIA staff which is not relevant to the subject matter of your request.

In accordance with section 22 of the FOI Act, I have considered whether it is possible to delete the irrelevant material from the documents and have concluded that it is reasonably practicable to do so. Accordingly, I have prepared an edited copy of the documents with the irrelevant material removed.

Release of documents

The documents for release, as referred to in the Schedule of Documents at Attachment A, are enclosed.

In accordance with section 55G(2) of the FOI Act, I will be providing the OC with a copy of this revised decision.

If you determine that you are satisfied with this revised decision and do not require this decision to be reviewed further by the IC, please let the Agency and the OAIC know.

If you would like clarification on any aspect of my decision, please do not hesitate to contact me by email at foi@ndis.gov.au.

Yours sincerely

Helen (HIL533) Senior Freedom of Information Officer Information Access and Privacy Branch Reviews and Information Release Division

Attachment A

Schedule of Documents for FOI 25/26-0524

Document number	Page number	Description	Access Decision
1	4-54	Our Guidelines - Applying to the NDIS v1 Date: 2 May 2022	FULL ACCESS
2	55-108	Our Guidelines - Applying to the NDIS v2 Date: 1 July 2022	FULL ACCESS
3	109-160	Our Guidelines - Applying to the NDIS v3 Date: 26 June 2023	FULL ACCESS
4	161-214	Our Guidelines - Applying to the NDIS v5 Date: 28 September 2023	FULL ACCESS
5	215-267	Our Guidelines - Applying to the NDIS v6 Date: 22 December 2023	FULL ACCESS
6	268-319	Our Guidelines - Applying to the NDIS v7 Date: 1 February 2024	FULL ACCESS
7	320-372	Our Guidelines - Applying to the NDIS v8 Date: 22 September 2024	FULL ACCESS
8	373-426	Our Guidelines - Applying to the NDIS v9 Date: 14 October 2024	FULL ACCESS
9	427-479	Our Guidelines - Applying to the NDIS v10 Date: 10 December 2024	FULL ACCESS

Delivered by the National Disability Insurance Agency 5

Document number	Page number	Description	Access Decision	Comments
10	480-491	Knowledge Article - Impairment categories guide v1 Date: 10 October 2024	FULL ACCESS
11	492-506	Knowledge Article - Impairment categories guide v2 Date: 30 June 2025	FULL ACCESS
12	507-517	Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Date: 19 September 2022	PARTIAL ACCESS	Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act
13	518-520	Posterior tibial nerve stimulation for painful bladder syndrome Date: 26 September 2022	PARTIAL ACCESS	Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act
14	521-527	Research Request - Cold Laster Therapy (Low Level Laser Therapy) Date: 2 July 2020	PARTIAL ACCESS	Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act
15	528	Statistical Data As of 9 January 2026	FULL ACCESS	Document created under section 17 of the FOI Act

Schedule of Disclosure Log Documents

Document number	Page number	Description	Comments
1	1-49	Draft: Research – DRHS: • Health Conditions with a Thermoregulation or Temperature Sensitivity Factor • Link to Air Conditioning/Heating supports Date: 25 October 2019	Administrative access provided
2	50-94	Draft: Research Request – Central Sensitivity Syndromes and Functional Neurological Disorder Undated	Administrative access provided
3	95-108	Drafts of Advice: • Chronic non-cancer pain • Complex regional pain syndrome Date: 21 June 2018	Administrative access provided
4	109-113	Expert information and advice – Fibromyalgia Date: 18 January 2018	Administrative access provided
5	114-136	Research – Therapy Best Practice Date: 28 June 2021	Administrative access provided
6	137-149	Research Request – Pain Management Programs (Australia) and Gabapentin and Sodium Valproate trials Date: 10 September 2019	Administrative access provided
7	150-188	Research Paper: Mollii Suit Undated	Administrative access provided