FOI Document Search and Advice Frequently Asked Questions DOCUMENT 1 Request for Document Searches & Advice The FOI Team has received a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act). We ask for your assistance in: • conducting searches of all of your document repositories relevant to this request, and/or • providing advice on sensitivities in documents within the scope of the FOI request.

Please contact the FOI team immediately if: • You can’t identify the documents • Searches reveal a large number of documents (500 pages or more) • Undertaking searches for all individual documents identified as in scope would be a substantial and unreasonable diversion of resources • Creating a document out of individual documents identified as in scope would be a substantial and unreasonable diversion of resources

Do I need to provide documents if they are sensitive? Yes, all documents relevant to the request must be considered for release. However, the FOI team will review all of the documents and apply relevant exemptions under the FOI Act where necessary.

Please provide us any and all documents relevant to the request. Provide advice on any sensitivities in the form provided at the bottom of the enclosing email.

Please note: You MUST provide ALL documents found to the FOI team.

This does NOT mean they will automatically be released but, to make a robust decision that withstands review, the decision maker must be able to state that they have sighted the documents. If the documents have a security classification, please contact the FOI Decision Maker so we can organise the safe transfer and storage of the documents.

What advice does the FOI team need on sensitivities? When giving advice on sensitivities in documents, please do so from a risk/harm perspective. Consider what harms would be caused to the Agency, participants, or other stakeholders in the information if the information were to be released.

Advice should not be limited to broad statements about an entire document. Please consider the different types of information contained within a document. If a document can be released with sensitive information removed, please specify which specific information within a document is sensitive.

In most cases, the FOI Act obliges us to apply a public interest test comparing factors in favour/against disclosure. As such, it is insufficient to declare information sensitive, you must provide a justification for why it would be harmful to the Agency/stakeholders to release the information.

We do not require you to research the FOI Act and Guidelines, or to suggest appropriate exemptions to apply to documents. The FOI team will consider your advice and interpret the FOI Act and FOI Guidelines to decide which exemptions best apply.

Advice on Sensitivities that is insufficient Please note that some frequently provided advice is insufficient to justify exemption from release under the FOI Act:

•  Documents that are “internal” or “not intended for release” are not exempt from release on this
    basis. One of the primary objects of the FOI Act is to provide a right of access to documents that are
   not already publicly available.
•   Information cannot be exempted from release on the basis that it would mislead the applicant. If you
   are concerned that the release of information would mislead the applicant, we are free to include
    further explanatory material in the FOI decision letter if you wish to provide it.
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                                                                                1

FOI Document Searches and Advice FAQ • Documents that refer to the existence other sensitive documents cannot be redacted to remove these references unless the reference to the document contains sensitive information in and of itself. • A document’s security classification is not in and of itself justification for exemption from release.

Irrelevant Factors In addition to the above points, please note that the FOI Act forbids the consideration of certain factors when deciding whether release of a document is in the public interest. These factors are outlined in section 11B(4) of the FOI Act:

    Irrelevant factors
    (4) The following factors must not be taken into account in deciding whether access to
   the document would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest:
            (a) access to the document could result in embarrassment to the Commonwealth
  Government, or cause a loss of confidence in the Commonwealth Government;
             (b) access to the document could result in any person misinterpreting or misunderstanding
   the document;
              (c) the author of the document was (or is) of high seniority in the agency to which
   the request for access to the document was made;
             (d) access to the document could result in confusion or unnecessary debate.

Please keep in mind: • Documents that contain sensitive information are not necessarily exempt in whole – we most frequently redact just the parts of documents that are sensitive. • If you have raised concerns about the release of a document, the FOI team will come back to you seeking further information if necessary, or to give you final visibility of what information is going to be released. • Limit your advice to the risks/harms associated with disclosure of information – the FOI team will interpret your advice and the FOI Act to apply the relevant exemptions.

Staff Names The FOI team currently exempts staff names and contact details unless it is clear from the context that the name has already been released to the applicant. We do not require you to search documents for staff names.

The documents I’m being asked for contain Protected Agency Information. Do these have to be considered for release? Although much of the information within the NDIA is Protected Agency Information, covered by the privacy provisions of section 60 of the National Disability Insurance Sheme Act 2013 (Cth) (NDIS Act), this does not apply to FOI decisions. Section 67H of the NDIS Act states that the provisions of this part of the NDIS Act relating to the disclosure of information “do not affect the operation of” the FOI Act.

Although being protected agency information does not automatically mean that information is exempt from release under the FOI Act, it is often likely that this information will still be exempt from disclosure. Instead of opposing release on the grounds that the information is protected under the NDIS Act, please provide advice about the harms or risks to the Agency and other stakeholders if the information were to be released and the FOI team will decide if the information is exempt under the FOI Act.

Do I need to undertake searches and fill out the response form if I think there are no documents relevant to the scope? Yes, the NDIA must be able to justify that no documents exist and that reasonable searches have been undertaken during the processing of a request. As such, you need to do the searches and sign that you have done so in order for us to meet our legal obligations.

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                                                                                2

FOI Document Searches and Advice FAQ What do I do if I’m not sure whether a document is in scope? If you are unsure if a document you find is within scope or not, it is better to include the document and send it to the FOI Team noting in the Sensitivities/Comments section of the Search Form why you are unsure whether it falls within scope. The FOI Team will make the final determination on whether a document falls within scope of the request.

If you are having difficulties interpreting the scope of the request, please contact the Decision Maker from the FOI team to discuss the request. The Decision Maker’s name is at the bottom of the enclosing email.

What do I do if documents are held by another area? If documents are held by another area, please forward a copy of the consultation email to the relevant EO and/or DSO, and cc the FOI Decision Maker, FOI Action Officer and foi@ndis.gov.au.

If you are certain the documents do not sit with your Branch/Division/Group but you are unsure where they might be held, please respond immediately back to the FOI team.

The relevant FOI Decision Maker and Action Officer’s names are included in the enclosing email.

How do I provide documents and advice back to the FOI Team? Please copy the form at the bottom of the enclosing consult email into your response email to the FOI team. Fill in the included tables with the details of the documents you have located and your advice on sensitivities in those documents.

Attach the documents you have located to your response email. If there are more than 4 documents, please save them in a zip folder and attach the folder to this email. Alternatively, you can provide a SharePoint link to a folder containing the documents.

Who needs to sign off my advice before I provide it to the FOI Team? The document advice form needs to be completed including the name of the staff member who approved the advice. The FOI team does not require that this approval be from a particular level, however they should be in a position of oversight that allows them to be able to assess whether the searches and advice were completed and provided satisfactorily.

Background on The FOI Act The FOI Act provides a legally enforceable right which allows the public to seek access to government documents. Anyone can make an FOI request for any reason.

The NDIA has a legal obligation to make an FOI decision within 30 days of a request. The decision must cover all documents within scope of the request.

All FOI requests must be processed in accordance with the FOI Act and Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) FOI Guidelines.

Am I legally required to provide documents in response to a request for information? Yes, there are significant legal and reputational risks associated with not responding, or not appropriately responding to FOI requests. As the Subject Matter Experts of your business area, the FOI Team relies on you to conduct searches for relevant documents and provide advice on the sensitivities.

Failing to respond (or inadequately responding) to an FOI request or not providing documents could lead to legal issues or penalties against individuals and/or the NDIA. The OAIC may also conduct inquiries into, and audits of, the NDIA, which could lead to considerable reputational damage.

It is important for NDIA business areas and the FOI Team to work together and address any issues with an FOI request early on, to ensure appropriate responses.

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                                                                                3

FOI 24/25-0507 DOCUMENT 2

2024

Section 37 - Law enforcement and public safety.docx

Section 42 - Legal professional privilege.docx

Section 45 - Material obtained in confidence.docx

Section 47 - Trade secrets or commercially valuable information.docx

Section 47B - Commonwealth-state relations.docx

Section 47C - Deliberative processes.docx

Section 47E - Certain operations of agencies.docx

Section 47F - Personal privacy.docx

Section 47G - Documents disclosing business information.docx

FOI Training Feb 2024.pptx

Training slideshow - FOI - Accessibility.pptx

Training slideshow - FOI - StaƯ accesses.pptx

Info Access Leadership Session 2024.05.29.pptx

Info Access Leadership Session 2024.05.29.pptx

ORIGINAL Branch leadership sesssion 11042024.pptx

LEX Turaround clock PowerPoint.pptx

Resource - FOI - Guide to completing the 15AC EOT request form.docx

Training session notes - Time and extensions under the FOI Act.docx

How to manually generate LEX emails.pptx

Resource - FOI - Example email to send to law firms.docx

Resource - FOI - List of third party law firm applications.docx

Training session notes - FOI requests from law firms.docx

FOI Training Video - FOI requests from law firms - 2024.02.21.mp4

FOI Training Video - FOI requests from law firms - 2024.02.21.mp4

How to record FOI exemptions on LEX.pptx

Training presentation - Practical Refusals - Section 4, 12 24AB - 27 March 2024 .pptx

Training video - Practical Refusals with Rebecca Cowen 2024.03.27.mp4

                          Page 4 of 324

Transcript - Practical Refusals with Rebecca Cowen - 2024-03-27.docx

Tool - FOI - Example of scoping decision table.docx

Training presentation - Scoping FOI requests with Rebecca Cowen 2024.04.10.pptx

Training video - Scoping FOI requests with Rececca Cowen 2024.04.10.mp4

Transcript - Scoping FOI requests with Rebecca Cowen 2024.04.10.docx

Training presentation - Extensions of Time under the FOI Act with Rebecca Cowen - 2024.04.17.pptx

Training transcript - Extensions of Time under the FOI Act with Rebecca Cowen - 2024-04- 17.docx

Training video - Extensions of Time under the FOI Act with Rebecca Cowen - 2024.04.17.mp4

Training video - Extensions of Time under the FOI Act with Rebecca Cowen - 2024.04.17.mp4

Team training Third Party Consultations with Jennifer Dawe_2024-04-23.docx

Team training_ Third Party Consultations with Jennifer Dawe-20240424_093502-Meeting Recording.mp4

Sampling exercise - TAB Digest @ 30.04.24.xlsx

Sample privacy statement - Microsoft.pdf

Training Transcript - FOI - Information sharing and consent with Peter O’Brien - 2024-04- 30.docx

Training video - FOI - Reporting for Team Leaders.mp4

Example of significant matters report - GC visibility.xlsx

Task Card - FOI - Recording General Counsel report information on LEX.docx

Training slideshow - FOI - StaƯ accesses - 2024-06-12.pptx

Training transcript - FOI staƯ accesses - 2024-06-12.docx

Training video - FOI - StaƯ accesses - 2024.06.12.mp4

CMFOI_ International Access to Information day (second session) 2024.10.01.mp4

Introduction to FOI training

1.  Introduction to A&R 2024.10.10 with Jordyn 13.49 mins

2.  Introduction to FOI processing 2023.10.10 with Karla 19.02 mins

3.  Proof of identity (POI) & Authority Training 2023.10.10 Karla 17.54 mins

4.  Outlook and template training 2023.10.10 with Karla 41.17 mins

                          Page 5 of 324

5. Acknowledgement emails and extension requests 2023.10.11 with Karla 22.44 mins

6. Scope interpretation and extracting documents 2023.10.11 with Karla 24.28 mins

7. CRM and document training 2023.10.10 Karla 32.21 mins

8. Consultation training 2023.10.12 with Karla 29.06 mins

9. Redactions training 2023.10.12 with Karla 39.02 mins

10. Adobe and bundling training 2023.10.12 with Karla 29.18 mins

11. Drafting decision letters with Karla 43.26 mins

12. Preparing the decision for release training 2023.10.13 with Karla 24.14 mins

13. Closing a matter 2023.09.22 with Karla 30.39 Mins

                       Page 6 of 324

DOCUMENT 3 Standard FOIOperating24/25-0507 Procedure

                               For Internal Use Only

Closing a Participant Information Access Matter

This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) includes the steps to close a Participant Information Access (PIA) matter on all National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) systems. It is intended for use by Action Officers (AO) and Decision Makers (DM) when closing PIA matters.

1. Updates and revisions to document

Date What’s changed

Sept 2023 New format and revised layout

2. Prerequisites

Topic Checklist

Prerequisites • Staff require access to LEX, access to Customer Relationship Management (CRM), the Freedom of Information SharePoint and the Information Access shared Outlook mailbox.

3. Procedure

3.1 Saving files to SharePoint folders

1. Confirm the PIA matter has received a privacy check and has been released.

2. Drag emails related to the matter from Outlook into the relevant SharePoint PIA matter
   folder. Tip: Drag the emails first to your desktop and then dragged to the relevant
  SharePoint matter folder.

3. Save the emails in the SharePoint folder in the correct sub-folder.

4.  In the Communication with Applicant folder, save any emails sent to or from the
   applicant (apart from the original request) in this folder. This includes the release emails
   with the subject line PIA 23/24-xxxx- Release of Information. It also includes emails
  about Consent and/or POI.

5.  In the Internal NDIA Communications folder, save any emails sent between PIA team
 members about the matter in this folder. This includes AO assessments, DM

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   Instructions, For Delegate Review emails, Combined Assessment / For Decision
   emails, Delegate Review Complete emails, Payment Summary communication.

3.2 Closing a matter in LEX

1. Open LEX.

2. Search for the PIA matter in the Lookup Matter field.

3. Click on the matter to open it.

4. Click on the Main Details tab.

5. Change the status field from Active to Closed.

6. This will trigger a reminder alert. Follow the instructions of the reminder alert.

7.  Enter the date closed.

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8. Update FOI/PIA Outcome tab

9. Close off any remaining reminders.

10. When the Turnaround Clock prompt appears, provide the reason Matter released and

  stop the Turnaround Clock. Disregard this step if no prompt to stop the Turnaround

  Clock.

11. If no documents were provided to requestor, provide the reason in the Matter

 Summary. For example, write no POI or no Consent.

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12. Press Save.

13. Click File notes.

14. In the type drop down menu, choose PIA and Number of Pages Released.

15. Enter the number of pages in the body of the file note. Important: only use numbers in

  the body of the file note. Do not add any other text.

16. Press save.

3.3 Closing the matter on CRM

1. Open CRM.

2. Click My NDIS.

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3. Open the search tab

4. Enter the NDIS reference number (record in LEX) and press search.

5. Select the participant name to open it (double click mouse).

6. Read all Alerts to confirm these alerts are not in reference to your matter and click
  acknowledge.

7. Click on the Interactions tab.

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8. Enter PIA into the search bar. Scroll to find the interaction for the PIA request. It will

 have the category (General->Communication) and will usually be assigned to the AO.

9. Click on (General->Communication) to open the interaction record

10. Click the blue Edit button in the bottom right corner.

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11. Go to your LEX file for the matter you are closing and copy all the information in the

  Matter Summary box.

12. Paste the following information at the top of the Notes section: Participant Information

  Access (PIA) alert – PIA decision made by the FOI Team on [insert date]. For more

   information, please contact: information.access@ndis.gov.au Documents Released:

13. Insert the date and number of documents release into the note.

14. Change the status from the drop-down menu to Completed.

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15. Select the Submit button.

3.4 Sending the matter closed email

1. Create a new email.

2.  Insert the Closed/Released Matter email template.

3. Complete all fields in the template. Include the number of pages of documents released
   to the applicant.

4.  In the to field, enter the email address of your DM. In the CC field, enter
  information.access@ndis.gov.au.

5. Send the email.

4. Feedback

If you have any feedback about this Standard Operating Procedure, please email the PIA team via information.access@ndis.gov.au.

5. Version control

Version Amended Brief Description of Change Status Date by

1.0 LDP633 Initial Version – formatting updated with APPROVED 2023-09-12 content approved by PIA EL1 HL

1.1 LDP633 Added step about adding page numbers files APPROVED 2024-01-02 not

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FOI 24/25-0507OFFICIAL DOCUMENT 4 Standard Operating Procedure

                               For Internal Use Only

The contents of this document are OFFICIAL.

Closing matters on the Freedom of Information Database

The purpose of this Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is to describe the process for

closing Freedom of Information (FOI) matters on the FOI database.

This SOP is intended to be used by Decision Makers in the FOI team.

1. Updates and revisions to document

Date What’s changed

Oct 2024 New FOI Database v2 added.

2. Prerequisites

Topic Checklist

Prerequisites Staff require access to the Workload Management for FOI

                  SharePoint and the FOI shared Outlook mailbox.

3. Background

The primary purpose of the FOI database is to ensure the National Disability Insurance

Agency (NDIA) meets its reporting obligations to the Office of the Australian Information

Commission (OAIC).

The NDIA has an obligation to report to the OAIC every quarter about how the Agency uses

the Freedom of Information Act (1982).

                             OFFICIAL

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4. Procedure

1. Navigate to the FOI SharePoint.

1. Navigate to the relevant financial year folder. Locate your matter by using the FOI

  reference number.

2. Locate the notification of decision for your matter and open it. This document will
  contain all the information you require to close the matter on the Updated Freedom of

  Information database.

2. Go to theWorkload Management for FOI SharePoint, click the excel document titled

  FOIDatabase_v2.xlsx.

  This will open the application in browser. It is important to edit this database in browser
 mode (also known as online mode) because of the large size of our team. Multiple

  users can edit the database at the same time using the online browser version.

 The browser version instantly merges edits made at the same time into a single file.

                             OFFICIAL

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  This prevents syncing issues (for example, two people updating different offline copies

   to the database with conflicting edits).

3. Click on the FOI primary Access Decisions Tab

4.  In the search bar, enter find. Click on the find icon from the drop-down list.

5. Enter the FOI reference number in the text box. Click Find Next. The spreadsheet will

  jump to the location of your matter. Do not use filters on the database to find your
   matter. Filters cause problems for other staff who may not realise they are turned on or

 do not have the skills to turn them off.

                             OFFICIAL

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6. Right click on the far-left column to highlight the entire row.

3. Do not enter any information in columns marked AUTO. These columns will update

   automatically when you enter information in other columns.

4. Enter a date into Date Access Given or Withdrawn column G. Write date using the

  format DD/MM/YYYY.

                                        5.

6. Check the details in column F matches the Date of valid request.

7. Check the data recorded in Personal/Non-Personal (column K). This data was added

  by a registration officer based on their best guess of whether the documents requested
  were predominantly personal or not. However, because you processed the matter, you

 now have more knowledge about whether the documents requested were

  predominantly personal. If 50+% of the documents requested contained personal

   information, change this column to personal even if other documents were requested.

8. Check the data entered in Matter Type (column L), Document Type (column M) and
  Applicant (column N or O) is correct. Note: column O is only used for personal

   requests. For non-personal request, check the applicant type is current in column N.

                             OFFICIAL

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                                        9.   If you used an extension of time, use the

                                dropdown box in the relevant column to mark

                         YES (columns P, Q and R). If no extensions have

                               been granted, leave these columns blank. If you

                               used multiple extensions of the same type, put a

                                1 in the relevant column.

10. Select the outcome from the drop-down menu in column S. You must select an

 outcome from the list of options.

11. If you sent a 24AB request consultation process letter to the applicant, use the

 dropdown box to mark YES in the column Notice of intention to refuse? (column T). If
  you did not send this letter, leave this column blank.

                                   12.

13. Leave the subsequently processed column (column U) blank if the applicant did not

  respond to the 24AB letter (that is, if the matter was withdrawn) or if the practical

  refusal was confirmed.

                             OFFICIAL

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14. For withdrawals, put a 1 in the none column (column V) under exemptions applied.

 Do not put a 1 in the column 24 – practical refusal (column AJ) as the matter is taken to

 be withdrawn and you did not send a decision letter formally refusing the request using

   this exemption.

7. For practical refusals, put a 1 in the column 24 – practical refusal (column AJ).

8.   If the applicant did respond to the request consultation process letter within the

  timeframe and the outcome was full, partial or refusal for another reason, put a 1 in

  the subsequently processed column. Enter the outcome as recorded in the notice of

  decision letter. Enter the exemptions applied as recorded in the notice of decision letter.

9. For all matters, if you applied exemptions, put a 1 in each column you used (columns
AG – AZ). If you didn’t apply exemptions, put a 1 in the column marked None (column

  AG). For exemptions that you did not use, leave the column blank. You must put the

 number 1 in at least one column under Exemptions Applied. For withdrawn or

  transferred matters, put a 1 in the none column.

10. Calculate how many days within or outside legislated timeframe the matter was

   released. Put a 1 in the relevant column (columns BA – BE). You must put a 1 in one of
  the columns under Response Time even for withdrawn and transferred matters.

   (Note: we do not report response time to OAIC for withdrawn or transferred matters.

  However, we do report this data on internal agency reports).

11. If you issued charges, record this in columns BF-BH. Put a 1 in the column Issued

 Charges? Enter the Amount notified in column BG. Enter the Amount Collected in
 column BH. If you did not issue charges, leave these columns blank.

                             OFFICIAL

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12. If a matter is non-personal or has non-personal documents within the release, the

  Decision Maker will assess whether the non-personal documents will be published on

  the disclosure log within 10 working days after release.

13. If you published documents on the disclosure log, put a 1 in the column indicating the

  type of update. The agency uses updating alt. access which means inviting members
   of the public to request the information by emailing foi@ndis.gov.au.

14. Record the date the Jira ticket was submitted to the online team. In the column titled

  Date of Update (column BL). Come back to this section when the online team emails

  you to confirm the disclosure log is successfully published. Change the date the to the
  day the online team completed the update.

15. If a matter is non-personal but you have decided not to publish it on the disclosure log,

   write no in the date of update column. Add the reason why the matter is not suitable for

   publication on the disclosure log in the Comments column.

                             OFFICIAL

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16. If a Third Party Consultation occurred, put a 1 in the column BM.

17. If you wish to record comments, enter them in column BN. You may use this column to

  record if the matter was a staggered release, explain why the matter was withdrawn or

   invalid, or explain why the matter was not published on the disclosure log. If your

  request was a mix of personal and non-personal documents, use this section to explain
  your decision about why you chose to label it as one or the other. Use the criteria

  predominantly personal (50+% personal documents) to justify your decision.

18. Record the Decision Maker’s and Action Officer’s first name in the format DM/AO in

 team member Column BO.

19. Add up the total time business areas have spent on searching and reviewing

  documents. This information is recorded in search consult emails. Enter the total

                             OFFICIAL

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 number in column BP.

20. Calculate the APS level of the staff that completed the search consults (not the person

 who approved the search consults). If multiple staff assisted, enter the APS staff level

   for the person who spent the most time on the search and review. Select their APS level

  from the drop-down options in column BQ.

4.1 Section 48 Requests

A section 48 request is when an applicant asks an agency to amend or annotate personal documents. This information is recorded on a separate tab in the FOI databased titled FOI

Personal Records.

1.   If your matter was a s 48 request, fill out all columns on the FOI Personal Records tab.

You must fill out this data in addition to the columns on the FOI Primary Access

Decisions tab.

2.   If you matter was only a request to amend person documents, you will not have used

any of the standard exemptions. Put a 1 in the none column under exemptions applied on

the FOI Primary Access Decisions tab. If you request was partially a s 48 request and

partially a request to access documents, you may have used other exemptions. Record

those in the exemptions applied column as described above.

                             OFFICIAL

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4.2 Freedom of Information Internal reviews

1. To close an Internal Review, navigate to the FOI Internal Reviews tab on the FOI

database.

2. Enter the date the matter was closed in Column G.

3. Columns K-R relate to the internal review outcome. Put a 1 in the relevant column.

4.   If you wish to record additional information about the matter, add a note in column S.

5. Feedback

If you have any feedback about this Standard Operating Procedure, please contact the Quality

and Assurance team.

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FOI/PIA mail handling

The Freedom of Information (FOI) team and the Participant Information Access (PIA)

team manage personal information on a daily basis. All officers (including staff and

contractors) are required to comply with the NDIS Act and the Privacy Act in the

collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal information and protected Agency information.

This SOP provides steps to posting FOI or PIA information to avoid a privacy

incident.

1. Procedure

If you are based in a physical office with mail supplies, a Decision Maker (DM) or

Action Officer (AO) may contact you to post a FOI or PIA matter to an applicant on

their behalf.

The DM or AO will email you the documents and cover letter to be sent.

Important: If the email request does not include a cover letter containing the

postal address, request one from the DM or AO.

1.  Print the documents in colour and double-sided.

You can find information about how to set up a printer in the How to add an NDIA office printer to your NDIA Physical Desktop Guide.

2. Complete the Privacy Checklist (PC) on the printed documents.

3. Once you are satisfied the documents can be released:
      •  Write the applicant’s address on an Express Post satchel or envelope

        from the office supplies.
      •  Seal the documents inside the satchel.
      •  Write the NDIAs GPO box as the sender’s address on the back.

    GPO Box 700, Canberra ACT 2601

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4. Place a registered post sticker on the satchel so that it covers the Express

  Post tracking number.

Important: If you do not have a registered post sticker, do not post the item for

privacy reasons.

5. Ask a team member in the office to perform a second privacy check on the

  envelope by:
      •  Checking the address written on the envelope matches the applicant’s

          postal address on the original request or any newly supplied address

        updated during the processing period.

6.  If the satchel passes the PC, fill out all the columns on the postal log in the

    office.

7. Peel off the registered post sticker labelled sender to keep and stick it into

  the log.
8. Post the satchel by dropping it off at the post office or placing it in an Express

  Post mailbox.

9. Once all steps have been completed, email the DM and AO to notify them the

 document has been posted. Provide them with the address the documents

  were posted to and the tracking number. The DM for the matter will contact
  the applicant via email to provide them with the tracking number.

2. Related resources

For further information see Information Law and Privacy intranet page and Mail

intranet page.

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Freedom of Information (FOI) Induction and Training Manual

This Induction and Training Manual provides new staff with a learning program that familiarises

them with the Agency, Scheme and Stream Specific training. The objective of this resource is to

make sure new starters are supported and have all the information required to successfully

commence in the FOI team.

This resource aligns with Agency aspirations from the Corporate Plan 2020-2024 and reinforces Four commitment to participants as detailed in the Participant Service Charter.

This Manual provides you with what you need to know when working in the FOI team such as

procedures, training, culture, Workplace Health and Safety (WH&S) and preparations for your new

role.

Welcome to the FOI Team

On your first day, you will receive:

• FOI Induction Manual • FOI Training Manual (this document)

We are excited to have you on-board.

The FOI team is part of the Governance, Risk and Integrity Group of the NDIA.

The FOI team respond to requests made to the Agency under the Freedom of Information Act

1982 (FOI Act) and the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS Act).

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Contents

Freedom of Information (FOI) Induction and Training Manual………………………………………………………..1

Welcome to the FOI Team ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….1

Induction........................................................................................................................................................5

1. New Starter Checklist .........................................................................................................................5

2. ESSentials ............................................................................................................................................5

3. IT Items .................................................................................................................................................5

4. Business System .................................................................................................................................6

5. SharePoint Access ..............................................................................................................................6

6. Email Signature....................................................................................................................................6

7. Printing and Scanning .........................................................................................................................6

8. Annual Performance Plans ................................................................................................................6

9. Other Important Administration Links to get you started ...............................................................6

10. Work Health & Safety .......................................................................................................................7

11. Employee Assistance Program (EAP) ...........................................................................................8

12. Working from Home ..........................................................................................................................8

13. NDIS and the NDIA ...........................................................................................................................8

14. How the Agency interacts with Participants ..................................................................................9

15. NDIA values .................................................................................................................................... 10

16. eLearning ......................................................................................................................................... 10

17. Supporting New Starter on the job .............................................................................................. 11

18. Observation and Practice .............................................................................................................. 12

19. Performance Development ........................................................................................................... 12

20. Coaching .......................................................................................................................................... 12

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Guidance for the processing of FOI requests ………………………………………………………………………….. 13

FOI requests ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 13

Requests for a participant’s own personal information…………………………………………………………….. 14

How requests are made ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 14

Who can make requests ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 14

Registration and Allocation of requests ……………………………………………………………………… 17

Registration ............................................................................................................................................ 17

Allocation .................................................................................................................................               17

Processing requests………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 18

FOI Role Definition……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 18

 Initial Assessment of request .............................................................................................................. 19

Section 15 Requirements .................................................................................................................   19

Personal Requests: Verify Identity .................................................................................................    21

Personal Requests: Confirm Authority .................................................................................             21

Determining the Scope of a request .................................................................................                 21

Searching for documents .................................................................................................................    22

AO: Preparing an AO assessment for your Decision Maker’s review …………………………………… 23

DM: Providing matter instruction to the AO ……………………………………………………………………… 29

AO: Undertaking document searches and consultations with line areas ………………………………. 35

   If unable to process a request: section 24AA of the FOI Act .................................................        35

Formal consultation process (section 24AB) .................................................................                   36

Extensions of time................................................................................................................................. 36

Extension of Time: Instructions................................................................................                           39

FOI Act overview ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 43

FOI Act – exemptions ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 47

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FOI Act – conditional exemptions…………………………………………………………………………………… 48

AO: Preparing Drafted Decision package for DM review ……………………………………………………… 50

Decision Letter....................................................................................................................................... 51

Sending decision package to DM …………………………………………………………………………………………. 51

DM: Review decision package and instruct on release ………………………………………………………… 55

AO: Notify of decision, release documents & close off matter………………………………………………. 57

AO: Closing off Matter on LEX ……………………………………………………………………………………. 58

AO: Closing off Matter on FOI Database ……………………………………………………………………… 59

AO: Closing Interaction note on CRM…………………………………………………………………………………… 59

AO: Advising DM that matter has been closed on all platforms ……………………………………………. 59

Internal Review of a Decision made by NDIA .........................................................................                 60

External Review by Information Commissioner (IC) of a Decision made by NDIA .................... 63

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Induction

1. New Starter Checklist

The purpose of the New Starter Checklist is to help guide you and your Line Manager through the

process of induction.

You can access NDIA Checklist for New Starters and Line Managers via Pre-employment intranet

page

2. ESSentials

ESSentials provide staff with a self-service tool to access HR information. This is accessed via the

Intranet.

ESSentials include:

• Flex sheets or timesheets • Leave • Payslips • TPA/Overtime • Organisational Chart • Travel entitlements • Personal contact details

Note: Not available for Labour Hire staff.

You can update your personal address, emergency contact and work address. You can find these

in the My Details – Address/Phone details tab. Updating your work address is important for making sure you receive emails that are site or location specific.

3. IT Items

Upon commencement, you will be issued with all the IT items you require to perform your role.

This will include a laptop and headphones. It is your responsibility to make sure these assets are

updated in ESSentials as assigned to you. You can speak with your buddy or Line Manager to

assist you with this allocation should you require further assistance.

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4. Business System

CRM is the Business System (System) used by the Agency and access is required for you to

conduct your day-to-day work. The Agency is phasing in the new PACE Business System, which

overtime will replace CRM.

Access to both Systems is requested. The Registration Team will have sought access to the

Systems on your behalf prior to your commencement.

For further information can be found on the CRM and PACE intranet page

5. SharePoint Access

The NDIA uses SharePoint as a shared document library and can be accessed through My App

dashboard or the intranet home page under My links.

Further information about how to use SharePoint can be accessed via SharePoint Workspace

Introduction.

6. Email Signature

The NDIA has a standard signature block that is to be used for all email correspondence.

How to create your NDIA – branded email signature contains instructions, the template text and

logo. Refer to your Team Leader for further information.

7. Printing and Scanning

Before you can print documents, if you are in a NDIA office, the profile on your laptop must be

connected to a printer. Once a printer is connected to your laptop, each time you log on, it

remembers which printer you have connected to. If you log on to a different laptop, you will need

to set up the printer again. For further information, visit the Printing and Scanning intranet page.

8. Annual Performance Plans

An Annual Performance Plan is the plan NDIA Senior Executive Service (SES), and NDIA

Australian Public Service (APS) employees complete each year as part of the Annual

Performance Cycle. They can be found in the Agency’s Talent Management System – LEAP,

(which you will learn about further down in this document) and are either automatically assigned

by People and Culture or by an employee’s manager.

9. Other Important Administration Links to get you started

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• Light Up – Celebrating Brilliance (NDIA’s recognition and celebration program).

• Acronyms – A list of the Agency wide approved used Acronyms.

• Terms and Definitions – This page contains terms and definitions relevant to the operation of

 the NDIS.

10. Work Health & Safety

Speak Up - Report an Incident

Speak Up is the staff doorway to raise incidents, issues or concerns. At the NDIA, we take care of

each other and our community by making sure we raise incidents and concerns quickly so the

Agency can address and mitigate issues. Speaking up is part of contributing to a positive risk

culture at the Agency.

For more information, including advice on which icon to select based on your incident, issue or

concern, read the How to Raise a Speak Up Quick Reference Guide which can be located

on the Speak Up intranet page.

Screen Based work

At the NDIA most of us work on a computer, sometimes all day. Computer work is also known as

screen-based work. This work can cause injuries to our musculoskeletal system.

When we do screen-based work, we can move some parts of our body over and over while using

small muscles with force. We can also hold our body in the same way for long periods.

To make sure we are comfortable, we need the right equipment set up the right way so we can sit

or stand safely. We also need to know how to work in healthy ways such as not sitting or standing

all day. The links below will take you to additional information regarding workplace health and

safety:

Screen Based Work

Work Health Safety and Wellbeing Newsroom

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For further assistance:

• speak to your line manager • for screen-based work advice contact the WHS Team • for workplace assessments contact the Workplace Supports Team

11. Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

NDIA offers an independent EAP though TELUS Health.

Note: This is not available to Labour Hire staff. Labour Hire recruitment agencies are required to

provide an EAP similar service and as such Labour Hire staff should contact their recruitment

agency for these details.

Your Employee Assistance Program is:

• A confidential service • Available to all employees • Available for up to 6 sessions per concern

When using The Employee Assistance Program, you will speak with a qualified, experienced

counsellor across a range of issues. To make an appointment to speak with TELUS Health call

1300 360 364 or visit TELUS Health and click on Individual Wellbeing.

12. Working from Home

The NDIA is committed to providing a collaborative, productive environment while assisting

workers to achieve a work/life balance that recognises their family, caring, cultural and other

personal commitments.

The Working from Home intranet page outlines the Agency’s policy and provides you with the

necessary information to assist with working from home arrangements. This link also includes

information for working from home during the COVID-19 event.

For COVID-19 specific information, please refer to the COVID-19 Information intranet page.

13. NDIS and the NDIA

The NDIS is the National Disability Insurance Scheme. It is described in the National Disability

Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS Act). The NDIS Act legislates how we support Australian

citizens living with disability. Once a person gains access to the Scheme, they are called a

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‘participant’. The NDIA, National Disability Insurance Agency, is the government agency that has

been tasked with implementing and managing the NDIS in accordance with the NDIS Act.

14. How the Agency interacts with Participants

The NDIA makes decisions about whether someone is eligible to become a NDIS participant and if

so, how much funding they will receive. This is based on legislation within the NDIS Act 2013 and

sets out what supports and services are considered reasonable and necessary for the NDIS to

fund. Visit the NDIS website to find out more.

Early Childhood Early Intervention partners

Early Childhood Approach helps children aged 0-9 years who have a developmental delay or

disability. Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) Partners employ ECEI Coordinators who help

children, and their families access supports and services that are tailored to the child’s needs.

ECEI Coordinators will also help with connection to other services such as community health

services, playgroups or other activities available in the area.

You can visit the ECEI Partners in The Community page to learn more.

Further information is available at Early Childhood Services (ECS) Branch on the intranet page.

Local Area Coordination partners

Local Area Coordination Partners employ Local Area Coordinators (LACs) who help people

understand and access the NDIS. They also work with NDIS participants to develop and use their

NDIS plan. For most people aged 10 years and older, an LAC will be their main point of contact for

the NDIS.

A LAC will connect people with disability to supports, services, and activities in their community

and other government services. LACs also work in communities to help them become more

accessible and inclusive for all people with disability. You can visit the LAC Partners in The

Community page to learn more.

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15. NDIA values

The Agency’s values guide the way staff and partners will work to deliver on our aspirations. The

Corporate Plan provides the ‘what’. The values set out ‘how’ we will work together to achieve these

objectives.

For a deep dive into the NDIA Aspirations and Values please click the link: Corporate Plan 2020-

2025. eLearning

As part of getting you settled in your new role, a variety of e-Learning modules have been

developed for you. The modules are split into 2 categories:

• Mandatory • Core

These courses will be assigned to you, and you will access them through LEAP – our online

learning portal. Access LEAP through your intranet homepage and save to My Links on your

Intranet home page. We encourage you to plan your time and prioritise these modules as they

contain key information to help you understand our purpose, information handling and security

measures, as well as your wellbeing.

The first step to gaining access to the wide range of eLearning courses available is to complete

the Leap Access Request Form. You will need your NDIA User ID and NDIA email before

completing this form. Please include the NDIA User ID of your Manager (if known). Once

completed you will be required to forward this form to the National Learning and Development

Team for processing.

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Please see link below to access the form and email to forward completed form.

Form: LEAP Access Form

Email: Learning and Development

Once access is gained to LEAP, the second step is to read the Accessing Learning on LEAP-

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and follow the instructions. The SOP in located on the LEAP

intranet page.

Mandatory e-Learning

The Mandatory e-Learning Program is a series of development opportunities assigned to

employees, typically upon employment commencement, to make sure our healthy and safe culture

is maintained, our values are understood and lived, and our legislative and operational obligations

are met.

Please remember these will be assigned to you and will have a date required for completion. You

can find the Mandatory Learning Matrix via the Mandatory Learning intranet page.

Core e-Learning

The Core e-Learning Program is designed for you to obtain knowledge for your role. This includes

the stakeholders we engage, the participant plans and funded supports, creating suitable

communications and good decision making all of which will assist you in your role within the

Parliamentary, Ministerial, and FOI Branch.

17. Supporting New Starter on the job

Team Leaders and team members support new starters throughout their learning journey by

coaching, demonstrating processes, discussing new ideas and providing meaningful, frequent

feedback. The on-the-job component of the Division New Starters program is an opportunity for

new starters to practice, ask questions and access and apply the resources needed to perform

their role and embed their learning.

There are several keyways Team Leaders and team members help support new starters on the

job and identify the key areas for them to focus on at this stage in their learning journey.

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18. Observation and Practice

The following structure is used when introducing a new process, procedure or concept, where the

new starter has little or no experience.

Demonstrate/talk through/guide the new starter through the procedure without complications:

• If the procedure is long, break it into sections and demonstrate each section separately. • Verbalise you’re thinking and decision-making. • Reference the relevant Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) or Practice Guidance.

Provide multiple practice opportunities:

• Provide guidance rather than direction • Use open questions to prompt recall • Reduce guidance as confidence grows

Provide feedback:

• Be specific • Be constructive • Invite questions to clarify understanding

19. Performance Development

Our Branch always strives for the best practice approach not only in the quality of our work and

participant and legislative outcomes, but also personally and professionally.

For more information on the Agency’s Organisational capability and performance approach please

refer to the Human Resources intranet page.

20. Coaching

Coaching is a valuable approach to developing new starters (and others). Coaching works when

the new starter has existing knowledge or experience, or the potential to ‘work it out’ for

themselves.

The Agency uses the GROW model (Goals, Reality, Options, Way forward) as a framework for

coaching conversations. GROW is also a part of our Just Brilliant Leadership Series and our

Learning to Lead program. For further information, refer to Being an Agency Leader.

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At its heart, coaching is about conversations with new starters. Those conversations empower

them and support capability.

For more information on the GROW model or coaching, please refer to the following Coaching

intranet page.

Guidance for the processing of FOI requests

FOI requests

The NDIA is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act).

The FOI Act gives any person the right to:

•  request access to documents the NDIA holds

•  ask for information the NDIA holds about them to be changed if it is incomplete, out of date,

   incorrect or misleading

•  seek a review of an NDIA officer's decision regarding access to a document/s or not to
 amend a person's personal record.

Any person can ask for access to any documents held by the NDIA. Documents sought frequently

include MS Teams and/or Skype conversation history, emails, notes (handwritten or otherwise),

documents held on participant files, staff documentation and more.

The FOI Team will work with Agency business areas and/or third parties to decide on the release

of documents, in accordance with the FOI Act.

A valid FOI request must be made in accordance with section 15 of the FOI Act and:

•  be in writing

•   state that the application is made under the FOI Act

•  provide sufficient information for an NDIA officer to identify the document(s) sought

•  provide an address to which decision packages will be sent (email or physical).

For the purposes of FOI, the definition of ‘document’ is very broad and includes the following:

Any or part of any of, the following:

•  paper or other material on which there is writing (including handwritten notes)

•  map, plan, drawing or photograph

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•  paper or other material on which there are marks, figures, symbols or perforations having a

 meaning for persons qualified to interpret them
•   article or material from which sounds, images or writings are capable of being reproduced

   with or without the aid of any other article or device

•   article on which information has been stored or recorded, either mechanically or

   electronically

•  any other record of information

•  copy, reproduction or duplicate of such a thing
•   part of such a copy, reproduction or duplicate.

However, this does not include material maintained for reference purposes that is otherwise

publicly available, or Cabinet notebooks.

Requests for a participant’s own personal information

Not all requests for personal information are required to be made under the FOI Act. Some

information about participants is suitable for release through the Participant Information

Access (PIA) process. This process is an administrative access process administered under the

NDIS Act, and is an easier and simpler way for current and prospective participants, or their

authorised representatives, to access the personal information we hold without the need for a

formal FOI request. For more information about the PIA process, please refer to the Participant

Information Access page.

How requests are made

A request can be made by emailing foi@ndis.gov.au, or via post, addressed to:

Freedom of Information Section

Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch

Government Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

GPO Box 700

CANBERRA ACT 2601

Who can make requests

Anyone can make requests under the FOI Act.

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However, if personal requests for information on behalf of NDIS participants are made, the NDIA’s

identity and authority requirements must be met.

FOI Processing Timeframes

Requests made under the FOI Act must be acknowledged within 14 days and responded to within

30 days of receipt in accordance with the FOI Act.

Extensions of time can be provided to agencies under the FOI Act by agreement with the applicant

of the request, or through the Office of Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and this will

be examined further in this manual.

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1. NDIS Act 2013: • Section 74 – Authority to Act on behalf of a Child • Section 75 – Definition of Parental Responsibility • Section 78 – Authority to Act as Plan Nominee • Section 86 – Appointment of Plan Nominee

2. Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth)

3. Freedom of Information Guidelines

4. Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)

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Registration and Allocation of requests

Registration

Upon receipt of a request, a determination will be made by the Registration Team whether the

request would be more appropriately processed under PIA if it seeks access to personal

information of an NDIS participant.

Information can only be released under PIA if it meets the necessary prerequisites.

Alternatively, if non-personal in nature, or suitable for processing under the FOI Act:

• a reference number will be assigned to the request • an individual folder on SharePoint and LEX will be created in which all key documents

   relating to the matter will be saved

• the request will be registered on the FOI Database, which is used to record all relevant

   data, monitor progress and to track trends

• an interaction (file note) will be created on the CRM participant record (if personal in nature)

   that a request for information has been received. Once the information is released to the
   applicant, the interaction will be updated to note what documents have been released, and

       it will be closed.

Allocation

Based on staff capacity, the FOI Coordinator will allocate the FOI request to an FOI Action Officer

(AO) and Decision Maker (DM) to process, review and release the requested information.

An allocation arrives in your Outlook Inbox via email, as follows:

Hi Action Officer

Can you please take carriage of the below matter with Decision-maker name as your Decision-

maker.

***** Please discuss approach with Decision Maker prior to taking action on this matter *****

 FOI Reference No          FOI 23/24-XXXX

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Processing requests

FOI Role Definition

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Responsibility for processing requests under the FOI Act is separated to two key roles:

Action Officer

Responsible for assessing the request, undertaking document searches and consulting

accordingly, collating and redacting documents, preparing notice of decision and documents for

release and saving all internal and external correspondence onto respective SharePoint matter

folders.

Decision Maker

Responsible for providing guidance to the Action Officer, reviewing scope of request and

determining appropriate redactions in accordance with the FOI Act and authorising the release of

information under the Act.

Initial Assessment of request

Once a request is allocated, it is the responsibility of the AO to assess whether the request meets

the FOI Act requirements of validity; and NDIA’s Identity and Authority requirements if the request

is of personal nature, within 48 hours of allocation.

Please refer to the CRM Training Guide for instructions on CRM use.

Section 15 Requirements

Section 15 of the FOI Act determines the validity of a request under the Act.

This section provides:

Persons may request access

(1) Subject to section 15A, a person who wishes to obtain access to a document of an agency or

an official document of a Minister may request access to the document.

Requirements for request

(2) The request must:

(a) be in writing; and

(aa) state that the request is an application for the purposes of this Act; and

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(b) provide such information concerning the document as is reasonably necessary to enable a

responsible officer of the agency, or the Minister, to identify it; and

(c) give details of how notices under this Act may be sent to the applicant (for example, by

providing an electronic address to which notices may be sent by electronic communication).

(2A) The request must be sent to the agency or Minister. The request may be sent in any

of the following ways:

(a) delivery to an officer of the agency, or a member of the staff of the Minister, at the address of

any central or regional office of the agency or Minister specified in a current telephone directory;

(b) postage by pre-paid post to an address mentioned in paragraph (a);

(c) sending by electronic communication to an electronic address specified by the agency or

Minister.

Agency required to assist

(3) Where a person:

(a) wishes to make a request to an agency; or

(b) has made to an agency a request that does not comply with this section;

it is the duty of the agency to take reasonable steps to assist the person to make the request in a

manner that complies with this section.

Note: An agency or Minister may refuse to deal with a request if satisfied that a practical refusal

reason exists, after undertaking the request consultation process (see section 24).

(4) Where a person has directed to an agency a request that should have been directed to

another agency or to a Minister, it is the duty of the first-mentioned agency to take reasonable

steps to assist the person to direct the request to the appropriate agency or Minister.

Timeframes for dealing with request

(5) On receiving a request, the agency or Minister must:

(a) as soon as practicable but in any case not later than 14 days after the day on which the

request is received by or on behalf of the agency or Minister, take all reasonable steps to enable

the applicant to be notified that the request has been received; and

(b) as soon as practicable but in any case not later than the end of the period of 30 days after

the day on which the request is received by or on behalf of the agency or Minister, take all

reasonable steps to enable the applicant to be notified of a decision on the request (including a

decision under section 21 to defer the provision of access to a document).

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(5A) In making a decision on a request, the agency or Minister must have regard to any

guidelines issued by the Information Commissioner for the purposes of section 93A.

Personal Requests: Verify Identity

To comply with Australian Privacy laws, all reasonable steps must be taken to ensure the

applicant is who they say they are. The way this is done is to collect three pieces of personal

information about the applicant when they complete the online request form, which we can match

with the information we have recorded in CRM. This is known as a three-point security check.

For information about what kinds of information can you use to complete a three point security

check, please refer to the ‘NCC Verifying Identity, Confirming Authority, and Disclosure of

Information SOP’.

Personal Requests: Confirm Authority

When the FOI applicant is not the participant to whom the request relates, the applicant must have

the authority to act on behalf of the participant, and this is given through what is known as express

consent. Where express consent has been given, it will appear in CRM. A three-point security

check must be completed with the applicant before providing any details from the record.

Appropriate authority include:

• The applicant is a Plan Nominee on the participant’s CRM • The applicant is a Child Representative on the participant’s CRM • The applicant is a prospective participant or is the person who acted for the prospective

   participant in making the current access request under the NDIS Act, and/or

• The applicant has provided a letter of authority signed by the participant, dated within the

    last 12 months.

All applicants are required to verify their identity.

Determining the Scope of a request

Where a request is broad or large, the FOI Team will consult with the applicant to revise or narrow

the scope of their request so that it can be processed.

Variations to the scope of a request must be confirmed by the applicant in writing.

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An applicant’s refusal to modify the scope of a voluminous request may cause grounds under

section 24AA for a decision maker to issue a ‘practical refusal’. Where a request is large,

consideration should be given to whether seeking an extension of time from the applicant would

enable the processing to take place without placing undue burden on the Agency resources.

4.5. Acknowledgement of request

Section 15(5)(a) of the FOI Act requires that requests are acknowledged within 14 days of receipt.

The acknowledgment email template can be found in FOI Email templates.

Searching for documents

Documents are often located from the following sources:

• NDIA email server • Network Drives (SharePoint) • HPRM • PDMS+ • A participant’s CRM file (for personal matters) • Through consultation with line areas.

Where documents exist on the NDIS Business System, the CRM Training Guide or PACE Guide

should be referred to for guidance in saving documents.

Line areas may be consulted, using the appropriate email template, where a request seeks access

to documents not uploaded to CRM, or where advice is sought regarding exemptions.

Consultations must be in writing (using appropriate templates) and must provide a specified date

for the return of documents and advice.

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AO: Preparing an AO assessment for your Decision Maker’s review

An assessment to the Decision Maker is the first step to processing a request for information

under the FOI Act and must be sent within 48 hours of allocation.

Please open up a new FOI Action Officer Checklist and save it onto the SharePoint matter folder

and action as you process request.

This assessment will aid in determining whether section 15(2) of the FOI Act, POI, Authority and

Consent requirements are met, along with assessing the volume of documents that may fall within

the scope of the request.

If processing a personal request and POI/Authority requirements have not been met, please draft

an acknowledgement email seeking POI and/or Authority for your Decision Maker to review,

templates can be found in FOI Email – Templates.

Part of assessing a request for information is ensuring it meets the requirements of section 15(2)

of the FOI Act:

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notices may be sent by electronic

communication)

For personal requests: Please extract the requested documents from the participant’s CRM

file and save onto the correct folder within SharePoint when completing the AO Assessment and

ensure you view all document folders in the participant file to ensure all relevant documents have

been captured.

For non-personal requests: Your DM will provide instructions within 48 hours of allocation.

The AO Assessment must be sent to the Decision Maker and have yourself copied in, followed by

saving the email onto the Matter SharePoint folder named ‘3.Consultations – Internal.

Please find email templates at FOI Email – Templates or refer to the below:

Subject

For Action: AO Assessment – FOI 23/24-XXXX

Body

Hi

Our reference: FOI 20/21-XXX (applicant name)

Participant reference no: XXXXXXXXX

Date of request: [date]

Decision due: [date]

You are the decision maker for this request.

1. Verify identity (for personal information requests)

This request seeks access to personal information about an NDIS participant.

I am/am not satisfied the applicant has provided sufficient POI.

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If identity has not been verified: As the applicant’s identity has not been verified, it may be

unreasonable to disclose any personal information about the participant until we receive this

information. I have therefore prepared the attached acknowledgement email for your review, which

also seeks POI.

2. Consent

If authorised representative: The applicant is a parent/child rep/is a nominated rep, so consent

is not required.

If third party: The applicant is a third party who is seeking access to personal information about

another person and has/has not provided consent to receive the information.

If consent is provided: In my assessment, the consent provided is sufficient because it is

addressed to the NDIA, signed within the last 12 months, and relates to the information sought.

If consent not provided: As the applicant has not provided consent, it may be unreasonable to

disclose any personal information about the participant until we receive this information. I have

therefore prepared the attached acknowledgement email for your review, which also seeks

consent.

3. Requirements of FOI Act

In my assessment, the request does/does not meet the requirements of section 15 of the FOI Act

in that it:

1.  is in writing yes/no

2.  states that the request is an application for the purposes of the FOI Act yes/no

3. provides enough information about the document(s) yes/no

4. provides an address for reply yes/no

If no to (2) above: Although the request does not state it is an application for the purposes of the

FOI Act, in my assessment, it is clear that the applicant’s request is intended to be a request under

the FOI Act. This is because the request was addressed to the FOI Inbox and seeks access to

non-personal information (update as necessary). Therefore, I recommend we consider this

requirement to be met.

If no to (3) above: In my assessment, the request does/does not provide enough information

about the document(s). This is because the following is unclear:

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   •  [describe]

I therefore recommend we help the applicant to clarify their request in the following way(s):

• [for example: Send a consultation email seeking the applicant’s help to define the scope of

    their request

4. Interpretation of scope

The request seeks access to:

  “Verbatim request”

In my assessment, the request does/does not provide enough information about the documents

for us to undertake searches. I have therefore prepared the attached acknowledgement email for

your review, which also seeks further clarification about the scope of request.

On my reasonable interpretation, I believe the applicant is seeking access to:

For personal requests (delete / update as appropriate):

Document(s) from the NDIS File of [Participant’s name (Ref: XXXXXXXXX)]:

       1. Information about their access to the NDIS, including the reasons for the access
         decision:

              a. Access Request From (ARF) (Inbound/ Pathway - Access)

              b. Evidence of Disability (EOD) (Inbound)

               c. ‘Determine Access Decision’ screen

       2. Information about their most recent NDIS plan, including the reasons for decisions:
              a. NDIS Plan (Outbound)

              b. Review and submit draft plan (Pathway – Pre-planning)

               c. Review and submit draft plan (Pathway – Planning)

              d. Medical Evidence (Inbound)

              e. Planning conversation tool (pre-planning)

                      f. WHODAS (pre-planning)
              g. PETICAT

Based on this interpretation, I estimate the following document(s) many be within scope:

• E.g.: Inbound: Medical Reports, Supporting Evidence Form – 20 pages • Outbound: Final Plan - 15 pages

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• Interactions: 15 pages of interaction records

Based on this, I estimate that the total approximate volume of documents could be:

• XX documents • XX pages

For non-personal requests (delete / update as appropriate):

Based on the scope of the request and a search of the Intranet page, I believe the applicant is

seeking access to documents about [insert your interpretation of scope].

5. Consultations

I have identified the following documents which I believe require consultation with the business

owners:

1.  [for example: A consult with Scheme Actuary to obtain a Payment Summary].

2. Recommendations

As the AO for this matter, and based on my assessment, I recommend that the request be taken

to meet the requirements of section 15 of the FOI Act and that we commence document searches

based on my interpretation of the scope of the request (above).

As the DM for this request, can you please consider my recommendations and instruct me on how

you would like me to proceed.

Kind regards

Your Name>

Freedom of Information Officer

Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch

Government Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

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DM: Providing matter instruction to the AO

Upon receiving an AO Assessment, the Decision Maker must provide instructions on next steps,

within 48 hours of receiving the AO Assessment.

Note: the AO is unable to action the matter further without receiving instructions.

Please open a new FOI Decision Maker Processing Checklist, save it onto the matter folder and

action as you process request.

The DM Instruction must be sent to the AO and have yourself copied in for record keeping.

For personal requests, and if POI/Authority requirements have not been met, the AO should have

provided a draft acknowledgment email, including the request for POI/consent , for you to review,

and attached it to their AO Assessment.

Please make your own assessment on whether POI, Authority/Consent requirements have been

met, and the FOI Act requirements and volume of the scope of request. Please review the drafted

acknowledgment email, and instruct for it to be sent with a Privacy Check (PC) if required.

For personal requests: Please review all relevant CRM folders to ensure the documents outlined

in the AO Assessment are accurate and suffice scope.

Subject

DM Instruction – Registration – FOI 23/24-XXXX

Body

Hi [AO Name]

Thank you for you assessment.

Proof of Identity

I agree / don’t agree the applicant has provided sufficient POI. As such, please send the attached

ackowledgment email (with/without changes), which also seeks this information.

Consent / Authorisation

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I agree / don’t agree the applicant has sufficient authority to receive information. As such, please

send the attached ackowledgment email (with/without changes), which also seeks this information.

Requirements of FOI Act

I agree / don’t agree that the request meets the requirements of section of the FOI Act.

Interpretation of scope

I agree / don’t agree with the interpretation of the scope. As such, please send the attached

ackowledgment email (with/without changes), which also seeks further clarification.

If don’t agree, explain why and provide your interpretation of scope in detail for processing.

Consultation

I agree / don’t agree with the consultation you’re proposed.

If don’t agree, explain why and provide instructions on who to consult with.

Next steps:

Could I please ask that you:

1. Send an acknowledgment email or Send the attached acknowledgement email, which also

  seeks POI/Consent/Scope clarification

Kind regards

Your Name

Senior Freedom of Information Officer

Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI

Government Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

E:

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For non-personal requests: Please visit the NDIA’s Intranet page and search for any relevant

information you may find on the topic of documents sought and provide instructions on the

relevant business area’s Executive Officers/Divisional Support Officers (EOs and DSOs) to consult

with for documents.

Email templates found at FOI Email – Templates or refer to the below:

Subject

DM Instruction – Registration – FOI 23/24-XXXX

Body

Hi [AO name]

Our reference: FOI 23/24-XXX (applicant name)

Participant reference no: XXXXXXXXX

Date of request: [date]

Decision due: [date]

You are the action officer for this request.

6.  Verify identity (for personal information requests)

This request seeks access to personal information about an NDIS participant. I am satisfied/not

satisfied that a three point security check has been completed.

If identity has not been verified: Please include the POI request paragraph in the

acknowledgement email.

7. Consent

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If authorised representative: The applicant is a parent / child rep / is a nominated rep, so consent

is not required.

If third party: The applicant is a third party who is seeking access to personal information about

another person and has / has not provided consent to receive the information.

If consent is provided: I am satisfied that the consent provided is sufficient because it is

addressed to the NDIA, signed within the last six months, and relates to the information sought.

If consent not provided: As the applicant has not provided consent, it may be unreasonable to

disclose any personal information about the participant. Please include the consent request

paragraph in the acknowledgement email.

8. Requirements of FOI Act

The request does / does not meet the requirements of section 15 of the FOI Act in that it:

1.  is in writing yes/no

2.  states that the request is an application for the purposes of the FOI Act yes/no
3. provides enough information about the document(s) yes/no

4. provides an address for reply yes/no

If no to (2) above: Although the request does not state it is an application for the purposes of the

FOI Act, it is clear that the applicant’s request is intended to be a request under the FOI Act.

This is because the request was addressed to the FOI Inbox and seeks access to non-personal

information (update as necessary). Therefore, we consider this requirement to be met.

If no to (3) above: The request does provide enough information about the document(s). This is

because the following is unclear:

   •  [describe]

I therefore recommend we help the applicant to clarify their request in the following way(s):

• [for example: send a consultation email seeking the applicant’s help to define the scope of

    their request or issue a formal request consultation notice under section 24AB of the FOI
    Act].

9. Interpretation of scope

The request seeks access to:

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  “Verbatim request”

The request does / does not provide enough information about the documents for us to undertake

searches. On my reasonable interpretation, I believe the applicant is seeking access to:

XXX

Based on this interpretation, I have determined the following are within scope:

• Inbound: • Outbound: • Pathway: • Interactions: • Other:

10. Consultations

I have identified the following consultations will be required:

2.  [for example: A consult with Scheme Finance to obtain a Payment Summary].

11. Next steps:

Immediate next steps within 2 business days (Notify DM once completed):

Next steps to be completed by XXXX:

4. Decision package

Can you please have the decision package to me by no later than XXXXX.

Kind regards

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Your Name

Senior Freedom of Information Officer

Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI

Government Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

E:

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AO: Undertaking document searches and consultations with line areas

When processing FOI requests, you are required to complete document searches and undertake consultations with relevant business areas for documents and/or sensitivities within.

Please use the CRM Training Guide on how to find and extract documents from a participant’s NDIS file.

However, if the request seeks access to documents in relation to the Agency, it is likely that you will be required to consult with relevant line areas.

Appropriate consultation templates can be found FOI’s SharePoint Folder.

There are different types of consultations required during the processing of FOI requests received by NDIA.

Non-personal requests are sent to relevant areas to conduct document searches using formal templates, which contain a document schedule, in which sensitivities are highlighted by relevant staff for the FOI Team’s consideration.

The following business areas use service desks to manage FOI requests:

• NCC Freedom of Information Request - National Contact Centre Service Desk - Service project (ndis.gov.au) - for call recordings and call transcripts of inbound calls to the National Contact Centre
• FOI - Analytics, Data and Actuarial Division - Service project (ndis.gov.au) - for requests involving statistics or data.

If unable to process a request: section 24AA of the FOI Act

There are particular instances, where an agency may refuse a request for information, on the basis that the request is unclear, and, after attempting to clarify the scope with the applicant, it remains unclear; or the scope of the revised request remains too large for processing and would result in an unreasonable diversion of agency resources.

As per section 24 of the FOI Act, if a request for information is too large or unclear to process, the applicant must be consulted under section 24AB. This is called a ‘request consultation process’, in which the applicant is formally consulted and has 14 days to provide a reasonable scope of request that is clear and can be processed.

During the 14 days of formal consultation, the FOI Team must take reasonable steps to assist the applicant in reaching a reasonable scope of request that is clear/and or no longer a diversion of agency resources and can be processed as a result.

In addition, the formal consultation process can also be extended (if requested by the applicant), however, this must be done in writing.

The applicant must, before the end of the 14 days (or the extended consultation period) in writing, do one of the following under the Act:

• Withdraw the request for information
• Make a revised request
• Indicate their wish not to revise the scope of request.

The consultation period is disregarded in calculating the 30-day processing period.

For example:

Day 20 – 24AB issued: clock stops

Day 33 – Applicant responds after 13 days: clock restarts

Day 44 – Therefore, new due day is 11 additional days after receiving response

In accordance with section 24, if the above process has been undertaken and we are still satisfied that the practical refusal reason continues to exist, then we may refuse access to the request, by issuing a Practical Refusal Decision, outlining our decision and matter history in detail.

Formal consultation process (section 24AB)

This formal notice under the FOI Act must be sent to the applicant in a letter format and cleared by the DM.

The template for this is can be found in in SharePoint’s Letter Templates.

Extensions of time

At times, and as a result of the complexity or volume of the scope of FOI requests, it may be necessary to seek an extension of time for processing.

There are different kinds of extensions of time under the FOI Act:

Section 15AA - Extension of time with agreement

An agency or Minister may extend the period referred to in paragraph 15(5)(b) for dealing with a request, or that period as extended under subsection 15(6) or (8) (consultation), by a further period of no more than 30 days if:

(a) the applicant agrees in writing to the extension; and

(b) the agency or Minister gives written notice of the extension to the Information Commissioner as soon as practicable after the agreement is made.

Section 15AB - Extension of time for complex or voluminous requests

(1) An agency or Minister may apply to the Information Commissioner for an extension of the period referred to in paragraph 15(5)(b) for dealing with a request if the agency or Minister considers that the period is insufficient to deal adequately with a request because the request is complex or voluminous.

(2) If the Information Commissioner is satisfied that the application is justified, the Information Commissioner may, by written instrument, extend the period by a further period of 30 days, or such other period as the Information Commissioner considers appropriate.

Note: For variation and revocation of the instrument, see subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

(3) The Information Commissioner must, as soon as practicable, inform the following persons of the period for which the extension has been given:

(a) the applicant;

(b) the agency or Minister.

Section 15AC: Decision not made on request within time - deemed refusal

(1) This section applies if:

(a) a request has been made to an agency or Minister; and

(b) the period (the initial decision period ) covered by subsection (2) has ended since the day the request was received by, or on behalf of, the agency or Minister; and

(c) notice of a decision on the request has not been received by the applicant.

(2) The initial decision period covered by this subsection is the period of 30 days mentioned in paragraph 15(5)(b) (or that period as extended, otherwise than under this section).

Deemed refusal

(3) Subject to this section:

(a) the principal officer of the agency or the Minister is taken to have made a decision personally refusing to give access to the document on the last day of the initial decision period; and

(b) notice of the decision is taken to have been given under section 26 to the applicant on the same day.

Agency or Minister may apply for further time

(4) However, the agency or Minister concerned may apply, in writing, to the Information Commissioner for further time to deal with the request.

(5) The Information Commissioner may allow further time considered appropriate by the Information Commissioner for the agency or Minister to deal with the request.

(6) If the Information Commissioner allows further time, the Information Commissioner may impose any condition that he or she considers appropriate.

(7) Subsection (3) (deemed refusal) does not apply, and is taken never to have applied, if the agency or Minister:

(a) makes a decision on the request within the further time allowed; and

(b) complies with any condition imposed under subsection (6).

(8) However, subsection (3) (deemed refusal) applies as if the initial decision period were extended by the time allowed by the Information Commissioner under subsection (5) if

the agency or Minister:

(a) does not make a decision on the request within the further time allowed; or

(b) does not comply with any condition imposed under subsection (6).

No further time allowed

(9) If subsection (8) (deemed refusal after allowance of further time) applies, the Information Commissioner does not have the power to allow further time under this section in relation to the decision taken to be made under subsection (3) in its operation as affected by subsection (8).

Extension of Time: Instructions

When requesting an extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act, please send the below request to the applicant of the request and when you have their agreement in writing, submit their agreement confirmation to the OAIC.

Subject:

FOI 23/24-XXXX – Your request for information – Extension of time

Body:

Dear [Applicant]

Thank you for your request for information.

We’re sorry to let you know that it’s taken us longer than expected to process your request. This is because of [explain reason(s) e.g. due to the large number of documents we’ve located].

We are therefore writing to seek your agreement to a XX-day extension of time to process your request for information under section 15AA of the FOI Act.

Please let us know whether you agree by [day month year] (2 days).

If you don’t agree, we may need to seek an extension from the Office of Australian Information Commissioner.

We’re sorry that it’s taken us longer than expected and we appreciate your patience.

Please contact us at foi@ndis.gov.au if you have any questions or require help.

Kind regards

Freedom of Information Officer

Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch

Government Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

When submitting an EOT Request to the OAIC under sections 15AB or 15AC, on the basis that a request is voluminous and/or complex in nature or a deemed refusal, please obtain the DMs clearance of your draft, prior to submitting.

There are specific questions that must be answered in order for the Information Commissioner (IC) to consider a request for extension of time under sections 15AB and 15AC:

Please see example below:

FOI Act overview

The below table sets out important sections of the FOI Act, when taking carriage of requests (please note information about reviews will be shown in the later parts of this Manual).

FOI Act – exemptions

When taking carriage of FOI requests, documents must be reviewed for release. The IC’s FOI Guidelines and FOI Act state that when making a decision on the release of a document, you must account for public interest considerations.

In cases where there is information that would be contrary to public interest in accordance with section 11B of the FOI Act, then the material may be exempt or conditionally from release.

The below table outlines commonly used exemptions by the NDIA:

FOI Act – conditional exemptions

Note: Table continues on next page.

AO: Preparing Drafted Decision package for DM review

After receiving instructions, ensure you send any external correspondence, for example, acknowledgement or scope clarification requests to the applicant and save such correspondence in ‘2. Correspondence with Applicant’ folder in the SharePoint’s matter folder.

Once the above actions have been completed (as required), you may consult with relevant business areas, start bundling the documents and preparing the draft decision for DM review.

Please refer to the FOI Action Officer Processing Checklist and the Adobe Acrobat DC Training Guide for detailed instructions.

A summary of this has been set out below:

1. The relevant extracted documents will be combined and provided to the DM (with appropriate deletions/edits, where required).

2. The FOI reference number will be added to the header and page numbers added to the footer and security markings to both.

3. The AO will then send the following to the DM for review:

• the request
• any consultations undertaken, or advice received
• the bundled documents, and
• draft decision letter.

Decision Letter

Section 23 of the FOI Act states that a responsible officer agreed by the Agency must provide a decision in relation to a request for information. Decision Letter templates are drafted by the AO as part of the decision package for a DM’s review and templates are found in Letter Templates.

Sending decision package to DM

Once the drafted decision is ready to be sent to the DM for review, please hit ‘Reply All’ to ensure a trail is kept, noting email templates are found at FOI Email – Templates or refer to the below:

Subject:

FOR DECISION: FOI 23/24-XXXX DUE: XX MONTH 2022

Body:

Hi [Name]

Our reference: FOI 23/24-XXX (applicant name)

If relevant: Participant reference no: XXXXXXXXX

Date of request: [date]

Decision due: [date]

Request

On [date], the NDIA received the following request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act):

Applicant [Applicant]

Scope [verbatim scope]

Searches

Based on your instructions, I have conducted searches of the following systems (delete as appropriate):

• NDIA email server
• Network Drives (R Drive)
• HPRM
• PDMS+
• A participant’s CRM file (for personal matters)

I have also consulted with the following NDIA business areas and staff:

• E.g. Fiona Castles (EO) – DDS

These searches returned [XXX] individual documents, including [XXX] duplicates/out of scope documents.

Documents

I recommend that you:

• grant access to [XXX] documents in full
• grant access to [XXX] documents in part
• refuse access to [XXX] documents in full.

Reason for partial or refused access to documents.

Attachments:

• The FOI request
• Revision of scope
• Consent to share information
• Internal consultation
• External consultation
• Draft Decision letter
• Document bundle

Next Steps

Can you please review the draft decision and documents and make a decision by [date].

Please let me know if you need further information or wish to discuss this further.

Once you have made your decision, please send your decision to me.

Kind regards

Your Name

Freedom of Information Officer

Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch

Government Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

FOI 24/25-0507 OFFICIAL Standard Operating Procedure

                                 For Internal Use Only

                              OFFICIAL

V1.2 2024-02-21 FOI Induction Training Manual Page 54 of 64 Page 82 of 324 This document is uncontrolled when printed.

DM: Review decision package and instruct on release

The DM will review the request, consultations undertaken, documents in scope, exemptions applied (if relevant) and decision letter and instruct on release.

The DM will also make the necessary changes to the document bundle and decision letter as necessary and in line with the FOI DM Processing Checklist, before requesting further action by the AO, or issuing instructions on release.

Please hit ‘Reply All’ to ensure trail is kept for record keeping, email templates are found at FOI Email – Templates or refer to the below:

Subject:

Decision made: FOI 23/24-XXXX – Due: XXXX

Body:

Hi [AO Name]

Thank you for preparing this matter for decision.

Please find attached my decision (with/without edits) and documents (with/without edits) in relation to this matter.

Outline any feedback or changes made to the decision package here:

Decision Letter:

• Formatting changes
• Updated schedule of documents to reflect changes made to exemptions used

Documents:

• Added further s22 redactions to staff names not known to applicant
• Added s47E(d) redactions to CRM use instructions in SOP

Can you please:

1. Check and accept tracked changes in the letter
2. Remove security markings from documents and notice of decision and ensure formatting integrity remains appropriate

3. Perform an accessibility check of the decision letter
4. Convert the decision letter to PDF
5. Sanitise documents for release and apply redactions
6. Prepare the covering email with decision and docs attached (split into 9MB bundles where appropriate)
7. Ask for a privacy check and send the decision letter and documents to the applicant by COB
8. Update LEX and the FOI database to reflect my decision
9. Save the key documents, emails, etc, in the shared R drive
10. Close the Interaction Record on CRM, and
11. Please notify me by reply email that all is logged and updated, advising who privacy checked the decision send-out.
12. Prepare documents and apply for publication on the disclosure log.

If you have any questions please let me know.

I do / do not find it reasonable to publish any of the material captured by this request on the Agency’s Disclosure Log.

Thank you.

DM First Name

Senior Freedom of Information Officer

Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI

Government Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

E:

AO: Notify of decision, release documents & close off matter

Once the DM is satisfied and has authorised the notification of decision and release of the documents, the AO will:

• make any final edits, apply redactions and remove security markings and hidden information (please refer to Adobe Acrobat DC Training Guide for detailed instructions)
• sanitize document bundle and split into 9MB files, where necessary
• release the documents to the applicant ensuring that a privacy check has been completed by another member of the team, and
• close matter on all relevant platforms, by updating the FOI Database, closing matter off on LEX and closing the CRM interaction that the Registration Team would have added to the participant’s file.

Please send an email to the DM confirming the above has been completed.

Email templates found at FOI Email – Templates or refer to the below:

Subject:

FOI 23/24-XXXX – Your request for information - Notification of Decision [Part 1 of X]

Body:

Dear [Applicant]

Thank you for your request for information.

Please find attached correspondence and documents in relation to your request. If you require these in a different format, please let us know.

Due to the size of the documents they have been split across XX emails, this being Part 1 of X] etc. [delete if not applicable]

Please contact us at foi@ndis.gov.au if you have any questions or require help.

Thank you.

Kind regards

Freedom of Information Officer

Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI

Government Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

Email: foi@ndis.gov.au

AO: Closing off Matter on LEX

Part of closing a matter off on relevant platforms, includes closing it off on LEX. If you click on Search, all matters allocated to you as the AO will be visible for review.

Once found, please click on the matter you wish to close.

When the matter is found, click on the Main Details tab, and update the fields and Snapshot/Matter Summary with the close details.

Important: If during the carriage of a request, the applicant was contacted via phone, please add a File Note on LEX, outlining the date, time and what was covered.

AO: Closing off Matter on FOI Database

After closing the matter on LEX, please proceed to updating the FOI Database. Once the date of closure is inserted, the database will automatically change the status of the FOI matter to ‘Closed’. Please also add the document types released, any exemptions used, EOTs and any comments that you deem necessary in the ‘Comments’ column.

AO: Closing Interaction note on CRM

When registering the matter, the Registration Team will add an interaction note on the participant’s file, containing the date and request as received.

After releasing the documents and finalising matter, it is the responsibility of the AO to close this interaction and note the documents released.

Please include the following word at the top of the interaction recorded:

Freedom of Information (FOI) alert – A request for documents has been finalised by the FOI Team on insert Date. For more information, please contact: foi@ndis.gov.au

Documents released under the FOI Act:

ARF

EOD

Pre-planning and planning information

Plan approval letter

To do this, click ‘Edit’ on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen:

AO: Advising DM that matter has been closed on all platforms

Please ‘Reply All’ to the Decision Made email received by the DM, advising that you have completed all required actions and closed matters on all platforms.

Subject:

Matter Closed on all Platforms: FOI 23/24-XXXX

Body:

Hi DM

Please be advised this matter has been released and the following complete:

Removed any protective markings

1. Sanitised documents for release and applied redactions
2. Released the documents with a PC by XXXX
3. Updated LEX and the PIA database to reflect decision
4. Closed the Interaction Record on CRM
5. Saved the final documents, internal and external emails, in SharePoint

Thank you.

Your Full Name

Freedom of Information Officer

Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch

Government Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

After release: Updating the disclosure log

The National Disability Insurance Agency is required under section 11C of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to publish a disclosure log on the website. The disclosure log lists information which has been released in response to an FOI access request. The publication of such documents must be done within 10 working days of the applicant being given access to the document(s). The disclosure log requirement does not apply to personal and business information, if publication of that information would be ‘unreasonable.’ Nor does it apply to non-personal requests were access was refused in full.

Therefore, for non-personal requests where the matter was released in full or part, the DM will assess whether the material is suitable for inclusion on the NDIA’s disclosure log.

• To submit a request to update the disclosure log, go to the Strategic Communications service desk and click Request to update the FOI disclosure log. Fill out the required details.
• Complete the disclosure log update form and attach it to the service desk ticket. Submit the ticket.
• Update the disclosure log columns on the FOI database with the form of update (alt. access) and the date the update was published.
• Save a copy of the documents for release through the disclosure long in the disclosure log sub folder on SharePoint. Ensure this bundle only contains non-personal matter suitable for release through the disclosure log (remove any personal information if it was also released in the same matter). Rename the document to FOI 23.24-XXXX – Documents – Disclosure Log. See section 11C of the FOI Act for more information.
• If the DM determines that a non-personal full or partial release is not suitable for inclusion on the FOI database, the DM should write “No” in the disclosure log column on the FOI database and write an explanatory note in the comments column.

For more processing information, see these resources:

• Checklist_FOI_Decision Maker Processing.docx
• SOP - FOI - Closing matters on the FOI database.docx

Internal Review of a Decision made by NDIA

An applicant may seek a review of the NDIA’s decision by emailing foi@ndis.gov.au on various grounds and in line with section 54B of the FOI Act:

(1) An application for [internal review](/foi-library/releases/31dff131163b-foi-23-24-0982-decision-attachment-b/release-materials/material-001__internal-review/) must be in writing and must be made:

(a) within 30 days, or such further period as the agency allows, after the day the decision is notified to the applicant for internal review (the _ internal review applicant _);

(b) in the case of an access refusal decision of a kind mentioned in paragraph 53A(b), (c) or (f), within whichever of the following is the longer period:

(i) 30 days, or such further period as the agency allows, after the day the decision is notified to the internal review applicant;

(ii) 15 days after the day the access referred to in that paragraph was given (or purported to be given).

(2) A decision by an agency to allow a further period for making an application may be made whether or not the time for making such an application has already expired.

(3) The agency’s power to allow a further period for making an application may be exercised by an officer of the agency who is:

(a) acting within the scope of authority exercisable by him or her; and

(b) acting in accordance with arrangements approved by the responsible Minister or principal officer of the agency.

Common grounds for seeking an internal review include seeking a review of exemptions, or whether all documents fitting the scope of request had been captured when making the original decision.

A different decision maker must make the decision on Internal Review.

Regardless of what the internal review grounds are, a new decision must be made in its entirety.

As such, the new Decision Maker will review the searches undertaken during the carriage of the original request, the exemptions used and make a new decision.

A decision on internal review must be made within 30 days.

External Review by Information Commissioner (IC) of a Decision made by NDIA

An external review of a decision made by NDIA may be carried out by the IC if requested by an applicant in accordance with section 54N of the FOI Act.

In instances where a request for external review of a decision made by the NDIA is made to the IC, the OAIC will inform the NDIA and request that submissions be made in relation to the carriage and decision of the original decision, to ensure compliance with the FOI Act.

The IC has the power to overturn a decision made by an Agency, should this be required.

Please review Part VII of the FOI Act for further information about this.

Version control

DOCUMENT 7

Approved: TBA

Owner: Director, FOI

Contact: foi@ndis.gov.au

Freedom of Information (FOI) Internal Review Training Manual

Purpose

This training manual provides staff with a learning program that familiarises them with the handling of Internal reviews under the Freedom of Information Act. The objective of this resource is to make sure staff are supported and have all the information required to successfully process internal reviews of FOI requests.

To be used by

• FOI Decision Makers, and
• Internal Review Action Officers.

Contents

Freedom of Information (FOI) Internal Review Training Manual ……………………………………………………………. 1

Purpose ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1 To be used by………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1

Guidance for the processing of Internal Review Requests ………………………………………………………………… 3 Internal Review requests ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3

How requests are made …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3 Who can make requests …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3

 Internal Review Processing Timeframes.................................................................................................... 3

Processing IR requests …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5

 1. FOI Role Definition ................................................................................................................................. 5
 2. What does an internal review entail ....................................................................................................... 5

 3. Initial Assessment of request ................................................................................................................. 5
 4. Acknowledgement of request ................................................................................................................. 7

 6. DM: Providing matter instruction to the AO............................................................................................ 7
 7. AO: Undertaking document searches and consultations with line areas .............................................. 8

 8. Extensions of time ................................................................................................................................ 10
8.1 Extensions of Time: Informing Applicant of Delay ............................................................................. 10

 9. Preparing decision package ................................................................................................................. 11
10. AO: Notify of decision, release documents & close off matter .......................................................... 11

11. External Review by Information Commissioner (IC) of a Decision made by NDIA ........................... 26

Guidance for the processing of Internal Review Requests

Internal Review requests

An applicant may seek a review of the NDIA’s decision on various grounds and in line with section 54B:

(1) An application for [internal review](/foi-library/releases/31dff131163b-foi-23-24-0982-decision-attachment-b/release-materials/material-001__internal-review/) must be in writing and must be made:

(a) within 30 days, or such further period as the agency allows, after the day the decision is notified to the applicant for internal review (the _ internal review applicant _);

(b) in the case of an access refusal decision of a kind mentioned in paragraph 53A(b), (c) or (f), within whichever of the following is the longer period:

(i) 30 days, or such further period as the agency allows, after the day the decision is notified to the internal review applicant;

(ii) 15 days after the day the access referred to in that paragraph was given (or purported to be given).

(2) A decision by an agency to allow a further period for making an application may be made whether or not the time for making such an application has already expired.

(3) The agency’s power to allow a further period for making an application may be exercised by an officer of the agency who is:

(a) acting within the scope of authority exercisable by him or her; and

(b) acting in accordance with arrangements approved by the responsible Minister or principal officer of the agency.

How requests are made

A request can be made by emailing foi@ndis.gov.au, or if via post to, addressed to:

Freedom of Information Section Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch Government Division National Disability Insurance Agency GPO Box 700 CANBERRA ACT 2601

Who can make requests

The applicant of the original request.

Internal Review Processing Timeframes

Requests for internal reviews must be responded to within 30 days of receipt, this period may be extended if the applicant agrees to provide additional time for processing.

Supporting material

1. Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth)
2. Freedom of Information Guidelines
3. Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)
4. FOI Guidelines

Processing IR requests

1. FOI Role Definition

Responsibility for processing requests under FOI is necessarily separated to two key roles:

2. What does an internal review entail

In accordance with section 54C(3) of the FOI Act, upon receiving a request for internal review, a decision maker (different to the original decision maker) will make a new decision. That is, consultations, decision justifications and documents provided will be reviewed as part of the internal review and a new decision will be issued accordingly.

If the DM agrees with the original decision, then the applicant of the IR will be provided with a new decision, which affirms the original decision and in line with section 23 of the FOI Act.

However, if upon reviewing the original decision, the new DM decides to revise the decision, then a varied decision will be issued to the applicant, which will outline all variations made in contrast to the original decision and in line with section 23 of the FOI Act.

3. Initial Assessment of request

Once a request for IR is allocated, it is the responsibility of the AO to assess whether the request meets the FOI Act requirements of validity:

• Request is made up to 30 days after original decision was notified

There are many reasons why an applicant may seek a request for internal review. These include:

• Reviewing the searches undertaken when processing the original request to ensure all documents in scope were captured as part of the original decision, and/or
• Reviewing the exemptions applied to documents as part of the original decision.

Please ensure you submit an AO Assessment to the DM within 48 hours of allocation and use the email template below:

Date of IR request: [date] IR Decision due: [date]

You are the decision maker for this IR request.

1. Requirements of FOI Act

In my assessment, the request does/does not meet the requirements of section 54D of the FOI Act in that it was/was not received within 30 days of original decision notification.

2. Original request

The scope of the original request was as follows:

“[Original verbatim request]”

If relevant: 2.1 Consultations undertaken in the original request When processing the original request, we consulted with the following NDIA staff:

• Add any staff members and reasons for consultations and attach them to this email

2.2 Decision on access in the original decision As part of the original decision the original DM decided to:

• Grant access to XX documents in full,
• Grant access to XX documents in part, and
• Refuse access to XX documents in full.

Please see original decision attached for your review.

3. Interpretation of IR scope

The IR request scope is as follows:

“[IR verbatim request]”

In my assessment, the applicant is seeking a review of the original decision based on:

• Searches undertaken when processing original request, that is, the applicant believes there are further documents in scope, which were not captured as part of the original decision and/or
• Exemptions/Conditional exemptions used in the original decision, that is, the applicant is seeking a review of the use of section XXX in Document XXX.

4. Recommendations

As the AO for this matter, and based on my review of the original decision I recommend that we consult with the following business areas, to ensure that all relevant documents were captured as part of the original decision:

• XXXX

and/or provide further access to Document XX, as the exemptions used no longer apply etc.

As the DM for this request, can you please consider my recommendations and instruct me on how you would like me to proceed.

Kind regards

Your Name

Freedom of Information Officer

Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch

Government Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

4. Acknowledgement of request

Section 15(5)(a) of the FOI Act requires that requests are acknowledged within 14 days of receipt. Please use the below template when acknowledging IR requests:

6. DM: Providing matter instruction to the AO

The DM must provide instructions on next steps, within 48 hours of receiving an AO Assessment.

Please hit ‘Reply All’ when issuing instructions to the AO to ensure a trail is kept and note that the AO is unable to action matter further without receiving instructions.

Please use the below email templates found when providing DM instructions:

If consulting with NDIA staff and/or NDIA business areas about an internal review, please use the below template and attach the original consultation emails and decision package to this email:

8. Extensions of time

At times and as a result of the complexity or volume of the scope of Internal Review requests, it may be necessary to seek extensions of time for processing.

Different to original requests and in line with section 54D of the FOI Act, an Agency may only seek an extension after the decision has been considered to be a deemed refusal (past due date for decision on access).

When submitting an EOT Request to the OAIC under section 54D, please obtain the DM’s clearance of your draft, prior to submitting.

There are specific questions that must be answered in order for the Information Commissioner (IC) to consider a request for extension of time.

Please see example below:

8.1 Extensions of Time: Informing Applicant of Delay

Although an applicant cannot grant additional time for processing a request for internal review, it is still customary to inform the applicant that there is a delay with processing the request.

Please send the applicant the below email, informing them of the delay.

9. Preparing decision package

Please refer to Sections 9 – 11 of the FOI Induction & Training Manual when preparing the matter for decision.

10. AO: Notify of decision & release documents

Once the DM is satisfied and has authorised the notification of decision and release of the documents, the AO will:

• make any final edits, apply redactions and remove security markings and hidden information • sanitize document bundle and split into 9MB files, where necessary • release the documents to the applicant ensuring that a privacy check has been completed by another member of the team. • Please send an email to the delegate confirming the above have been completed.

Email templates found at ‘FOI – Templates’ or refer to the below:

Freedom of Information (FOI) Information Commissioner Review Training Manual

Purpose

This training manual provides staff with a learning program that familiarises them with the handling of Information Commissioner reviews under the Freedom of Information Act. The objective of this resource is to make sure staff are supported and have all the information required to successfully process Information Commissioner reviews of FOI requests.

To be used by

• Staff managing Information Commissioner Reviews.

Guidance for the processing of Information Commissioner Review Requests

11. External Review by Information Commissioner (IC) of a Decision made by NDIA

An external review of a decision made by NDIA may be carried out by the IC if requested by an applicant in accordance with section 54N of the FOI Act.

In instances where a request for external review of a decision made by the NDIA is made to the IC, the OAIC will inform the NDIA and request that submissions be made in relation to the carriage and decision of the original decision, to ensure compliance with the FOI Act.

The IC has the power to overturn a decision made by an Agency.

Please review Part VII of the FOI Act for further information about this.

How Notifications are received by the Agency

The Agency may receive a Notice of request for IC review and Preliminary Inquiries under s54V.

The Information Commissioner may make preliminary inquiries of the parties to help determine whether to undertake an IC review (s 54V). Such inquiries might be made to clarify whether the review decision falls within the Information Commissioner’s jurisdiction, or to clarify whether an internal review is currently on foot. Where an application for IC review is made in relation to an FOI request that is deemed to have been refused under ss 15AC(3), 51DA(2) or 54D(2) of the FOI Act, the Commissioner will undertake preliminary inquiries.

Whether or not preceded by a s54V, the Agency may receive a Notice of IC review and request for documents under s54Z. The s54Z Notice means a review is on foot, and to begin their considerations, the OAIC require documents and information from the Agency.

Principles of Information Commissioner Review

Review by the Information Commissioner of decisions about access to government documents is designed around several key principles:

• it is a merit review process where the Information Commissioner makes the correct or preferable decision at the time of decision of the Information Commissioner • it is intended to be as informal as possible • it is intended to be non-adversarial, and • it is intended to be timely.

Review by the Information Commissioner is a merit review process. The Commissioner does not simply review the reasons given by the agency or minister, but determines the correct or preferable decision in the circumstances. The Commissioner can access all relevant material, including material that the agency or minister claims is exempt. The Commissioner can also consider additional material or submissions not considered by the original decision maker, including relevant new material that has arisen since the decision was made. For example, for the purpose of deciding whether a document requested by an applicant is conditionally exempt, the Commissioner can take account of contemporary developments that shed light on whether disclosure would be contrary to the public interest. However, the Commissioner cannot determine the exempt status of documents that have become documents of an agency or minister after the date of the applicant’s FOI request.

If the Information Commissioner finds that the original decision was not correct in law or not the preferable decision, the decision can be varied or set aside and a new decision substituted. For example, the Commissioner may decide that a document is not an exempt document under the FOI Act or that an access charge was not correctly applied.

Agencies and ministers must use their best endeavours to assist the Information Commissioner to make the correct or preferable decision in relation to access to information held by the Government (s 55DA). The Information Commissioner also encourages parties to reach agreement as to the terms of a decision on an IC review. The Information Commissioner may then make a decision in accordance with those terms without completing the IC review (s 55F).

Notifying Third Parties

The agency or minister must notify an affected third party where an FOI applicant has applied for IC review of a decision to refuse access to a document to which a consultation requirement applies (s 54P). This obligation applies whether the affected third party made a submission or was invited to make a submission but did not under s 26A (documents affecting Commonwealth-State relations), s 27 (business documents) or s 27A (personal privacy) (s 54P(1) — see Part 6 of the OAIC Guidelines). The third party has a right to be a party in the IC review. The third party would be seeking to support the agency’s or minister’s contention that access should be refused to a document that affects them.

The agency or minister is required as soon as practicable to take all reasonable steps to provide this notice (s 54P(2)) and must also give a copy of the notice to the Information Commissioner as soon as practicable (s 54P(3)). The s 54P notice is generally requested by the IC review officer.

The Information Commissioner may join a person whose interests are affected as a party to an IC review application (s 55A(3)) if that person applies in writing (s 55A(2)).

This could arise, for example, in a case where the IC review applicant is an affected third party who disagrees with an agency’s or minister’s decision to grant access to a document. In that case, the Information Commissioner may join the original FOI applicant to the review.

Making a Varied Decision

After an application is made to the Information Commissioner for IC review, an agency or minister may (at any time during the IC review) revoke or vary an access refusal decision to favour the applicant by: • giving access to a document in accordance with the request (s 55G(1)(a))

• relieving the IC review applicant from liability to pay a charge (s 55G(1)(b)), or • requiring record of personal information to be amended or annotated in accordance with the application (s 55G(1)(c)).

During an IC review, where an agency or minister no longer contends that material is exempt or has identified further material within the scope of the FOI request, a revised decision under s 55G facilitates the prompt release of further material to the applicant.

The agency or minister must notify the Information Commissioner in writing of the new decision (s 55G(2)(a)).

A revised decision does not automatically conclude the IC review. The revised decision will be the decision under review (s 55G(2)(b)). The OAIC will generally consult the applicant as to whether they wish to continue the IC review on the basis of the revised decision.

If the decision under review is a decision refusing to give access to a document in accordance with a request under s 53A(a), the revised decision must have the effect of releasing more material to the applicant. That will include releasing part of a document because ‘document’ under s 4(1) of the FOI Act is defined to also include any part of a document. A revised decision may still be an access refusal decision in relation to other material within the scope of a request, provided that the variation is made ‘in a manner that favours the applicant’.

The power under s 55G to make a revised decision during the IC review only applies to decisions ‘that essentially benefit the applicant’, does not require agreement between the parties and is a prescribed procedure within the IC review process (see Division 6 of Part VII of the FOI Act). Accordingly, it is not in the spirit of a revised decision to include further exemption claims in relation to the remaining material to which access is refused which would have the effect of disadvantaging an applicant.

Any new contentions by an agency or minister that further or different exemptions apply to documents at issue should be put forward as part of the IC review, not as a revised decision under s 55G. Any new contentions that are put forward as part of the IC review must be justified by new circumstances or information that was not available at the time of the earlier decision and supported by detailed submissions.

Agency Submissions

As a general rule, submissions made by the agency will be made available to the IC review applicant, and to other parties as considered appropriate. If submissions are made on a confidential basis, the agency or minister should indicate this to the OAIC before providing the submission and provide adequate reasons to support such a claim. The OAIC will consider those reasons and decide whether to accept the submission on a confidential basis. Where the Information Commissioner accepts a submission in confidence, the agency must provide a version of the submission that can be shared with the applicant.

Information Commissioner Review Processing Timeframes

There are no legislated timeframes applicable to Information Commissioner reviews. However, the OAIC will specify deadlines by which the Agency should return submissions. Extensions of time may be sought where there are grounds for seeking this.

![Flowchart of Information Commissioner Review Process]

Supporting material

1. Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth)
2. Freedom of Information Guidelines
3. Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)
4. FOI Guidelines

Processing IC requests

1. FOI Role Definition

Responsibility for processing requests under FOI is necessarily separated to two key roles:

~~2. What does an internal review entail~~~

In accordance with section 54C(3) of the FOI Act, upon receiving a request for internal review, a decision maker (different to the original decision maker) will make a new decision. That is, consultations, decision justifications and documents provided will be reviewed as part of the internal review and a new decision will be issued accordingly.

If the DM agrees with the original decision, then the applicant of the IR will be provided with a new decision, which affirms the original decision and in line with section 23 of the FOI Act.

However, if upon reviewing the original decision, the new DM decides to revise the decision, then a varied decision will be issued to the applicant, which will outline all variations made in contrast to the original decision and in line with section 23 of the FOI Act.

~~3. Initial Assessment of request~~~

~~Once a request for IR is allocated, it is the responsibility of the AO to assess whether the request meets the FOI Act requirements of validity:~~~

~~• Request is made up to 30 days after original decision was notified~~~

There are many reasons why an applicant may seek a request for internal review. ~~These include:~~~

~~• Reviewing the searches undertaken when processing the original request to ensure all documents in scope were captured as part of the original decision, and/or~~~ • Reviewing the exemptions applied to documents as part of the original decision.

~~Please ensure you submit an AO Assessment to the DM within 48 hours of allocation and use the email template below:~~~

4. Acknowledgement of request

Section 15(5)(a) of the FOI Act requires that requests are acknowledged within 14 days of receipt. Please use the below template when acknowledging IR requests:

6. DM: Providing matter instruction to the AO

The DM must provide instructions on next steps, within 48 hours of receiving an AO Assessment.

Please hit ‘Reply All’ when issuing instructions to the AO to ensure a trail is kept and note that the AO is unable to action matter further without receiving instructions.

Please use the below email templates found when providing DM instructions:

3. Consultations required
If relevant: I am satisfied that no consultations are required.
If relevant: Please consult with the following business areas/NDIA staff in order to determine whether all documents in scope of the request were captured in the original decision and advise me accordingly.

Next steps:
Could I please ask that you:
4. Send an acknowledgment email within 2 business days
5. Send consultations by DATE
6. Have matter prepared for decision by DATE

Kind regards

Your Name
Senior Freedom of Information Office
Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI
Government Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
E:

![ndis logo] |

7. AO: Undertaking document searches and consultations with line areas

When processing IR requests, you may be required to complete document searches and undertake consultations with relevant business areas for documents and/or sensitivities within those documents.

If consulting with NDIA staff and/or NDIA business areas about an internal review, please use the below template and attach the original consultation emails and decision package to this email:

As the decision maker for this Internal Review request, I seek your advice as follows:
4. Can you please advise whether any further documents exist that would fall in scope of the original request
5. Can you please review the attached document bundle considered, as part of the original decision and advise whether there are further sensitivities, OR any information that is no longer viewed as sensitive and can be released as a result, and
6. Can you please provide any other comments you deem relevant to this request.

Next steps:
In order for NDIA to comply with statutory timeframes under the FOI Act, you are required to provide the requested advice by [12.00pm day month year].

If you are unable to provide a response within this timeframe, please advise AO name no later than [12:00pm next day].

Please contact me if you have any questions or require help.

Kind regards

Your Name
Senior Freedom of Information Office
Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI
Government Division
National Disability Insurance Agency |

8. Extensions of time

At times and as a result of the complexity or volume of the scope of Internal Review requests, it may be necessary to seek extensions of time for processing.

Different to original requests and in line with section 54D of the FOI Act, an Agency may only seek an extension after the decision has been considered to be a deemed refusal (past due date for decision on access).

When submitting an EOT Request to the OAIC under section 54D, please obtain the DM’s clearance of your draft, prior to submitting.

There are specific questions that must be answered in order for the Information Commissioner (IC) to consider a request for extension of time.

Please see example below:

Please provide a timeline setting out the work already completed in order to process this request, the work undertaken on this request following any earlier extension granted and the expected timeline for completing the FOI request. *

Please also explain the reasons for the request and why an extension would be justified. Requests for longer extensions of time (more than 30 days) will require greater justification.

You will need to address:

• why the request is considered complex or voluminous • any consultation with the applicant concerning length of time • whether other agencies or parties have an interest in the request • measures that will be taken to ensure a decision will be made with the period of extension granted and to keep the applicant informed about progress.

Generally the OAIC will consult the applicant where the extension sought is for a period longer than 30 days or where the agency is seeking to vary (further extend) an earlier extension granted by the OAIC. During consultation, the OAIC will often send the applicant a copy of the EOT application, so please advise if it contains anything sensitive that should not be passed on.

Reasons *

Please provide a copy of the FOI applicant’s original FOI request and any revisions to the scope of the FOI request. *

8.1 Extensions of Time: Informing Applicant of Delay

Although an applicant cannot grant additional time for processing a request for internal review, it is still customary to inform the applicant that there is a delay with processing the request.

Please send the applicant the below email, informing them of the delay.

9. Preparing decision package

Please refer to Sections 9 – 11 of the FOI Induction & Training Manual when preparing the matter for decision.

10. AO: Notify of decision & release documents

Once the DM is satisfied and has authorised the notification of decision and release of the documents, the AO will:

• make any final edits, apply redactions and remove security markings and hidden information • sanitize document bundle and split into 9MB files, where necessary • release the documents to the applicant ensuring that a privacy check has been completed by another member of the team. • Please send an email to the delegate confirming the above have been completed.

Email templates found at ‘FOI – Templates’ or refer to the below:

Contents

Freedom of Information (FOI) Information Commissioner Review Training Manual…………………………………. 1   Purpose ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1   To be used by………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1   Guidance for the processing of Information Commissioner Review Requests……………………………………… 3     Section 54V and Section 54Z Notices…………………………………………………………………………    The principles of Information Commissioner Reviews……………………………………………………………………. 3     Processing a Notice of IC review and request for documents under s54Z………………………………..     Information Commissioner Review Processing Timeframes …………………………………………………………… 3   Processing IR requests …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5     1. FOI Role Definition ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5     2. What does an internal review entail ……………………………………………………………………………………. 5     3. Initial Assessment of request ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5     4. Acknowledgement of request ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7     6. DM: Providing matter instruction to the AO……………………………………………………………………………….. 7     7. AO: Undertaking document searches and consultations with line areas ………………………………………. 8     8. Extensions of time ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10    8.1 Extensions of Time: Informing Applicant of Delay ………………………………………………………………….. 10     9. Preparing decision package ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11    10. AO: Notify of decision, release documents & close off matter …………………………………………………. 11

11. External Review by Information Commissioner (IC) of a Decision made by NDIA ……………………… 26

11. External Review by Information Commissioner (IC) of a Decision made by NDIA

An external review of a decision made by NDIA may be carried out by the IC if requested by an applicant in accordance with section 54N of the FOI Act.

In instances where a request for external review of a decision made by the NDIA is made to the IC, the OAIC will inform the NDIA and request that submissions be made in relation to the carriage and decision of the original decision, to ensure compliance with the FOI Act.

The IC has the power to overturn a decision made by an Agency.

Please review Part VII of the FOI Act for further information about this.

The Agency may receive a Notice of request for IC review and Preliminary Inquiries under s54V.

The Information Commissioner may make preliminary inquiries of the parties to help determine whether to undertake an IC review (s 54V). Such inquiries might be made to clarify whether the review decision falls within the Information Commissioner’s jurisdiction, or to clarify whether an internal review is currently on foot. Where an application for IC review is made in relation to an FOI request that is deemed to have been refused under ss 15AC(3), 51DA(2) or 54D(2) of the FOI Act, the Commissioner will undertake preliminary inquiries.

Whether or not preceded by a s54V, the Agency may receive a Notice of IC review and request for documents under s54Z. The s54Z Notice means a review is on foot, and to begin their considerations, the OAIC require documents and information from the Agency.

Principles of OAIC review

Review by the Information Commissioner of decisions about access to government documents is designed around several key principles:

• it is a merit review process where the Information Commissioner makes the correct or preferable decision at the time of decision of the Information Commissioner • it is intended to be as informal as possible • it is intended to be non-adversarial, and • it is intended to be timely.

Review by the Information Commissioner is a merit review process. The Commissioner does not simply review the reasons given by the agency or minister, but determines the correct or preferable decision in the circumstances. The Commissioner can access all relevant material, including material that the agency or minister claims is exempt. The Commissioner can also consider additional material or submissions not considered by the original decision maker, including relevant new material that has arisen since the decision was made. For example, for the purpose of deciding whether a document requested by an applicant is conditionally exempt, the Commissioner can take account of contemporary developments that shed light on whether disclosure would be contrary to the public interest. However, the Commissioner cannot determine the exempt status of documents that have become documents of an agency or minister after the date of the applicant’s FOI request.

If the Information Commissioner finds that the original decision was not correct in law or not the preferable decision, the decision can be varied or set aside and a new decision substituted. For example, the Commissioner may decide that a document is not an exempt document under the FOI Act or that an access charge was not correctly applied.

Agencies and ministers must use their best endeavours to assist the Information Commissioner to make the correct or preferable decision in relation to access to information held by the Government (s 55DA). The Information Commissioner also encourages parties to reach agreement as to the terms of a decision on an IC review. The Information Commissioner may then make a decision in accordance with those terms without completing the IC review (s 55F).

The agency or minister must notify an affected third party where an FOI applicant has applied for IC review of a decision to refuse access to a document to which a consultation requirement applies (s 54P). This obligation applies whether the affected third party made a submission or was invited to make a submission but did not under s 26A (documents affecting Commonwealth-State relations), s 27 (business documents) or s 27A (personal privacy) (s 54P(1) — see Part 6 of the OAIC Guidelines). The third party has a right to be a party in the IC review. The third party would be seeking to support the agency’s or minister’s contention that access should be refused to a document that affects them.

The agency or minister is required as soon as practicable to take all reasonable steps to provide this notice (s 54P(2)) and must also give a copy of the notice to the Information Commissioner as soon as practicable (s 54P(3)). The s 54P notice is generally requested by the IC review officer.

The Information Commissioner may join a person whose interests are affected as a party to an IC review application (s 55A(3)) if that person applies in writing (s 55A(2)).

This could arise, for example, in a case where the IC review applicant is an affected third party who disagrees with an agency’s or minister’s decision to grant access to a document. In that case, the Information Commissioner may join the original FOI applicant to the review.

After an application is made to the Information Commissioner for IC review, an agency or minister may (at any time during the IC review) revoke or vary an access refusal decision to favour the applicant by: • giving access to a document in accordance with the request (s 55G(1)(a)) • relieving the IC review applicant from liability to pay a charge (s 55G(1)(b)), or • requiring record of personal information to be amended or annotated in accordance with the application (s 55G(1)(c)).

During an IC review, where an agency or minister no longer contends that material is exempt or has identified further material within the scope of the FOI request, a revised decision under s 55G facilitates the prompt release of further material to the applicant.

The agency or minister must notify the Information Commissioner in writing of the new decision (s 55G(2)(a)).

A revised decision does not automatically conclude the IC review. The revised decision will be the decision under review (s 55G(2)(b)). The OAIC will generally consult the applicant as to whether they wish to continue the IC review on the basis of the revised decision.

If the decision under review is a decision refusing to give access to a document in accordance with a request under s 53A(a), the revised decision must have the effect of releasing more material to the applicant. That will include releasing part of a document because ‘document’ under s 4(1) of the FOI Act is defined to also include any part of a document. A revised decision may still be an access refusal decision in relation to other material within the scope of a request, provided that the variation is made ‘in a manner that favours the applicant’.

The power under s 55G to make a revised decision during the IC review only applies to decisions ‘that essentially benefit the applicant’, does not require agreement between the parties and is a prescribed procedure within the IC review process (see Division 6 of Part VII of the FOI Act). Accordingly, it is not in the spirit of a revised decision to include further exemption claims in relation to the remaining material to which access is refused which would have the effect of disadvantaging an applicant.

Any new contentions by an agency or minister that further or different exemptions apply to documents at issue should be put forward as part of the IC review, not as a revised decision under s 55G. Any new contentions that are put forward as part of the IC review must be justified by new circumstances or information that was not available at the time of the earlier decision and supported by detailed submissions.

As a general rule, submissions made by the agency will be made available to the IC review applicant, and to other parties as considered appropriate. If submissions are made on a confidential basis, the agency or minister should indicate this to the OAIC before providing the submission and provide adequate reasons to support such a claim. The OAIC will consider those reasons and decide whether to accept the submission on a confidential basis. Where the Information Commissioner accepts a submission in confidence, the agency must provide a version of the submission that can be shared with the applicant.

Processing a Notice of IC review and request for documents under s54Z.

The information sought by the OAIC in a s54Z Notice is typically:

• The FOI request and any correspondence that modifies its scope • The names and contact details of anyone who was consulted by NDIA, formally under ss15(7), 26A, 27A or informally (including consultations with other government agencies) • Copies of any correspondence between NDIA, and anyone who was consulted, including file notes of any relevant telephone conversations • A marked up and redacted copy of the documents at issue in an electronic format. Material which is claimed to be exempt should be highlighted with reference made to the exemption/s applied. • Submissions in relation to the exemptions claimed under s redacted and any other submissions NDIA wishes to make in support of its decision.

The reason why we engage with LST is because when a matter comes to external review, the matter reaches beyond the ambit of the FOI team. Unless a strong submission is provided defending the Agency position, there is a risk to the Agency of the IC making a decision on the matter. While this doesn’t set a precedent in that it obliges us to make that same decision ourselves every time in primary decision, it would be risky not to do so, as, if any such matter is brought to the OAIC again it is unlikely they’d make a different decision and they could criticise the agency if we keep repeating indefensible redactions. So if the IC makes the decision, the matter is taken out of our hands, and that may be a risk to the Agency operations if we haven’t provided sufficient evidence (the IC is not concerned with detriment if we don’t provide evidence), or to the Agency reputation if we defend a decision that is indefensible. LST are aware of these issues, and can either provide advice that our position is not sufficiently robust to defend a position and that we should consider a varied decision, or can help us with the submission by citing case law that where our position is considered to be robust, adding strength to the argument we provide in our submission.

We do need to identify who the third parties are and notify them that an IC review is on foot, if redactions made on their advice is under challenge. We may also need to ask them to provide further robustness to any argument they have already made, but also maybe not, depending.

Unlike an internal review, where we’re obliged to consider every part of the decision-making process, from scope interpretation and searches to the redactions, regardless of what exactly the applicant is contesting, with an external review, we only consider that part raised by the OAIC, although of course the OAIC won’t object to anything that assists an outcome in the applicant’s favour, and we should always take a position of looking at a matter with applicant interest in mind.

It is also possible to negotiate scope along the way, eg, to ask the applicant to remove staff names from scope if that is an impediment to making a varied decision for full release, etc.

There is a template for the submission but the FOI team will only prepare the framework. The submission should provide a summary of the matter, including the rescope, if any, extensions of time, consultations, and any other pertinent information.

Line area input

Searches – detailed information must be provided as to where the searches were conducted, who assisted, the nature of the databases available to be searched, the date range searched and so forth as appropriate.

Redactions - we will need to consult with the line areas again to ask them to contribute advice we’ll need for strengthening defence of redactions, or providing them with advice on why we (and the legal team) think we should remove redactions, ie, on this occasion only, or it is not a robust position generally. If they wish to maintain the redactions in question, they must provide signed-off and very robust evidence-based advice, something required by LST before they can complete the submission.

If defending redactions, the submission should typically provide stronger argument than the primary decision and this is where we need LST input. You can look through previous submissions founded on the same issues (we will develop standard paragraphs where possible) and put in what you think would be helpful.

s54z - Significant Requests

s54z – Non-significant Requests

A.

B.

C.

1. Prepare a consultation for the line area xxxxxxxx seeking further advice on [searches / redactions] allowing a 7 business day return.
2. [where relevant] Prepare a notification of the review for the third part, seeking their further advice, allowing a 7 business day return.
   Thank you. |

D.

E.

| CONSULTATION: MR xx/xxxxxx
               OAIC 21/22- xxxxx (xxxxx)
               FOI 21/22-xxxxxx

DUE DATE: xxxxxxxxx

Dear [Line area / third party]
We have received a Notice from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), notifying that xxxxx has made application to them for review of a decision made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).
You may recall that, as affected third party, we consulted you on [date] and your reply is attached. A decision was made that accords with that advice.
We are writing to ask whether your opinion has changed and you now believe the relevant information can be disclosed, or whether you wish to maintain your argument that this material should not be disclosed.
If we decide to vary the decision and disclose any of the material you have contended should not be disclosed, you will have review rights and we will contact you to let you know before making that decision.
Please advise your reply by xxxxx |

F.

Dear Legal Services Team

Please find below and attached details of an IC review for which we seek your input to submission

Please contact me if you have any questions. Kind regards

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Training Guide

For Internal Use Only

The contents of this document are OFFICIAL.

Guide to File Notes and Reminders on LEX

This guide outlines to different sorts of file notes and reminders that the Information Access section uses on LEX when processing Freedom of Information (FOI) and Participant Information Access (PIA) matters.

1. LEX file notes

1.1 PIA pages released

Number of pages released in each PIA matter recorded under the dedicated category: PIA > Number of Pages Released. Only numeric figures are added to the file note.

1.2 Correspondence notes

Correspondence notes record successful or unsuccessful attempts to contain the applicant and/or other parties. Correspondence notes include comments like “email sent to applicant requesting recent consent form.” These are recorded using the category: Email or Telephone call (as appropriate).

1.3 Registration notes

Registration notes explain how non-standard matters have been registered. They may include notes like “two request emails have been combined into one matter.” These are recorded using the category: Matter Details.

1.4 Status updates

Status updates give an overview of a matter’s current status. This includes ongoing tasks, outstanding tasks awaiting responses, or plans to take further actions. They may include notes like “drafting decision letter” or “awaiting payment summary” or “contact legal service for advice” or “contact applicant to apologise for the delay.” These are recorded using the category: Last Action.

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The team use Last Action notes to generate a report on Tier 3 FOI matters which includes the current status of each matter.

1.5 Subject matter catchphrases

Registration catchphrases describe the subject matter of requests from a defined vocabulary of terms. Catchphrases are added at the registration stage and are recorded using the category the File Notes > Note.

2. Reminders

2.1 Allocation details

Allocation details aren’t added using the file note feature. Instead, they recorded in the Reminders tab as either FOI Allocation Date or PIA Allocation Date.

2.2 FOI/PIA - Expiration of timeframe

Staff can add this reminder so they get an alert when a matter reaches it deadline.

2.3 FOI/PIA - Date due to Decision Maker

Staff can add this reminder so they get alerts when a draft decision is due for progression to their Decision Maker.

2.4 FOI – Add to Disclosure Log

Staff can add this reminder so they get an alert when a non-personal matter is due to be published on the disclosure log, 10 business days after it was released.

3. Summary page notes box

3.1 Next steps

The next steps notes box is a way to record planned actions. Next steps notes that are designed to be temporary. Each new next step note will override the previous one and they do

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not contain any date of action. As such, they are not suited to demonstrating the progress of a matter – last action file notes (see section 2.4 above) are better suited for this task.

To add a next step note, click on main details. Click on the next steps tab.

Text added to the next steps notes will appear on the summary page under the snapshot / main summary information.

![Screenshot of LEX Summary page showing Next Steps box]

![Screenshot of LEX Notes section showing Next Steps]

4. Version control

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Standard Operating Procedure

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Guide to FOI Classification, Notifications and Visibility

1. Purpose

This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) outlines the procedure for FOI staff to identify and manage FOI matters based on complexity and sensitivity and the process to ensure sufficient SES consultation and visibility.

2. Contents

Guide to FOI Classification, Notifications and Visibility…………………………………………………………………………. 1    1.   Purpose …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1    3.   Procedure ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1      3.1  General guide to classify FOI matters ………………………………………………………………………………………… 1      3.2  Notification and Visibility for Internal Stakeholders ………………………………………………………………………… 2      3.3  Tier Classification ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3      3.4  Reclassification ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6    4.   Feedback ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6    5.   Version control………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6

3. Procedure

3.1 General guide to classify FOI matters

The FOI Triage Officer classifies all FOI matters as either a Tier 1A, 1B, 2 or 3 matter. Details of the tier definitions are detailed in the Tier Classification table.

The FOI decision maker will consider advice provided by the NDIA business area responsible for the documents in relation to sensitivities. This can include a recommendation to reclassify the tier level.

Higher tier levels are more sensitive in nature and therefore require a higher level of visibility for senior Agency staff. A Tier 1 matter does not require senior staff visibility prior to release. However, early visibility must be provided to the appropriate Strategic Leadership Team (SLT)

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member and subject matter experts for all Tier 3 matters. The management strategy of Tier 2 and 3 matters are discussed with the FOI Director during the daily significant matters meeting.

Matters requiring Minister’s Office visibility will be decided on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the Branch Manager (BM) Parliamentary, Ministerial and FOI.

3.2 Notification and Visibility for Internal Stakeholders

3.2.1 Registration and Notification

FOI staff will consider the scope of documents and the profile of the FOI applicant when determining the appropriate Tier level for all FOI requests.

Relevant SLT members and the Media team will receive notification of any Tier 3 significant FOI matters under direction from Director or Assistant Director.

Consultation with the BM Complaints Management and FOI and/or General Manager (GM) General Counsel Division will determine which SLT members require notification.

3.2.2 Prior to Release

Before a Tier 3 matter is released, the draft decision package will be provided to the BM Complaints Management and FOI for review. The BM will provide the documents to relevant internal stakeholders for visibility as per the Tier Classification table.

All stakeholders will be given 48 hrs to review the decision package and provide feedback prior to release.

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Temporary process - 6 November 2024

All non-personal requests will be tiered as a 3 with GC visibility. Matters will be assigned to the ER&T DM for early resolution, scoping and preliminary consultation. Matters will be assessed against the tier 3 criteria prior to being allocated to FOI registration officer or before finalising the decision.

3.3 Tier Classification

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3.4 Reclassification

During the processing of a request, the FOI decision maker may identify that the tier level initially assigned is not appropriate. For example, a matter that was originally classified as Tier 2 may be upgraded to Tier 3 on the advice of a subject matter expert.

If this occurs, the FOI decision maker processing the matter will consult with the FOI Assistant Director, and if reclassification is deemed appropriate, email foi@ndis.gov.au stating that the matter needs to be reclassified.

LEX and FOI Database is then updated to reflect new Tier and GC Visibility when appropriate.

4. Feedback

If you have any feedback about this Standard Operating Procedure, please email foi@ndis.gov.au

5. Version control

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Standard Operating Procedure

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LEX turnaround clock

The standard operating procedure (SOP) describes how to use the turaround clock feature on LEX. This feature enables staff to easily record whether Freedom of Information (FOI) requests are within their legislated timeframe, even when that timeframe has been extended.

This means that we can run accurates reports about which matters are overdue (or deemed), and which remain in time even if they appear past their original due date.

LEX Help

LEX has a comprehensive in-built help function that covers how to use file note features. If you would like to learn more, please refer to the official LEX help feature. You can access it by clicking on the about menu, then choosing help.

1. Start the clock

1. When the matter is being registered, turn the turnaround clock on. On the bottom of the summary page, click the start link.

2. The date field will default to today’s date. Change the date to the day the valid request was received. Enter clock days 30 for primary FOI matters and internal reviews. Enter the days allowed by OAIC for OAIC reviews and preliminary enquiries (the days allowed is written in OAIC’s email). The text field will be pre-populated with standard text. Leave

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this text as it is.

3. Click save.

4. You can also start the turnaround clock by going into the files notes menu and adding a new file note with the type clock start.

Note: Under the Acts Interpretation Act (1901) section 36, matters due on weekends or public holidays can be released the next working day. If your matter is due on a Saturday or Sunday or public holiday, amend the clock days as appropriate when starting the clock. Include a comment referring to the Acts Interpretation Act (1901) s 36 in the clock start file note to justify this action.

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2. Extend the clock

1. On the bottom of the summary page, click the extend link.

2. From the pop-up menu, click the reason for the extension.

3. The date field will default to today’s date. Change the date to the day the extension was approved.

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4. If you have selected consult third parties, the clock days will be pre-populated with 30 days. If you have picked another section, the clock days field will be blank. Manually enter the number of days in the extension. The text field will be pre-populated with the reason for the extension. Leave this text as it is.

5. Click save.

6. You can also extend the clock time by going into the file notes menu, adding a new file note with the type clock timeframe.

3. Stop the clock

0. You need to stop the clock permanently when a request is finalised. You may also need to stop it temporarily if a request consultation process (under section 24AB of the FOI Act) has commenced or if you have issued a charges notice. Click the stop link on the bottom of the summary page.

1. The clock stop date will default to today’s date. Change this date to the date the clock needs to be stopped (for example, if you released the matter on Monday, but are doing your administration on Friday, change the date to Monday).

2. Enter reason the timeframe has stopped in the text box. For example, you could write notice of decision send to applicant or request consultation process initiated.

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3. Click save.

4. If a matter has been finalised, you do not need to restart the clock.

5. However, if the clock was stopped temporarily due to a request consultation process or charges notice, you can restart the clock (when the applicant responds in accordance with the notice issued) by clicking the restart button of the summary page.

6. When you click restart, the date field will default to today’s date. Change the date to the day the clock needs to be restarted (for example, if an applicant responded to a 24AB request consultation process letter with a reduced scope on Monday, change the date to Tuesday: the day after they responded).

7. You can also stop or restart the clock by going to the file notes menu and adding a new file note with type clock stop or clock start (as appropriate).

IMPORTANT NOTE: The turnaround clock tracks a FOI request’s legislated timeframe. Therefore, you can only extend or temporarily stop the clock if you have a reason linked to a section of the Freedom of Information Act (1982). There is no valid reason to extend or temporarily stop the turnaround clock for Participant Information Access (PIA) matters. For PIA matters, the turnaround clock is started on the day a matter is received and closed on the day it is finalsied.

4. Version control

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Version Amended Brief Description of Change Status Date by

0.1 LDP633 Initial Version APPROVED 2023-11-24

                             OFFICIAL

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Participant Information Access LEX processing

This Standard Operating Procedure provides information on how to process a PIA matter in LEX.

1. Process

   1. Open LEX and click on the Date Received column to filter by oldest matter first

   2. Double click on the top row item to open the oldest matter first. The following LEX Screen

      will display.

OFFICIAL Standard Operating Procedure

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3. From the Documents tab double click on the Document hyperlink. The link with open the

  SharePoint folder the document is stored in.

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4. Open the Original Request folder

5. Select the Webform Submission from_Participant Information Access Request file

OFFICIAL Standard Operating Procedure

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6. This opens the Webform Submission

7. Click the ellipsis “…” dots at top of screen and select Download from the drop-down

 menu.

8. Select Keep

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9. Select Open file

10. The email Webform submission will open in an email and consent form will be attached

Tip: If the Consent Form is not attached, check SharePoint for consent as a saved document

Note: Where no consent form is found, create a New Email to seek consent. Further information

can be found in the AO assessment.

OFFICIAL Standard Operating Procedure

                                          For Internal Use Only

11. In the webform submission email, select Forward to start working on your matter.

12. Add your Decision Makers name in the To field, update the Subject field and select the

    correct Template from your saved Signatures.

13. Prepare the matter as per your normal Action Officer process

14. End of Process

15. Version Control

Version Amended Brief Description of Change Status Date by 1.0 HIL533 Initial version review Approved 2023-11-02

1.1 CH0058 Accessibility and Style review Approved 2023-11-16

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                               For Internal Use Only

The contents of this document are OFFICIAL.

Payment summary report generation - Past Paid

NDIS Amounts Report (PPNAR)

This standard operating procedure (SOP) describes how member of the Information Access

team can generate payment summary reports to fulfill Freedom of Information (FOI) and

Participant Information Access (PIA) requests.

1. Prerequisites

Topic Checklist

Pre-requisites ❑Staff must have access to the requisite systems before using this process. To gain access, use this SOP: SOP – FOI – Payment summary systems access.docx ❑Only staff with permission from the FOI Director are eligible to use

                        this process.

2. Procedure

1. Go to the following SharePoint link where the SAS code for this report is stored: Updated files

2. Click on the three dots next to PPNAR_Project.egp and click on Download.

3. PPNAR_Project.egp file will be downloaded to your windows Downloads folder as below:

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4. Double click on this file and it will open up in SAS EG.

5. Then right click on the programs as below and select your “compensationrecoveriesSandpit”.

   Note: You will not have access to biSandpit. The write of this SOP did not have access to compensation recoveries that is the reason biSandpit is showing in the below screen shot.

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6. Do the same for the other two programs data prep and output too. After that click on save (below red circle).

7. Double click and open the PPNAR_Input.sas program. Note: you can open it either via left side pane or from right side process flow diagram, it the same.

8. Update the email_address on line 18 and 19 to the email address of the recipients of the report.

9. Click on save (same as in the pick of Step 6)

10. Update the datalines after row 36 with the details of each report using the below method.

11. Copy only the values not the column names. For example, in the above excel copy only from cell A2 to D4.

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12. Paste the copied values into the PPNAR_Input.sas program after “datalines; “as below:

13. Click on save as shown in point 6.

14. Now go to process flow tab, unselect if anything is accidentally showing selected by clicking anywhere on the empty grid area and hit the run button as shown below:

15. The process should take 8 to 15 mins to execute depending on the number of datalines and duration of each report.

16. Once the program starts to run the Run button will be disabled and Cancel button will be enabled as below. If you need to cancel due to incorrect values entered or any other reason hit the cancel button else leave it running:

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17. After the program finishes running the Run button will be reenabled and Cancel will be disabled. Also in the submission Status it will show Successful if it has run without any errors:

18. The email recipient entered in line 9 will receive a separate email for each dataline entered.

19. Each email will have two attachments. 1x Excel Report and 1x PDF Report

20. Appropriate sensitivity labels should be added to the documents before sharing them. Visit the Protective markings intranet page for detailed information and instructions.

21. Related documents

• SOP – FOI – Payment summary systems access.docx • Task card - FOI - Payment summary troubleshooting work flow.docx

4. Version control

Version Amended Brief Description of Change Status Date by

1.0 LDP633 Initial version with NDIA style and formatting APPROVED 2024-05-20 based on content supplied by NPK779

FOI 24/25-0507OFFICIAL DOCUMENT 13 Task card

                               For Internal Use Only

The contents of this document are OFFICIAL.

Payment summary report troubleshooting work

flow

This task card lays out the workflow for seeking assistance with payment summary technical

issues. It is important that staff try to resolve problems in this order and via the appropriate

channels.

1. Procedure

2. Try to fix the problem yourself.

3. If you can’t fix it yourself, ask a technically knowledgeable colleague.

4. If your colleague can’t fix the problem, lodge an ICT ticket using the ICT Service Desk.

5. If ICT can’t fix the problem, lodge a request for help with Data & Analytics team at the

  Analytics, Data and Actuarial Division Service Desk.

5. If the Data & Analytics team can’t fix the problem, alert your team leader and Assistant

  Director via email.

2. Related files

   • SOP – FOI – Payment summary systems access.docx • SOP – FOI – Payment summary report generation.docx

3. Version control

Version Amended Brief Description of Change Status Date by

0.1 LDP633 Initial Version APPROVED 2024-05-20

FOI 24/25-0507OFFICIAL DOCUMENT 14 Standard Operating Procedure

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The contents of this document are OFFICIAL.

Payment summary system access – installing

and setting up SAS Enterprise Guide (SAS EG)

This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) details the steps to request access to the

prerequisite systems required for payment summary generation for Freedom of Information

(FOI) staff.

This SOP does not detail the steps on how to generate a payment summary. Please see this

SOP for details of how to run payment summary reports: SOP – FOI – Payment summary

report generation.docx

1. Prerequisites

Topic Checklist

Pre-requisites ❑Only staff with the permission of the FOI Director to generate

                payment summaries should seek these accesses.

2. Procedure

2.1 Submit an ICT request for SAS EG on your laptop

1. Go to the ICT Software Catalogue

2. Scroll down the page (all software listed are in alphabetical order) until you see SAS

Enterprise Guide.

3. Click on Request Access, then click Continue.

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4. Write into the box your Business Justification. For example:

“The FOI team is required to generate our own Payment Summaries though SAS. This

access enables FOI staff members to access the Compensation Recoveries Sandpit and

open the associated libraries using the modified NDIS Grid profile. Without access to SAS

EG, we cannot generate Payment Summaries and therefore cannot perform the role of

releasing them to participants through Freedom of Information or the Participant

Information Access scheme.”

5. Submit request.

2.2 Install and set up SAS EG

Your previous request must have been approved before you can proceed with this section.

1. Open Company Portal from your laptop Start menu or type it in your search

   (magnifying glass on taskbar).

2. You will see SAS Full Client, click on Install.

3. Wait until it finishes. This may take some time.

4. Now go to Start menu and you will see SEGuide listed in your list of apps.

5. Open SEGuide.

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6. Go to Tools > Connections > Profiles > NDIS-Grid > Modify. Make sure you have all

  the details filled in as below:

7. Fill in User: your NDIS userID and password: your Windows password (NOT the PIN)

8. Click Save and Connect.

9. You should now be connected to the NDIS grid as below (upper right corner of your

SAS EG):

2.3 Request access to Compensation Recoveries Sandpit on SAS

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1. Go to ISP Portal (external) from the NDIA intranet.

2. Login with your NDIS UserID/email and the password.

3. Click on Request Resource

4. Fill in the reason. For example:

 “The FOI team is required to generate our own Payment Summaries though SAS.

 This access enables FOI staff members to access the Compensation Recoveries Sandpit.

  Without access to Compensation Recoveries Sandpit, we cannot generate Payment

 Summaries and therefore cannot perform the role of releasing them to participants

  through Freedom of Information or the Participant Information Access scheme.”

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5. Click on the magnifying glass next to Category and select NDIA Active Directory >

 Access Control as below:

6. In Containing box type AP-CompensationRecoveries-Developer

7. Click Search.

8. In the Results you will see below. Click on the top arrow to bring this in the right-hand

  box:

9. After bringing it in the right box you will see as below: It will list down the names of the

  people who will approve your request-highlighted in yellow. You can reach out to them

   for following up on the approval process. These approvers can vary from person to

  person. So please check who are the approvers in your case, do not use the below

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  people.

10. Click Submit.

3. Related documents

   • SOP – FOI – Payment summary report generation.docx • Task card - FOI - Payment summary troubleshooting work flow.docx

4. Version control

Version Amended Brief Description of Change Status Date by

1.0 LDP633 Initial version with NDIA style and formatting APPROVED 2024-05-20 based on content supplied by NPK779

DOCUMENT 15 FOI 24/25-0507OFFICIAL Task Card

                               For Internal Use Only

The contents of this document are OFFICIAL.

Plan Extensions

This task card explains the steps to use CRM generate copies of plans for NDIS participants

who had their plans extended as part of the Agency Initiated Plan Review (AIPR) Plan

Continuation Strategy.

1. Background

The NDIS business system CRM was upgraded to allow both NDIA and partners to complete

plan reviews easily, including plan renewals and longer-term plan renewals as part of the

Agency Initiated Plan Review (AIPR) Plan Continuation Strategy. Due to this upgrade, some

participants are advised in writing they have had their plan extended but may not have been

provided a copy of the extended plan.

Participants who have had an AIPR will have an alert listed in CRM as shown below. There is

no alert in PACE.

2. Task

When a request is received for a copy of the current plan, it is not always obvious that there

has been a plan extension. The applicant may not advise that there has been a plan

extension.

Assess whether the latest plan document filed in Outbound Documents corresponds with the

dates on the latest Review Application under Pathway. If the latest plan document in

Outbound documents does not match the dates under Pathway, follow these steps be to

generate an extended plan document.

2.1 Generate a copy of the extended plan in CRM

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1. Go to participant profile in CRM.

2. Go to Pathway tab.

3. Review Application – select which one is required. Note: the most recent plan extension is the first on top.

4. In applications area, select Planning tab.

5. Scroll down and select Final Plan.

6. Scroll down and select print immediately (bottom righthand side)

7. Save accordingly.

8. Provide document to applicant as outlined in their request.

9. Version control

Version Amended Brief Description of Change Status Date by

1.0 LDP633 Initial Version derived from a Records DRAFT 2024-01-15 Management task card. Formatting and plain English updated to meet accessibility requirements.

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Processing PIA scheme requests for

information

This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) documents the process to respond to a

request for information under Participant Information Access (PIA).

This step provides steps to process a request under PIA. For next step, refer the

applicant to alternative information access processes where necessary.

This resource aligns with Agency aspirations from the Corporate Plan 2020-2024

and reinforces our commitment to participants as detailed in the Participant Service

Charter.

Contents

Processing PIA scheme requests for information ……………………………………………………..1

1.   Scope..........................................................................................................................2

Making a request .............................................................................................................4

Acknowledgment .............................................................................................................4

2. Framework …………………………………………………………………………………………………..5

3. Definitions ……………………………………………………………………………………………………6

4.   Prerequisites..............................................................................................................7

5. Process Timeframe ……………………………………………………………………… 8

6. Procedure ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10

6.1   Register a PIA request .................................................................................     10

6.2   Verify identity ...................................................................................................... 10

6.3  Confirm authority ................................................................................................ 10

6.4  Consent ............................................................................................................... 11

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6.5  Confirm address for reply ................................................................................. 11

6.6   Registration .................................................................................................        11

6.7    Processing........................................................................................................... 12

6.8   Extraction of information ................................................................................... 13

6.9  Documents available under PIA .................................................................     13

6.10   Preparing a bundle of documents................................................................ 14

6.11   Send to Delegate................................................................................            14

6.12   Review and release .................................................................................      15

6.13      Privacy.............................................................................................................. 16

7. Complaints and escalation ……………………………………………………….. 16

8. Data collection and reporting ……………………………………………………….. 17

9. Supporting material ……………………………………………………………………………. 17

10. Version control ……………………………………………………………………………………. 17

11. Scope

This SOP applies to requests for information under PIA. The release of information

under PIA provides a simplified way for NDIS participants to obtain their personal

information without having to exercise their statutory rights of access under the

Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) or the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act).

The PIA process was developed in line with the Participant Service Charter, which

promotes a transparent and responsive NDIA and is an easier and faster way for

participants and their representatives to access their personal information.

Information about NDIS participants and prospective participants is protected

Agency information under the NDIS Act but may be disclosed with the consent of the

person to which it relates or their authorised representative.

The PIA allows NDIS participants and prospective participants to access their

personal information held on the NDIS Business System (CRM or PACE). Consistent

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with the NDIS Act, a participant’s child representative/s or nominee (as listed on

CRM or PACE) will be able to seek access to information on behalf of participants.

Our team aims to respond to PIA requests no later than 28 days from receipt of the

request, in line with the Participant Service Guarantee (external). However, 14 days

is the internal KPI we aspire to.

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Making a request

Applicants have 3 options available to make a request for their information:

• online via Participant Information Access Request | NDIS

• by emailing a request to information.access@ndis.gov.au

• by calling the National Contact Centre on 1800 800 110.

Acknowledgment

PIA does not formally acknowledge requests however applicants who complete the

PIA request form online will receive an auto-generated confirmation message that

their request has been submitted.

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2. Framework

The PIA framework displays a pyramid representing:

• Legislation at the top of the pyramid.

 NDIS Act – Provides the legislative authority for participant information to be

   disclosed.
  Relevant sections:

        Section 60 – Protection of information held by the NDIA

        Section 74 – Authority to Act on behalf of a Child

        Section 75 – Definition of Parental Responsibility

        Section 78 – Authority to Act as Plan Nominee

        Section 86 – Appointment of Plan Nominee

• Policy as the middle of the pyramid.

  Operational Guideline – Provides the policy to assist the NDIA to perform or

  exercise its functions and powers in making decisions to disclose participants

   information under the NDIS Act.

• Process as the bottom layer of the pyramid.

  Standard Operating Procedure – Provides detailed internal instructions on

 how to process request participant information.

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3. Definitions

Term Definition Example

Personal Information or an opinion Any information held by the information about a person, including a NDIA about a participant, deceased person, whether the including: information or opinion is true • information collected or or not, and whether the created in relation to an information or opinion is access decision recorded in a material form or • information collected or not. created in relation to a plan decision • any other information collected or recorded that relates to a participant. Third party Information or an opinion In some cases, personal information about a person, business, or information about a participant

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Term Definition Example

             group other than the               will be intertwined with
                participant or prospective        information about another
                 participant.                    person, business or group.
                                          For example:
                                               •  information about a parent
                     or another family member
                                               •  information about another
                       participant where SIL
                                            arrangements are in place
                                               •  information about
                  professionals whose
                personal information is not
                  already known to the
                         participant.

Unreasonable Disclosure of information Disclosure of information disclosure about a third-party person, which is not: business or group without their • well known consent. This may constitute • associated with the breach of their privacy. participant’s request • available from public or other sources.

4. Prerequisites

• A request has been made for access to documents or information on a NDIS

   participant’s file on CRM or PACE by the participant or their authorised

   representative; or

• A request has been made for access to documents or information on a

  prospective participant’s file on the CRM or PACE by the prospective

   participant or the person who made a NDIS access request on their behalf

• A request has been made for access to documents or information on a

   participant’s file on CRM or PACE by a person representing the interests of a

   participant and we are satisfied that the participant has consented to provide
  the requestor with the information.

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• A participant or their nominee has requested access to information which is

  about them and available on CRM or PACE

• The participant or the person making the request has not made the request

  under the FOI Act or the Privacy Act; and

• The requested documents or information is included in the list of documents

   available for release under PIA scheme.

See the full list of documents available under PIA scheme

CRM and PACE also record information about children under 9 years with

developmental delay or disability who are receiving Early Childhood Early

Intervention Supports from Early Childhood Partners but are not participants in the

NDIS.

Children’s details are entered into CRM or PACE and all individual activity and

interactions are recorded for each customer including transitions such as whether

the child exits to community and mainstream or to access the NDIS. The children’s

nominees do not have access to the NDIS Portal, and they may exit initial supports

and not request access to the NDIS at all.

The PIA is not available to these customers.

5. Process Timeframe

The process timeframe provides the steps required at each stage of the process:

Day 1 – Triage

• Triage – Determine whether the request is suitable for PIA.

• Verify Identity – Ensure the applicant is who they say they are.

• Confirm Authority – If applicable, confirm the applicant has authority.

• Acknowledge – Let the applicant know that the request has been received.

  This happens automatically. Anyone who emails

  information.access@ndis.gov.au gets an auto-reply. Anyone who submits a

  request via the PIA webform is shown a screen that confirms that their

  request was successfully submitted.

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Day 2 – Registration

• Register – Make a record that the request has been received. Registrations

  are completed by APS4 and APS5 Action Officers in the case management

  teams.

Day 3-8 – Allocation

• Allocate – Assign the matter to a team for action. The PIA Triage Officer does

  bulk allocations to case management teams. Once allocated to a team, the

   Assistant Director will assign it to an individual staff member. Bulk allocations

  take place once a week, on Thursdays. Therefore, PIA matters should be no

 more than 8 days old when allocated for action.

Day 9-13 - Processing

• Collate Information – Gather and collate the requested information.

• Authorise release – Ensure the information is correct and is appropriate for

   release.

Day 14

• Release – Ensure a privacy check is completed and release the information to

  the applicant.

• Finalise – Make a record that the request has been finalised.

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6. Procedure

6.1 Register a PIA request

Upon receipt of a request, the Allocations & Registrations (A&R) team will triage the

request. If the request can be managed under PIA, the request will be registered and

allocated the request to either an Action Officer, a Decision Maker or an Action

Officer/Decision Maker pairing.

6.2 Verify identity

To comply with Australian Privacy laws, we must complete a security check to

confirm the identity of the applicant if they are also a participant.

A security check is completed by confirming 3 pieces of personal information which

can be checked against information available in CRM or PACE.

For more information about how to complete a security check refer to

SOP_CompleteSecurityCheck.docx (ndia.gov.au)

All applicants are required to verify their identity.

6.3 Confirm authority

When the applicant is not the participant, the applicant must have express consent to

receive information about the participant. Where express consent has been given, it

will often appear in CRM or PACE. A security check must be completed with the

applicant before providing any details from the record.

Appropriate authorities include:

• The applicant is listed as a Plan Nominee for the participant

• The applicant is a Child Representative for the participant

• The applicant is a prospective participant or is the person who acted for them

   in making a request for access to the NDIS.

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6.4 Consent

Sometimes a request for a participant’s information will be made by someone other

than a participant, their nominee or child representative. For example, a request

might be made by a law firm, or an insurance company involved in a legal case with

the participant, or by a support coordinator. In these cases, you should only provide

the participant’s information if you are satisfied that the participant has consented to

us sharing their information with the requestor.

For consent to be valid:

• The participant must have been adequately informed before giving consent.

 They must have been informed why their consent was being requested.

• The participant must have given their consent voluntarily.

• The consent must be current and specific. Generally, the PIA will not accept

  consent if it was given more than 12 months ago. The consent must be

   directed to the NDIA.

• The participant must have the capacity to understand and communicate their

  consent.

Where an applicant is not the participant, their nominee, a child representative and

has not provided valid consent, the request should be denied.

You should respond to the applicant outlining the reasons the request was denied,

including alternative options for accessing the information they are seeking.

6.5 Confirm address for reply

Where the applicant is a participant, a nominee or child representative, the email

address provided by the applicant should be checked against email addresses on

the participants CRM or PACE record.

If the email address is different, or no email address has been recorded in CRM or

PACE, then it should be confirmed with the applicant before the information is

released.

6.6 Registration

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When a request is registered, the following steps will be taken:

• a reference number will be assigned to the request.

• depending on its complexity, the request will be registered as a PIA-A matter

   or a PIA-B matter.

• an individual folder in LEX will be created in which all key documents relating

   to the matter will be saved.

• an interaction record will be created on CRM, or a case created in PACE to

  record that a request for information has been received and what documents

 have been released.

• Once the information is released to the applicant, the interaction record or

  case will be closed.

6.7 Processing

Responsibility for processing requests under PIA is usually completed in its entirety

by an APS4 or APS5 Action Officer who is responsible for assessing the request,

gathering and collating documents and preparing them for release.

However, if the contents of the documents are sensitive or if there are complex

consent issues, an APS4 or APS5 Action Officer can escalate the matter to an APS6

staff member. In this case, the APS6’s role is to review the AO’s work and provide

guidance as Delegate or Decision Maker.

To support quick and efficient access for participants, requests under the PIA should

be processed within 28 days of receiving the request.

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6.8 Extraction of information

Upon being allocated a PIA request, the Action Officer will need to determine if the

requested documents are stored on CRM or on PACE and then extract the

requested documents.

Please refer to the Guide_FOI_CRM Training Guide.docx (sharepoint.com) on how

to extract and save documents from CRM.

6.9 Documents available under PIA

Applicants may select which documents they are seeking using the online web form

or via email.

Depending on the option(s) selected, the following documents will be available for

release:

Access to the NDIS

 Access Request Form (ARF) – Copy of the ARF

 Access decision – Copy of the access decision letter

 Reasons for the access decision – Information available in CRM:

   •  Pathway tab

   •  Download using the automation tool

NDIS plan

  Pre-planning for a current NDIS plan – Information collected at a planning

 meeting and includes participant statement, goals, support needs and the

  planning conversation.

 Current NDIS plan – Copy of letter outlining current NDIS plan.

NDIS plan review

 Outcome of NDIS plan review – Copy of outcome of plan review letter.

Medical and other documents

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 Evidence of disability (EOD) – Copies of any evidence of disability

 Medical documents/assessment reports - Copies of medical documents

  provided to the NDIA as supporting evidence for access or planning decisions.

 Supporting evidence form - Copy of supporting evidence form.

 Recognised disabilities tab - Screenshot of recognised primary and
 secondary disabilities in CRM.

 Roster of care (ROC) - Copy of Roster of Care

Home and Living Supports decision - Copy of Home and Living Supports

  decision

 Payment summary - Finance generated payment summary listing payments
 made by the NDIA for supports.

Note: Documents related to previous NDIS plans also available upon request

6.10 Preparing a bundle of documents

The relevant extracted documents will be provided to the Delegate (with appropriate

deletions/edits, where required).

The PIA reference number will be added to the header and page numbers added to

the footer.

6.11 Send to Delegate

An Action Officer will send the following to the Decision Maker for review:

• the request

• the bundle of documents; and

• draft covering email to applicant using PIA email templates.

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6.12 Review and release

Review and authorise release

The Decision Maker will review the request and the participant’s CRM or PACE file

to ensure the correct documents have been extracted and are appropriate for

release through the PIA.

The Decision Maker must be satisfied that:

• the applicant is requesting their own information; or

• the applicant is the participant’s child representative or nominee, or the

  participant has provided valid consent allowing the NDIA to share information

 with the applicant

• there are no legal processes or other such interventions that may affect an

 applicant’s authority, for example Family Court orders, family violence or
 guardianship processes; and

• the documents do not contain personal information about a third party.

If the Decision Maker is concerned that disclosure to the participant might be

detrimental to the participant’s health or well-being, then they may consider giving

access through a mutually agreed intermediary in line with Australian Privacy

Principle 12.

6.12.1 To applicant

Once the Decision Maker is satisfied and has authorised the release of the

documents, the Action Officer will:

• make any final edits/deletions and convert the documents to PDF

• perform an accessibility check

• release the documents to the applicant ensuring that a privacy check has

 been completed by another member of the team; and

• close the matter on LEX

• close the interaction on CRM or the case on PACE

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• notify A&R that the request has been closed on all platforms.

6.13 Privacy

The NDIA is committed to safeguarding the privacy of NDIS participants.

Occasionally, when processing a PIA request, you may find that information about

one participant has been incorrectly recorded on the CRM or PACE record of

another participant. In these cases, you must inform the Assistant Director, PIA and

make a report to the Privacy Service Desk.

7. Complaints and escalation

We aim to continually improve our service by listening to feedback and we

encourage people to share their concerns, compliments and suggestions with us.

Applicants may share their concerns, compliments and suggestions with us at

Information.Access@ndis.gov.au

In some circumstances, it may be appropriate to refer them to the complaints team

(feedback@ndis.gov.au).

If an applicant is unhappy with the documents released under the PIA, they may

submit a request under the FOI Act.

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8. Data collection and reporting

The Quality and Assurance team provides monthly and weekly reports about the

volume of request received and process by the PIA team. These include:

Report Purpose Distribution

Weekly FOI/PIA To provide an update on Executive Leadership Operational report the number of FOI and team PA request received and finalised each week and put those in a historical context. The report also provides information about processing times, the extent of any backlogs and the nature and complexity of requests on hand.

Monthly FOI Report – To give a longer-term Executive Leadership Dashboard perspective on the team information provided in the weekly operational report.

Weekly breakdown of Report showing PIA Director FOI and PIAs released by staff matters released by each Assistant Director PIA member PIA staff member over the previous week.

9. Supporting material

10. Version control

Version Amended Brief Description of Change Status Date by

v.1 MJC553 Initial drafting - approved Current 19/5/2020

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Version Amended Brief Description of Change Status Date by

v.2 MGL527 Update to include suite of documents Current 13.09.2021 available via PIA updated webform – minor related edits.

v1.3 HIL533 Update to reflect persons who may make PIA Approved 2023-10-31 requests, current thinking on consent and introduction of PACE – minor related edits.

V1.4 NFF871 Updates added to live document, Formatting Approved 2023-11-01 changes, Added security measures, Readability

V1.5 CH0058 Accessibility and style review to correct v1.4 Approved 2023-11-16

V 1.6 LDP633 Updated processes based on team changes: APPROVED 2024-02-26 A&R staff no longer doing PIA registrations, and APS4 and APS5 staff releasing PIA matters independently. Restored references to legislation, participant charter and participant service guarantee.

DOCUMENT 17 FOI 24/25-0507 Our reference: FOI 24/25-XXX

                                                        GPO Box 700
                                                                                 Canberra ACT  2601
                                                                            1800 800 110

25 November 2024 ndis.gov.au

Name

By email: Email

Dear Name

Freedom of Information request - Notification of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of (date), requesting 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 decision on your request.

Scope of your request

You requested access to the following documents:

“request in full”

Extension of time

On (date), you agreed to a xx-day extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act,

making (date) the new date to provide you with a decision on access.

Search efforts

Search efforts

The NDIA’s XXXXX team conducted a search and identified X documents within the scope

of your request.

Decision on access to documents

After examining the documents, I have decided to:

 grant access to XX document(s) in full

 grant access to XX document(s) in part

 refuse access to XX document(s) in full.

I made this decision as an authorised FOI decision maker under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.

Reasons for decision

I have decided that some information will not be released as it comprises Information that is

conditionally exempt under 47F of the FOI Act, information where disclosure would be contrary

to the public interest.

A detailed statement of the reasons for my decision is Attachment A.

Rights of review Your rights to seek a review of my decision, or lodge a complaint, are set out at Attachment B.

A schedule of documents can be found at Attachment B.

Access arrangements The [third party has] OR [third parties have] objected to the release of certain documents as identified within the schedule contained in Attachment B of this notice. I must thereby defer granting access to those documents until such time as the [third party has] or [third parties have] exhausted their review rights.

The [third party has] OR [third parties have] 30 business days from the date of their decision to seek an internal review of my decision to release the information in question. I will advise you if the department receives an internal or external review application.

Release of documents The documents for release, as referred to in the Schedule of Documents at Attachment B, is/are enclosed.

Rights of review Your rights to seek a review of my decision, or lodge a complaint, are set out at Attachment C.

If you have any enquiries about this matter, please contact me by email at foi@ndis.gov.au.

Yours sincerely

Name Delegation Government, Risk & Legal – Complaints Management and FOI General Counsel Division

Attachment A

Statement of Reasons

FOI23/24-XXXX

Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant material deleted (section 22) I have decided that the document contains material that is exempt from disclosure under the FOI Act. This material can generally be described as the names of third-party organisations and the personal identifying information of NDIS participants and other individuals

Relevant Law Under the FOI Act, a person has a legally enforceable right to obtain access to a document of an agency,¹ however a decision maker must decide whether access to a conditionally exempt document would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest.²

Personal privacy (section 47F) Section 47F of the FOI Act conditionally exempts a document(s) if its disclosure would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person (including a deceased person).

The FOI Act shares the same definition of ‘personal information’ as the Privacy Act.³ Personal information means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable:

• whether the information or opinion is true or not
• whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.⁴

I have identified material in the documents falling within scope of your request which contains personal information of a third party / third parties. This is the information in issue and includes ………………I am satisfied this information meets the definition of personal information.

I consider that disclosure of this information under the FOI Act would involve the unreasonable disclosure of third party information. In making this decision, I have had regard to all relevant factors, including:

• the extent to which the information is well known;
• whether the person to whom the information relates is known to be (or to have been) associated with the matters dealt with in the document;
• the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources; and
• any other matters that the agency considers relevant.⁵

Public interest considerations

Irrelevant factors I have examined the irrelevant factors in section 11B(4) of the FOI Act and I am satisfied I have not taken into account any irrelevant factors in reaching my decision.

Factors favouring disclosure

¹ Section 11(1)(a) of the FOI Act. ² Section 11B(1)-(5) of the FOI Act. ³ Paragraph 6.127 of the FOI Guidelines. ⁴ Paragraph 6.128 of the FOI Guidelines. ⁵ Section 47F(2) of the FOI Act.

In favour of disclosure, I have considered the factors outlined in section 11B(3) of the FOI Act, and I have determined that disclosure of the information in the documents would:

(a) promote the objects of the FOI Act (including all matters set out in sections 3 and 3A; (b) allow a person to access his or her own personal information.

This is because providing access to documents held by the - NDIA allows for increased scrutiny, discussion, comment, and review of government held information; and allows a person to access his or her own personal information – if requesting access to own docs with third party info contained within.

I have therefore decided to afford significant weight to these two (2) factors favouring disclosure of the documents to you.

Factors weighing against disclosure The FOI Act does not list any factors weighing against disclosure. These factors will depend on the circumstances. However, the inclusion of the exemptions and conditional exemptions in the FOI Act recognises that harm may result from the disclosure of some types of documents in certain circumstances.

In favour of non disclosure, I have determined disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to:

• affect an individual’s right to privacy by having their personal information in the public domain; and
• and cause a public interest harm.

This is because you have requested access to…I have been provided with …….I note there is some information in the document(s) containing personal information of third parties. Parliament’s intention to protect the privacy of individuals is evidenced by the terms of both the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth). I am thereby satisfied the disclosure of this information could reasonably be expected to:

On balance I am satisfied that disclosure of the information I have redacted from the document would be contrary to the public interest. I therefore conclude that it is exempt from disclosure.

Accordingly, I have decided to release the majority of the information with the contrary to the public interest information removed pursuant to section 47G and 47F of the FOI Act.

Attachment B

Schedule of Documents for FOI 24/25-XXXX

Attachment C

Your review rights

Internal Review

The FOI Act gives you the right to apply for an internal review of this decision. The review will be conducted by a different person to the person who made the original decision.

If you wish to seek an internal review of the decision, you must apply for the review, in writing, within 30 days of receipt of this letter.

No particular form is required for an application for internal review, but to assist the review process, you should clearly outline your grounds for review (that is, the reasons why you disagree with the decision). Applications for internal review can be lodged by email to xxx@xxxx.xxv.au or sent by post to:

Freedom of Information Section Complaints Management and FOI Branch General Counsel Division National Disability Insurance Agency GPO Box 700 CANBERRA ACT 2601

Review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

The FOI Act gives you the right to apply to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for a review of this decision.

If you wish to have the decision reviewed by the OAIC, you may apply for review within 60 days of receiving this letter.

You can apply to the OAIC for review in the following ways:

• Online: www.oaic.gov.au
• Post: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
• Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
• Phone: 1300 363 992 (local call charge)

Complaints to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner or the Commonwealth Ombudsman

You may complain to either the Commonwealth Ombudsman or the OAIC about actions the NDIA took in relation to your request. The Ombudsman will consult with the OAIC before investigating a complaint about the handling of an FOI request.

You can make a complaint to the OAIC using the contact details identified above, or to the Ombudsman by:

Phone: 1300 362 072 (local call charge) Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.au

Your complaint should set out the grounds on which you consider the OAIC or the Ombudsman should investigate the NDIA’s handling of your FOI request.

DOCUMENT 18 FOI 24/25-0507

Our reference: FOI 23/24-XXXX

GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110

25 November 2024 ndis.gov.au

First and Last Name Position (if applicable) Organisation (if applicable) Street Address SUBURB STATE POSTCODE

By email: (e.g. xxxx.xxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx )

Dear First and Last name

Freedom of Information request - Notification of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of [Date Month Year], requesting 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 notify you of my decision on your application.

Scope of your request

For personal: You have requested access to following documents from [your] NDIS file [the NDIS file of no salutation) First and Last name (CRM Ref: XXXXXXXX):

“[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: I confirm your email dated (insert date) where you agreed to the following revised scope:

“[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].

If applicable: Extension of time On XXX, you agreed to an XX-day extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act, making DD Month YYYY the new date to provide you with a decision on access. On XXX, the Office of the Australia Information Commissioner (OAIC) granted us an XX-day extension of time under section 15AB of the FOI Act, making DD Month YYYY the new date to provide you with a decision on access.

If applicable: Expiration of time The due date for a decision on access for your request was 24 June 2024. As we did not provide you with a decision by the due date, we are deemed to have refused you access to the documents you requested (section 15AC of the FOI Act). The effect of this is that you do not have a right seek an internal review of my decision. However, I confirm that you retain your right to seek external review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

Search efforts

For personal: I have conducted a search of your NDIS file [the NDIS file of First name Last name’s] and I have identified XX document(s), (including attachments), which fall within the scope of your request.

For non-personal: The NDIA’s XXXXX team conducted a search and identified X documents within the scope of your request.

Results of third party consultations

As advised in my letter of dd month 2017, I decided it was necessary to consult under section 27 / 27A of the FOI Act with a third party OR [number of third parties] third parties who I reasonably believed might have concerns about the disclosure of some of the matter contained in the documents.

Insert if no response received from third party: Under sections 27 and 27A of the FOI Act, I must take reasonably practicable steps to obtain the views of a person, organisation or proprietor of the undertaking to ascertain if they might reasonably wish to make a contention that the document is exempt under section 47 or conditionally exempt under section 47G or 47F of the FOI Act. I have not received a response from the third party in question OR [(insert how many) of the third parties] and have proceeded to make a decision about access to the responsive documents without any comments from the third party OR those third parties. To date, the consultation letters have not been returned unclaimed.

Insert if response received from third party (no objection): On dd month 2017, I received a response from the third party OR [(insert how many) of the third parties] advising that they do not object to the disclosure of the subject documents provided for consultation.

Insert if response received from third party (objection): A response was received on dd month 2017 from the third party in question OR [(insert how many) of the third parties] advising that they do object to the disclosure of the subject documents on the basis of the following [exemption/s] AND/OR [public interest refusal/s]:

• [describe exemption or public interest refusal in full];
• [describe exemption or public interest refusal in full].

Disagree with third party - I have considered the objection of the third party OR objections of the third parties and examined the relevant sections of the FOI Act to determine if disclosure of the subject information is subject to any exemption or public interest refusal. Following this examination, I do not agree with the third party’s OR parties’ argument for exemption/s AND/OR conditional exemptions and believe the matter at issue does not satisfy the requirements of the exemption/s OR conditional exemptions/public interest refusal/s under [insert sections or provisions] of the FOI Act. Accordingly, I have decided to grant full OR partial access to these subject documents.

Please refer to the section ‘Access Arrangements’ in this decision notice for advice on the deferral of access to these documents.

OR Agree with third party - I have considered the objection of the third party OR objections of the third parties and examined the relevant sections of the FOI Act to determine if disclosure of the subject information is subject to any exemption or conditional exemptions/public interest refusal. Following this examination, I agree with the third party’s OR parties’ argument for [exemption/s] AND/OR [public interest refusal/s] and believe the matter at issue satisfies the requirements of the [exemption/s] OR [public interest refusal/s] under [insert section/s or provision/s] of the FOI Act. Accordingly, I have decided to refuse access to these subject documents.

Decision on access to documents

I have decided to grant full access to all X documents.

I made this decision as an authorised FOI decision maker under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.

Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant material deleted

If applicable: I have identified that Documents XX contains material that is irrelevant to your request. The irrelevant material relates to names and/or contact details of NDIA staff which you have agreed to out of scope from your request.

Although I have decided to provide full access to the information requested, the removal of the irrelevant information makes the documents a partial release.

Accordingly, I have prepared an edited copy of the documents with the irrelevant material removed.¹

Release of documents

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

Rights of review

Your rights to seek a review of my decision, or lodge a complaint, are set out at Attachment B.

If you have any enquiries about this matter, please contact me by email at foi@ndis.gov.au.

Yours sincerely

Name Senior Freedom of Information Officer Government, Risk & Legal – Complaints Management and FOI General Counsel Division

¹ Section 22 of the FOI Act.

Attachment A

Schedule of Documents for FOI 24/25-XXXX

Attachment B

Your review rights

Internal Review

The FOI Act gives you the right to apply for an internal review of this decision.

If you wish to seek an internal review of the decision, you must apply for the review, in writing, within 30 days of receipt of this letter.

No particular form is required for an application for internal review, but to assist the review process, you should clearly outline your grounds for review (that is, the reasons why you disagree with the decision). Applications for internal review can be lodged by email to xxx@xxxx.xxv.au or sent by post to:

Freedom of Information Section Complaints Management and FOI Branch General Counsel Division National Disability Insurance Agency GPO Box 700 CANBERRA ACT 2601

Review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

The FOI Act also gives you the right to apply to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to seek a review of this decision.

If you wish to have the decision reviewed by the OAIC, you may apply for the review, in writing, or by using the online merits review form available on the OAIC’s website at www.oaic.gov.au, within 60 days of receipt of this letter.

Applications for review can be lodged with the OAIC in the following ways:

• Online: www.oaic.gov.au
• Post: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
• Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
• Phone: 1300 363 992 (local call charge)

Complaints to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner or the Commonwealth Ombudsman

You may complain to either the Commonwealth Ombudsman or the OAIC about actions taken by the NDIA in relation to your request. The Ombudsman will consult with the OAIC before investigating a complaint about the handling of an FOI request.

Your complaint to the OAIC can be directed to the contact details identified above. Your complaint to the Ombudsman can be directed to:

• Phone: 1300 362 072 (local call charge)
• Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.au

Your complaint should be in writing and should set out the grounds on which it is considered that the actions taken in relation to the request should be investigated.

DOCUMENT 19 FOI 24/25-0507

Our reference: FOI 24/25-XXXX Your reference: XXXXX

GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110

25 November 2024 ndis.gov.au

XXX

By email: (e.g. xxxx.xxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx )

Dear First and Last name

Freedom of Information request — Notice of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of (Date), 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 decision on your request.

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].

Timeframe

A 30-day statutory period for processing your request commenced from (DATE) in accordance with section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act. The due date for a decision on access was (DATE). I note this time has lapsed and as a result we are deemed to have refused your request under section 15AC of the FOI Act.

Despite this, I have continued to process your application. I apologise for the delay and confirm that you retain your right to seek external review of this decision.

If applicable: Extension of time

On XXX, you agreed to an XX-day extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act, making DD Month YYYY the new date to provide you with a decision on access.

On XXX, the Office of the Australia Information Commissioner (OAIC) granted us an XX-day extension of time under section 15AB of the FOI Act, making DD Month YYYY the new date to provide you with a decision on access.

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.

If applicable: Section 17(1)(c) of the FOI Act provides that an 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. We have been able to produce a document(s) containing some of the information you requested. I have, therefore, treated your request as if it were a request for access to this/those documents in accordance with section 17(1)(c) of the FOI Act.

I have identified XX document(s), (including attachments), which fall within the scope of your request.

For personal: The document(s) were identified by conducting a search of First and Last name’s NDIS file.

For non-personal: The document(s) 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 XX document(s) in full
• grant access to XX document(s) in part
• refuse access to XX document(s) in full.

In reaching my decision, I took the following into account (delete as appropriate):

• 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
• relevant case law concerning the operation 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.

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

If applicable: I have decided that Documents XX contains material that is exempt from disclosure under the FOI Act.

If applicable: I have also identified that Documents XX contains material that is irrelevant to your request. The irrelevant material relates to names and contact details of NDIA staff / information 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 exempt and irrelevant material from the documents and have concluded that it is/not reasonably practicable to do so. Accordingly, I have prepared an edited copy of the documents with the exempt and irrelevant material removed.

Reasons for decision

Deliberative processes (section 47C)

Section 47C of the FOI Act conditionally exempts a document if its release would disclose deliberative matter in the nature of, or relating to, opinion, advice or recommendation obtained, prepared or recorded, or consultation or deliberation that has taken place, in the course of, or for the purposes of, the deliberative processes involved in the functions of an agency.

Paragraph 6.59 of the FOI Guidelines provides that deliberative process generally refers to the process of weighing up or evaluating competing arguments or considerations or to thinking processes – the process of reflection, for example, upon the wisdom and expediency of a proposal, a particular decision or a course of action.

Document(s) XX contain(s) deliberative matter in the form of opinion, advice and recommendations recorded in the course of assisting NDIA decision-makers to reach a decision regarding the reasonable and necessary supports for to be included in a participant’s NDIS plan, in accordance with section 34 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS Act). (revise if necessary)

If required: Section 47C(2) of the FOI Act provides that deliberative matter does not include purely factual material. The FOI Guidelines provide that ‘purely factual material’ does not extend to factual material that is an integral part of the deliberative content and purpose of a document, or is embedded in or intertwined with the deliberative content such that it is impractical to excise it.

I am satisfied that document(s) XX contain information that meets the definition of ‘deliberative matter’. I am also satisfied that to the extent that the parts of the documents that contain factual material, the factual material is an integral part of the deliberative content, or is embedded or intertwined with the deliberative content such that is it impractical to excise.

Therefore, I find that document(s) XX do not contain purely factual material, and are conditionally exempt under section 47C of the FOI Act.

Certain operations of agencies (section 47E(c))

Section 47E(c) 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 management or assessment of personnel by the Commonwealth or by an agency.

Document(s) within the scope of your request relate to a complaint process and contain information produced or obtained in confidence as part of that process. I consider that disclosure of the documents would have a substantial adverse effect on the management of NDIA personnel, in that staff may be reluctant to provide information and cooperate with complaints processes if they were aware that the subject matter of those discussions would be disclosed and made public. That then would, in my view, have a substantial adverse effect on the management of the NDIA’s personnel.

If applicable: While the information contained within these documents does relate to you and/or to a process involving you, disclosure of information about that process, including staff members’ confidential statements, would hamper the NDIA’s ability to obtain confidential information and prejudice its ability to obtain similar information in the future.

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(s) XX contain(s) information relating to certain operations of the NDIA, specifically:

internal guidance given to staff in relation to the quantum of supports to include within a participant’s plan in determining the level of supports a participant may require.

The disclosure of this information would reveal methodologies the NDIA uses to assist in determining levels of support provided to NDIS participants, which is to better ensure that participants receive supports that are reasonable and necessary. Any disclosure resulting in the prejudice of the effectiveness of the Agency’s operational methods and procedures would, or could reasonably be expected to, result in the need for the Agency to change those methods and procedures to ensure the future effectiveness and sustainability of the Agency and the Scheme.

I am satisfied that the release of this information would potentially result in the public disclosure of internal methodologies that, through improper use, would, or could, lead to a distortion of funding levels that would substantially and adversely affect the integrity of the NDIS and its financial sustainability. Accordingly, I have decided that the relevant information in Document(s) XX is conditionally exempt under section 47E(d) of the FOI Act.

[OR choose only after considering application of section 22) –

internal single points of contact, for use only by NDIA staff in their work [managing complaints made against the Agency by members of the public.]

Disclosing individual staff contact details may jeopardise the use of single points of contact [to receive feedback and complaints.] I am satisfied that there is a reasonable likelihood of aggrieved members of the public seeking to gain advantage over others by using internal points of contact in place of the appropriate points of contact and that release of this

information could reasonably be expected to have an adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations of the Agency, namely the Agency’s ability to conduct its operations in a timely and efficient way.

[OR choose only after considering application of section 22) –

URLs, the disclosure of which would have a serious impact on the Agency’s ability to operate within a secure IT environment.

Accordingly, I find that disclosure of this information would or could reasonably be expected to have a substantial adverse effect on the operations of the Agency and is therefore conditionally exempt under section 47E(d) of the FOI Act.

Personal privacy (section 47F)

Section 47F of the FOI Act conditionally exempts a document(s) if its disclosure would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person (including a deceased person).

I have identified material in the documents falling within scope of your request which contains personal information of a third party / third parties.

[OR choose only after considering application of section 22) -

The conditionally exempt material contains references to the middle names / details of personal leave or employment conditions of staff members which have not previously been disclosed to you.

Under section 47F(2) of the FOI Act, in determining whether the disclosure of documents would involve unreasonable disclosure of personal information, regard must be had to:

a. the extent to which the information is well known;

b. whether the person to whom the information relates is known to be (or to have been) associated with the matters dealt with in the document;

c. the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources; and

d. any other matters that the agency considers relevant.

Against these criteria, I take the view that:

a. it is apparent from the information that an individual is identifiable; and

b. the information referred to above is not readily available from publicly accessible sources.

With reference to the assessment above, it would be unreasonable to disclose publicly this personal information and is therefore conditionally exempt under section 47F(1) of the FOI Act.

Business Information (section 47G)

Some documents falling within scope of your request contain information that is conditionally exempt from release under section 47G of the FOI Act.

Section 47G of the FOI Act conditionally exempts a document if its disclosure would disclose information concerning a person in respect of their business or professional affairs or concerning the business, commercial or financial affairs of an organisation or undertaking, in which the disclosure of the information:

• would or could reasonably be expected to, unreasonably affect that person adversely in respect of their lawful business or professional affairs of that organisation or undertaking in respect of its lawful business, commercial or financial affairs; or
• could reasonably be expected to prejudice the future supply of information to the Commonwealth or an agency for the purpose of the administration of a law of the Commonwealth or of a Territory or the administration of matters administered by an agency.

The information that is conditionally exempt includes sensitive business details of a third party that were provided to the Agency in confidence with an expectation that they would not be disclosed further. The third party has contended that the disclosure of this information would unreasonably affect their business affairs, in that it would infringe on confidentiality agreements and could unfairly affect the lawful operations of their business.

I am satisfied that the disclosure of this information could unreasonably and adversely affect the business affairs of a third party and affect any potential or current business relationship with the Agency.

Public interest considerations – section 47C, 47E(d), 47F and 47G

Section 11A(5) of the FOI Act provides that access to a document covered by a conditional exemption must be provided unless disclosure would be contrary to the public interest.

I have not considered any of the irrelevant factors as set out under section 11B(4) of the FOI Act in making this decision.

In favour of disclosure, I have considered the factors outlined in section 11B(3) of the FOI Act, and I have determined that disclosure of the relevant information in Documents XX would promote the objects of the FOI Act by providing access to documents held by the government and/or providing access to information relating to the participant.

Against disclosure, I consider that disclosure of the relevant information in Documents XX:

• would not contribute to the publication of information of sufficient public interest to justify the likely harm caused by release
• would not enhance Australia’s representative democracy in the ways described in section 11B(3) of the FOI Act
• would not inform any debate on a matter of public importance, or promote oversight of public expenditure.

While there is limited public interest in the disclosure of information conditionally exempt under section 47C, 47E(d), 47F, 47G of the FOI Act, the harm that would result from disclosure is that it could reasonably be expected to:

• hinder the Agency’s thinking processes and the ability of Agency decision-makers to comply with their obligations and make informed decisions, which, in turn, helps to ensure the financial stability and integrity of the National Disability Insurance Scheme
• prejudice the ability of the Agency to provide guidance to staff and to decision makers in classifying applicants based on support needs in order to comply with their obligations and make informed decisions in relation to the quantum of funding to add to each reasonable and necessary support, which, in turn, helps to ensure the financial stability and integrity of the NDIS

OR

• prejudice the ability of the Agency to protect established contact points and procedures of the Agency

OR

• prejudice the ability of the Agency to protect the security and integrity of information held in the Agency

• affect an individual’s right to privacy by having their personal information in the public domain

• compromise the business or professional affairs of a third party and interfere with their ability to undertake their lawful business.

In summary, I am satisfied that the factors against disclosure of the information outweigh the factors in favour of disclosure and that, on balance, it would be contrary to the public interest to release this information to you. Accordingly, I have decided that the relevant information in Documents XX is exempt under sections XX of the FOI Act.

Release of documents

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

Rights of review

Your rights to seek a review of my decision, or lodge a complaint, are set out at Attachment B.

Should you have any enquiries concerning this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me by email at fxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.

Yours sincerely

Name Delegation Complaints Management & FOI Branch General Counsel Division

Attachment A

Schedule of Documents for FOI 24/25-XXXX

Your review rights

As this matter was a deemed refusal, internal review of this decision is not an option. However, if you have concern with any aspect of this decision, please contact the NDIA FOI team by email foi@ndis.gov.au or by post:

Freedom of Information Section Complaints Management & FOI Branch General Counsel Division National Disability Insurance Agency GPO Box 700 CANBERRA ACT 2601

Review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

The FOI Act gives you the right to apply to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to seek a review of this decision.

If you wish to have the decision reviewed by the OAIC, you may apply for the review, in writing, or by using the online merits review form available on the OAIC’s website at www.oaic.gov.au, within 60 days of receipt of this letter.

Applications for review can be lodged with the OAIC in the following ways:

• Online: www.oaic.gov.au
• Post: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
• Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
• Phone: 1300 363 992 (local call charge)

Complaints to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner or the Commonwealth Ombudsman

You may complain to either the Commonwealth Ombudsman or the OAIC about actions taken by the NDIA in relation to your request. The Ombudsman will consult with the OAIC before investigating a complaint about the handling of an FOI request.

Your complaint to the OAIC can be directed to the contact details identified above. Your complaint to the Ombudsman can be directed to:

• Phone: 1300 362 072 (local call charge)
• Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.au

Your complaint should be in writing and should set out the grounds on which it is considered that the actions taken in relation to the request should be investigated.

DOCUMENT 20 FOI 24/25-0507

Our reference: FOI 24/25-XXXX Your reference: XXXX

GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110

25 November 2024 ndis.gov.au

First and Last Name Position (if applicable) Organisation (if applicable) Street Address SUBURB STATE POSTCODE

By email: (e.g. xxxx.xxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx )

Dear First and Last name

Freedom of Information request — Notification of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of [Date Month Year], 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

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].

If applicable: Extension of time

On XXX, you agreed to an XX-day extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act, making DD Month YYYY the new date to provide you with a decision on access.

On XXX, the Office of the Australia Information Commissioner (OAIC) granted us an XX-day extension of time under section 15AB of the FOI Act, making DD Month YYYY the new date to provide you with a decision on access.

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.

If applicable: Section 17(1)(c) of the FOI Act provides that an 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. We have been able to produce a document(s) containing some of the information you requested. I have, therefore, treated your request as if it were a request for access to this/those documents in accordance with section 17(1)(c) of the FOI Act.

I have identified XX document(s), (including attachments), which fall within the scope of your request.

For personal: The document(s) were identified by conducting a search of First and Last name’s NDIS file.

For non-personal: The document(s) 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 XX document(s) in full
• grant access to XX document(s) in part
• refuse access to XX document(s) in full.

In reaching my decision, I took the following into account (delete as appropriate):

• 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
• relevant case law concerning the operation 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.

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

If applicable: I have decided that Documents XX contains material that is exempt from disclosure under the FOI Act.

If applicable: I have also identified that Documents XX contains material that is irrelevant to your request. The irrelevant material relates to names and contact details of NDIA staff / information 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 exempt and irrelevant material from the documents and have concluded that it is/not reasonably practicable to do so. Accordingly, I have prepared an edited copy of the documents with the exempt and irrelevant material removed.

Reasons for decision

Deliberative processes (section 47C)

Section 47C of the FOI Act conditionally exempts a document if its release would disclose deliberative matter in the nature of, or relating to, opinion, advice or recommendation obtained, prepared or recorded, or consultation or deliberation that has taken place, in the course of, or for the purposes of, the deliberative processes involved in the functions of an agency.

Paragraph 6.59 of the FOI Guidelines provides that deliberative process generally refers to the process of weighing up or evaluating competing arguments or considerations or to thinking processes – the process of reflection, for example, upon the wisdom and expediency of a proposal, a particular decision or a course of action.

Document(s) XX contain(s) deliberative matter in the form of opinion, advice and recommendations recorded in the course of assisting NDIA decision-makers to reach a decision regarding the reasonable and necessary supports for to be included in a participant’s NDIS plan, in accordance with section 34 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS Act). (revise if necessary)

If required: Section 47C(2) of the FOI Act provides that deliberative matter does not include purely factual material. The FOI Guidelines provide that ‘purely factual material’ does not extend to factual material that is an integral part of the deliberative content and purpose of a document, or is embedded in or intertwined with the deliberative content such that it is impractical to excise it.

I am satisfied that document(s) XX contain information that meets the definition of ‘deliberative matter’. I am also satisfied that to the extent that the parts of the documents that contain factual material, the factual material is an integral part of the deliberative content, or is embedded or intertwined with the deliberative content such that is it impractical to excise.

Therefore, I find that document(s) XX do not contain purely factual material, and are conditionally exempt under section 47C of the FOI Act.

Certain operations of agencies (section 47E(c))

Section 47E(c) 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 management or assessment of personnel by the Commonwealth or by an agency.

Document(s) within the scope of your request relate to a complaint process and contain information produced or obtained in confidence as part of that process. I consider that disclosure of the documents would have a substantial adverse effect on the management of NDIA personnel, in that staff may be reluctant to provide information and cooperate with complaints processes if they were aware that the subject matter of those discussions would be disclosed and made public. That then would, in my view, have a substantial adverse effect on the management of the NDIA’s personnel.

If applicable: While the information contained within these documents does relate to you and/or to a process involving you, disclosure of information about that process, including staff members’ confidential statements, would hamper the NDIA’s ability to obtain confidential information and prejudice its ability to obtain similar information in the future.

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(s) XX contain(s) information relating to certain operations of the NDIA, specifically:

internal guidance given to staff in relation to the quantum of supports to include within a participant’s plan in determining the level of supports a participant may require.

The disclosure of this information would reveal methodologies the NDIA uses to assist in determining levels of support provided to NDIS participants, which is to better ensure that participants receive supports that are reasonable and necessary. Any disclosure resulting in the prejudice of the effectiveness of the Agency’s operational methods and procedures would, or could reasonably be expected to, result in the need for the Agency to change those methods and procedures to ensure the future effectiveness and sustainability of the Agency and the Scheme.

I am satisfied that the release of this information would potentially result in the public disclosure of internal methodologies that, through improper use, would, or could, lead to a distortion of funding levels that would substantially and adversely affect the integrity of the NDIS and its financial sustainability. Accordingly, I have decided that the relevant information in Document(s) XX is conditionally exempt under section 47E(d) of the FOI Act.

[OR choose only after considering application of section 22) –

internal single points of contact, for use only by NDIA staff in their work [managing complaints made against the Agency by members of the public.]

Disclosing individual staff contact details may jeopardise the use of single points of contact [to receive feedback and complaints.] I am satisfied that there is a reasonable likelihood of aggrieved members of the public seeking to gain advantage over others by using internal points of contact in place of the appropriate points of contact and that release of this information could reasonably be expected to have an adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations of the Agency, namely the Agency’s ability to conduct its operations in a timely and efficient way.

[OR choose only after considering application of section 22) –

URLs, the disclosure of which would have a serious impact on the Agency’s ability to operate within a secure IT environment.

Accordingly, I find that disclosure of this information would or could reasonably be expected to have a substantial adverse effect on the operations of the Agency and is therefore conditionally exempt under section 47E(d) of the FOI Act.

Personal privacy (section 47F)

Section 47F of the FOI Act conditionally exempts a document(s) if its disclosure would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person (including a deceased person).

I have identified material in the documents falling within scope of your request which contains personal information of a third party / third parties.

[OR choose only after considering application of section 22) -

The conditionally exempt material contains references to the middle names / details of personal leave or employment conditions of staff members which have not previously been disclosed to you.

Under section 47F(2) of the FOI Act, in determining whether the disclosure of documents would involve unreasonable disclosure of personal information, regard must be had to:

a. the extent to which the information is well known;

b. whether the person to whom the information relates is known to be (or to have been) associated with the matters dealt with in the document;

c. the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources; and

d. any other matters that the agency considers relevant.

Against these criteria, I take the view that:

a. it is apparent from the information that an individual is identifiable; and

b. the information referred to above is not readily available from publicly accessible sources.

With reference to the assessment above, it would be unreasonable to disclose publicly this personal information and is therefore conditionally exempt under section 47F(1) of the FOI Act.

Business Information (section 47G)

Some documents falling within scope of your request contain information that is conditionally exempt from release under section 47G of the FOI Act.

Section 47G of the FOI Act conditionally exempts a document if its disclosure would disclose information concerning a person in respect of their business or professional affairs or concerning the business, commercial or financial affairs of an organisation or undertaking, in which the disclosure of the information:

• would or could reasonably be expected to, unreasonably affect that person adversely in respect of their lawful business or professional affairs of that organisation or undertaking in respect of its lawful business, commercial or financial affairs; or
• could reasonably be expected to prejudice the future supply of information to the Commonwealth or an agency for the purpose of the administration of a law of the Commonwealth or of a Territory or the administration of matters administered by an agency.

The information that is conditionally exempt includes sensitive business details of a third party that were provided to the Agency in confidence with an expectation that they would not be disclosed further. The third party has contended that the disclosure of this information would unreasonably affect their business affairs, in that it would infringe on confidentiality agreements and could unfairly affect the lawful operations of their business.

I am satisfied that the disclosure of this information could unreasonably and adversely affect the business affairs of a third party and affect any potential or current business relationship with the Agency.

Public interest considerations – section 47C, 47E(d), 47F and 47G

Section 11A(5) of the FOI Act provides that access to a document covered by a conditional exemption must be provided unless disclosure would be contrary to the public interest.

I have not considered any of the irrelevant factors as set out under section 11B(4) of the FOI Act in making this decision.

In favour of disclosure, I have considered the factors outlined in section 11B(3) of the FOI Act, and I have determined that disclosure of the relevant information in Documents XX would promote the objects of the FOI Act by providing access to documents held by the government and/or providing access to information relating to the participant.

Against disclosure, I consider that disclosure of the relevant information in Documents XX:

• would not contribute to the publication of information of sufficient public interest to justify the likely harm caused by release
• would not enhance Australia’s representative democracy in the ways described in section 11B(3) of the FOI Act
• would not inform any debate on a matter of public importance, or promote oversight of public expenditure.

While there is limited public interest in the disclosure of information conditionally exempt under section 47C, 47E(d), 47F, 47G of the FOI Act, the harm that would result from disclosure is that it could reasonably be expected to:

• hinder the Agency’s thinking processes and the ability of Agency decision-makers to comply with their obligations and make informed decisions, which, in turn, helps to ensure the financial stability and integrity of the National Disability Insurance Scheme
• prejudice the ability of the Agency to provide guidance to staff and to decision makers in classifying applicants based on support needs in order to comply with their obligations and make informed decisions in relation to the quantum of funding to add to each reasonable and necessary support, which, in turn, helps to ensure the financial stability and integrity of the NDIS

OR

• prejudice the ability of the Agency to protect established contact points and procedures of the Agency

OR

• prejudice the ability of the Agency to protect the security and integrity of information held in the Agency

• affect an individual’s right to privacy by having their personal information in the public domain

• compromise the business or professional affairs of a third party and interfere with their ability to undertake their lawful business.

In summary, I am satisfied that the factors against disclosure of the information outweigh the factors in favour of disclosure and that, on balance, it would be contrary to the public interest to release this information to you. Accordingly, I have decided that the relevant information in Documents XX is exempt under sections XX of the FOI Act.

Release of documents

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

Rights of review

Your rights to seek a review of my decision, or lodge a complaint, are set out at Attachment B.

Should you have any enquiries concerning this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me by email at fxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.

Yours sincerely

Name Delegation Complaints Management & FOI Branch General Counsel Division

Attachment A

Schedule of Documents for FOI 23/24-XXXX

Your review rights

Internal Review

The FOI Act gives you the right to apply for an internal review of this decision. The review will be conducted by a different person to the person who made the original decision.

If you wish to seek an internal review of the decision, you must apply for the review, in writing, within 30 days of receipt of this letter.

No particular form is required for an application for internal review, but to assist the review process, you should clearly outline your grounds for review (that is, the reasons why you disagree with the decision). Applications for internal review can be lodged by email to xxx@xxxx.xxv.au or sent by post to:

Freedom of Information Section Complaints Management & FOI Branch General Counsel Division National Disability Insurance Agency GPO Box 700 CANBERRA ACT 2601

Review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

The FOI Act also gives you the right to apply to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to seek a review of this decision.

If you wish to have the decision reviewed by the OAIC, you may apply for the review, in writing, or by using the online merits review form available on the OAIC’s website at www.oaic.gov.au, within 60 days of receipt of this letter.

Applications for review can be lodged with the OAIC in the following ways:

• Online: www.oaic.gov.au
• Post: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
• Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
• Phone: 1300 363 992 (local call charge)

Complaints to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner or the Commonwealth Ombudsman

You may complain to either the Commonwealth Ombudsman or the OAIC about actions taken by the NDIA in relation to your request. The Ombudsman will consult with the OAIC before investigating a complaint about the handling of an FOI request.

Your complaint to the OAIC can be directed to the contact details identified above. Your complaint to the Ombudsman can be directed to:

• Phone: 1300 362 072 (local call charge)
• Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.au

Your complaint should be in writing and should set out the grounds on which it is considered that the actions taken in relation to the request should be investigated.

DOCUMENT 21 FOI 24/25-0507

Our reference: FOI 24/25-XXX

GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110

25 November 2024 ndis.gov.au

Name

By email: email

Dear Name

Freedom of Information request - Notification of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of [Date Month Year], 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 notify you of my decision on your application.

Scope of your request

For personal: You requested access to following documents from [your] NDIS file [the NDIS file of no salutation) First and Last name (CRM Ref: XXXXXXXX):

“[Verbatim request]” (Please insert [sic] after any spelling or grammatical mistakes in the original quoted request.)

For non-personal: You requested access to the following documents:

“[Verbatim request]” (Please insert [sic] after any spelling or grammatical mistakes in the original quoted request.)

If applicable: I confirm your email dated (insert date) where you agreed to the following revised scope:

“[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].

The purpose of this letter is to notify you of my decision on your application.

If applicable: Extension of time On XXX, you agreed to an XX-day extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act, making DD Month YYYY the new date to provide you with a decision on access. On XXX, the Office of the Australia Information Commissioner (OAIC) granted us an XX-day extension of time under section 15AB of the FOI Act, making DD Month YYYY the new date to provide you with a decision on access.

Expiration of time

A 30-day statutory period for processing your request commenced from XXXXX, in accordance with section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act. The due date for a decision on access was

XXXXX. I note this time has lapsed and as a result we are deemed to have refused your request under section 15AC of the FOI Act.

Despite this, I have continued to process your application. I apologise for the delay and confirm that you retain your right to seek external review of this decision.

Search efforts

Staff in the NDIA’s Scalable Integrity Responses Branch conducted searches for documents and advised they did not locate any documents relevant to the scope of your request. I have set out the reasons for this outcome in Attachment A to this letter.

Decision on access to documents

In summary, I have decided to refuse access to the information you have requested on the basis that the documents are non-existent or unlocatable pursuant to section 24A of the FOI Act.

I made this decision as an authorised FOI decision maker under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.

I have provided a detailed statement of the reasons for my decision in Attachment A to this decision notice.

Rights of review

Your rights to seek a review of my decision, or lodge a complaint, are set out at Attachment B.

If you have any enquiries about this matter, please contact me by email at foi@ndis.gov.au.

Yours sincerely

Name Senior Freedom of Information Officer Government, Risk & Legal – Complaints Management and FOI General Counsel Division

Attachment A

Statement of Reasons

FOI Application [insert number]

Refused information I have refused access to the information you requested under section 24A of the FOI Act on the basis that documents containing such information are unlocatable or do not exist.

Relevant law Under the FOI Act, a person has a right to be given access to documents of an agency. However, the right of access is subject to limitations, including grounds for refusal of access. Section 24A of the FOI Act states that an agency may refuse a request for access to a document if all reasonable steps have been taken to find the document and the agency is satisfied that the document cannot be found or does not exist.

Searches for documents After reviewing the scope of your FOI application, I identified the need to make enquiries with the NDIA’s XXXXX for documents relevant to the scope of your request.

Provide an explanation as provided by the business unit that is specific to the scope

Conclusion Based on the information I received from XXXX, I consider there are reasonable grounds to be satisfied that documents containing the information you seek do not exist. I therefore refuse access to the information under section a 24A of the FOI Act on the basis that the information is non-existent or does not exist.

Attachment B

Your review rights

Internal Review

The FOI Act gives you the right to apply for an internal review of this decision. The review will be conducted by a different person to the person who made the original decision.

If you wish to seek an internal review of the decision, you must apply for the review, in writing, within 30 days of receipt of this letter.

No particular form is required for an application for internal review, but to assist the review process, you should clearly outline your grounds for review (that is, the reasons why you disagree with the decision). Applications for internal review can be lodged by email to xxx@xxxx.xxv.au or sent by post to:

Freedom of Information Section Complaints Management and FOI Branch General Counsel Division National Disability Insurance Agency GPO Box 700 CANBERRA ACT 2601

Review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

The FOI Act also gives you the right to apply to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to seek a review of this decision.

If you wish to have the decision reviewed by the OAIC, you may apply for review within 60 days of receiving this letter.

You can apply to the OAIC for review in the following ways:

• Online: www.oaic.gov.au
• Post: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
• Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
• Phone: 1300 363 992 (local call charge)

Complaints to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner or the Commonwealth Ombudsman

You may complain to either the Commonwealth Ombudsman or the OAIC about actions the NDIA took in relation to your request. The Ombudsman will consult with the OAIC before investigating a complaint about the handling of an FOI request.

You can make a complaint to the OAIC using the contact details identified above, or to the Ombudsman by:

• Phone: 1300 362 072 (local call charge)
• Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.au

Your complaint should set out the grounds on which you consider the OAIC or the Ombudsman should investigate the NDIA’s handling of your FOI request.

DOCUMENT 22 FOI 24/25-0507

Our reference: FOI 24/25-XXXX

GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110

ndis.gov.au

25 November 2024

First and Last name Position (if applicable) Organisation (if applicable) Street Address SUBURB STATE POSTCODE By email: (e.g. xxxx.xxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx )

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).

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 held by the NDIA:

[insert scope or negotiated scope]

Request Consultation

On [date], I sent you an email/letter initiating a consultation process under section 24AB of the FOI Act. I advised I intended to refuse access to your request on the grounds that [insert the practical refusal reason provided and any other discussions that occurred around scope revision]

If applicable: On [date] you responded revising your scope as follows: If applicable: To [date] I have not had a response from you.

I note that the time taken to undertake this consultation process is not taken into account for the purposes of the timeframe for processing your request, and that the new deadline to provide you with a decision on access became [date].

Decision on access to documents

I have decided to refuse your request on the grounds that [your revised scope did not change the scope in a way that would remove the reasons for the practical refusal] [you did not respond to my request consultation process and thereby the practical refusal reason remains.]

I made this decision as a delegated decision maker under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.

Reasons for decision

A detailed statement of reasons for my decision can be found at Attachment A.

Rights of review Your rights to seek a review of my decision, or lodge a complaint, are set out at Attachment B

Should you have any enquiries concerning this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me by email at fxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.

Yours sincerely

NAME Delegation Government, Risk & Legal – Complaints Management and FOI General Counsel Division

Attachment A

Statement of Reasons

FOI 24/25-XXXX

Practical refusal reason

Relevant law

A practical refusal reason exists in relation to a request for documents if [the work involved in processing the request would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the agency from its other operations¹] AND [the terms of your request were too broad and we were unable to identify the specific documents sought.²]

In determining whether processing the request would substantially and unreasonably divert the agency’s resources, I am required to have regard to the resources that would have to be used for the following:

• identifying, locating or collating the documents within the Agency
• deciding whether to grant, refuse or defer access to a document including resources used for examining the document and consulting with any person or body in relation to the request
• making a copy or an edited copy of the document
• notifying the decision on the request

Provide an analysis of the request consultation process that occurred, include any reasons the applicant gave for requesting access, how they tried to reduce scope and how describe how the practical refusal reason still exists and conclude.

Accordingly, I am satisfied that a practical refusal reason still exists and that the work involved in processing the request would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the agency from its other operations.

Further options for requesting documents

You are welcome to submit further freedom of information requests in the future. In doing so, you may wish to contact the FOI Team directly on foi@ndis.gov.au or advise a convenient time for us to contact you, to engage assistance in developing a scope that does not attract a practical refusal reason under the FOI Act.

¹ 24AA(1)(a) of the FOI Act. ² 24AA(1)(b) of the FOI Act.

FOI 24/25-0507 DOCUMENT 23

FOI Email templates

For Internal Use Only

The contents of this document are OFFICIAL – NOT FOR FURTHER DISTRIBUTION.

Email templates

Guidance for sending emails

Subject

Subject lines should follow the following naming convention:

Internal: [Subject] - [Purpose] (Reference)

External: [Reference]: [Subject] – [Purpose]

Internal: AO Assessment – FOI 24/25-XXXX (Name)

External: FOI 24/25-XXXX – Your request for information - Notification of Decision

Salutation

The salutation directly addresses the person you are sending the email to.

Our correspondence should be gender-inclusive and avoid references to gender whenever possible (for example, Mr, Ms, Mrs).

If you are writing to a person for the first time, it’s proper to use their full name. For example:

Dear Jane Smith

However, you may use their first name once you have established a rapport. For example:

Dear Jane (or Hi Jane)

Body

The body of a formal email outlines the purpose of the correspondence. Although the body contains detailed information, it’s important to write clearly and concisely in a formal email. Remember your reader may not be familiar with you and may not be familiar with your topic. You don’t want your email recipient to misunderstand an important point. Try to avoid using jargon, acronyms or “agency language”.

Closing

FOI 24/25-0507

FOI Email templates

For Internal Use Only

The closing should reiterate the purpose and any action required of the recipient. It should clearly outline the next steps and be signed off using a formal signature block.

Important things to remember

• All emails sent to external sources (consults or to the applicant) must be privacy checked (PC’ed) by another member of the FOI team prior to release. Please refer to the Privacy Check Guide.
• All emails for consults, both internal and external, as well as correspondence with the applicant must be approved by the Decision Maker, and
• All emails need to be saved to SharePoint’s Matter Folder as soon as sent.

Instructions

1. Locate the relevant template
2. Prepare in a new email or reply/forward a previous email
3. Copy the subject and body, and
4. Paste Keep Source Format – right click where you want to paste
5. Please ensure you save all internal and external correspondence onto SharePoint’s matter folder as soon as sent

NDIS Writing Style Guide

The NDIS Writing Style Guide provides a guide for NDIA staff and partners when they prepare communications.

Please refer to the style guide when drafting correspondence.

OFFICIAL – NOT FOR FURTHER DISTRIBUTION

V1 2024-01-31 | Internal Process Doc Template v2 | Page 2 of 69

This document is uncontrolled when printed.

FOI 24/25-0507

FOI Email templates

For Internal Use Only

Contents

• Email templates……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1
  • Guidance for sending emails ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1
    • Subject …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1
    • Salutation ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
    • Body ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1
    • Closing …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1
    • Important things to remember ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2
    • Instructions……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2
  • NDIS Writing Style Guide …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2
  • FOI Email Protocol ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5
    • Emails that require EL2 Approval through your EL1………………………………………………………………………. 5
    • Emails that require EL1 Approval………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5
    • Emails that need to be sent by the Decision Makers (APS6) ………………………………………………………….. 5
    • Emails that need to be approved by DM prior to sending……………………………………………………………….. 5
    • Triage & Early Resolution Team (only) ……………………………………………………………………………………. 5
• 1. Email templates – to applicants ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7
  • 1. Acknowledgement …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7
  • 2. Proof of Identity……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 8
  • 3. No consent………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11
  • 4. Confirmation of Revision of scope via phone…………………………………………………………………………… 13
  • 5. Informal Revision/Clarification of scope via email ……………………………………………………………………. 15
  • 5. Revision of scope for third party law firms…………………………………………………………………………… 18
  • 6. Extension of Time ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 21
  • 7. Decision Notification ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 23
  • 8. Generic cover email for letter ……………………………………………………………………………………. 25
  • 9. Third Party Consultation - To the Third Party for response ……………………………………………………….. 26
  • 10. Third Party Consultation – Notice to the applicant………………………………………………………. 27
• 2. Email templates – FOI Team Internal Correspondence………………………………………………………. 28
  • 2. Decision Maker Assessment for AO ……………………………………………………………………………………. 28
  • 3. AO Assessment to Decision-Maker ……………………………………………………………………… 32

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• 4. Decision Maker Instructions to AO …………………………………………………………………………………………. 37
• 5. Decision package prepared for DM review ……………………………………………………………………… 41
  • 5.1 Decision package prepared for DM review ……………………………………………………………………… 44
• 6. Decision Made email from DM to AO ……………………………………………………………………… 44
• 7. Update to Disclosure Log ……………………………………………………………………………………. 46
• 8. Matter closed on all Platforms ……………………………………………………………………… 48
• 3. Email templates – Internal Consultations ……………………………………………………………………… 50
  • 1. Request payment summary: Internal ……………………………………………………………………… 50
  • 2. Internal consultation – FOI Document Search………………………………………………………. 52
  • 3. Internal consultation – Non-Search request for advice………………………………………… 57
  • 4. Internal consultation – Email server search ……………………………………………………….. 61
  • 5. Internal consultation – Call Transcript or Audio request …………………………………………. 63
  • 6. Agency communication – For Visibility………………………………………………………. 65
• 4. Version control ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 68

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FOI Email Protocol

Emails that require EL2 Approval through your EL1

Please ensure that the following emails are approved by the Director (EL2) prior to sending:

• DL.NDIA.FOI emails for the entire FOI team
• Emails for Executive Officer (EO) in Office of the CEO (OCEO)
• Emails for SES level staff
• Emails for the EO & DSO network via their Distribution Lists (DLs)
• Emails being sent externally to other Departments/Agencies

Emails that require EL1 Approval

• Emails for Directors (EL2s) in other line areas within the agency

Emails that need to be sent by the Decision Makers (APS6)

Please ensure that the following emails are SENT by the relevant Decision Maker only (APS6 and above):

• Emails for individual EOs and DSOs (even those EOs/DSOs at EL2 level)

Emails that need to be approved by DM prior to sending

Please ensure that the following emails are APPROVED by the relevant Decision Maker (APS6 and above) prior to sending:

• All external emails prior to being sent, including consults to line areas and final decisions.

Triage & Early Resolution Team (only)

For the Triage and Early Resolution (T&ER) Team, please ensure that the following emails are APPROVED by the Assistant Director (EL1):

• Emails regarding policy/SOPs/changes to systems etc that are sent externally for action
• All external emails to participants (being sent by T&ER team staff) prior to being sent

Important: Please remember the protocols above should be used at all times.

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1. Email templates – to applicants

1. Acknowledgement

This email should be sent from foi@ndis.gov.au to the applicant within 14 days of receipt of the FOI request.

Subject:

FOI 22/23-XXXX – Your request for information – Acknowledgement

Body:

Your Ref: XXXXXXX to be used for law firms etc

Dear [applicant]

Delete highlighted paragraphs if not required Blue text to be deleted

A 30-day statutory period for processing your request commenced from [+1 day, Date Month Year], in accordance with section 15(5)(b). of the FOI Act. You should, therefore, expect a decision from us by [Date Month Year].

Scope of your request

You have requested access to:

“italic_____”

Processing timeframes

A 30-day statutory period for processing your request commenced from 5 June 2024, in accordance with section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act. You should, therefore, received a decision by XX XXXXX 202X.

Extension of time request

This period may be extended if we need to consult with third parties or for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.

Charges (to be included for non-personal requests only)

We may apply a processing charge to your request and will advise you as soon as practicable if a charge is payable.

Disclosure Log (to be included for non-personal requests only)

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Information released under the FOI Act may be published on the NDIA’s disclosure log located on our website, subject to certain exceptions.

If you have any concerns about the publication of information you have requested, please contact us.

Section 22 of the FOI Act permits us to provide FOI applicants with access to edited copies of documents with irrelevant material deleted. Can you please respond to us via this email foi@ndis.gov.au to advise whether the surnames and contact details of NDIA staff are irrelevant to your request?

Further help

Please contact us at foi@ndis.gov.au if you have any questions or need help.

We will contact you using the email address you provided. Please advise if you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact.

Kind regards

First Name Senior Freedom of Information Officer Complaints Management & FOI Branch General Counsel Division National Disability Insurance Agency E foi@ndis.gov.au

The NDIA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures and to Elders past, present and emerging.

2. Proof of Identity

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This email should be sent from foi@ndis.gov.au to an applicant where they are seeking personal information about an NDIS participant and they haven’t provided enough information to verify their/the participant’s identity.

For further information, please see the Verify and Record Identity SOP.

Subject:

FOI 22/23-XXXX – Your request for information - Proof of Identity

Body:

Dear [Applicant]

Thank you for your request for information.

Our policy is to respect and protect the privacy of all people connected with the NDIS, including participants, providers, employees, contractors and community partners.

Because of this, we need you to provide us with proof of identity.

Can you please reply to this email with the following information about [yourself/ participant name]:

1. Full name
2. Date of birth
3. Residential address
4. NDIS Reference Number

Please contact us at foi@ndis.gov.au if you have any questions or require help.

Kind regards

First Name Senior FOI Officer Complaints Management & FOI Branch General Counsel Division National Disability Insurance Agency E foi@ndis.gov.au

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The NDIA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures and to Elders past, present and emerging.

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3. No consent

This email should be sent from foi@ndis.gov.au to an applicant where they are seeking personal information about an NDIS participant and they haven’t provided consent.

Subject:

Body:

Dear [applicant]

Thank you for your request for information.

We can only release the information we hold when permitted by law and with the informed consent of the person the information is about.

Accordingly, we require evidence of your authority to receive all the requested information we may hold on behalf of First and Last name OR The consent that you have provided has been found to be insufficient. [Reasons].

Please provide a written statement or a letter signed by First and Last name, dated within the last 12 months, which states that you are authorised to receive the requested information on behalf of First and Last name. Alternatively, you can download a consent form from this link, and provide us with a copy signed by First and Last name.

Further information is available in our Information Handling Operational Guideline.

Please provide us with one of the above documents by [Date Month Year (+7 days)]. If we do not hear from you by this date, we will proceed to process your request with the information that you have provided and this may include not being able to release information to you.

Kind regards

First Name Senior FOI Officer Complaints Management & FOI Branch General Counsel Division

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National Disability Insurance Agency E foi@ndis.gov.au

The NDIA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures and to Elders past, present and emerging.

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4. Confirmation of Revision of scope via phone

This email should be sent from foi@ndis.gov.au to an FOI applicant where clarification of the request has been achieved with a phone call, as revision of scopes must be recorded in writing.

Subject:

FOI 22/23-XXXX – Your request for information – Revised scope

Body:

Dear [Applicant]

Thank you speaking with me regarding your request for information.

Revised request

Following our telephone conversation today, I understand that you have agreed to revise the scope of your request to be for the following documents:

“[Verbatim revised scope]”

If this isn’t correct, please let me know by [day month year] (3 business days). Otherwise, we will continue to process your revised request as agreed during our conversation.

Unless you advise otherwise, we will take it that you agree to the names and contact details of NDIA staff being excluded from the scope of your request (that is, the information will be treated as irrelevant).

Please contact us at foi@ndis.gov.au if you have any questions or require help.

Kind regards

First Name Senior FOI Officer Complaints Management & FOI Branch General Counsel Division National Disability Insurance Agency E foi@ndis.gov.au

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The NDIA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures and to Elders past, present and emerging.

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5. Informal Revision/Clarification of scope via email

This email should be sent from foi@ndis.gov.au to an FOI applicant where their scope is large or unclear, as an informal option whilst a 24ab assessment is being completed.

Subject:

FOI 22/23-XXXX – Your request for information – Revision/Clarification of scope

Body:

Dear [Applicant]

Thank you for your request for information.

We are writing to ask that you narrow the scope of your request because it appears to be large OR seek clarification of your request.

Scope of your request

You have requested access to:

“[Verbatim request]”

Too large: We have located a large number of documents that may be relevant to your request. [insert estimate if known]. Therefore, we are seeking your help to narrow the scope of your request so that we can provide the documents you are seeking more quickly.

You might consider revising the scope of your request to:

• Exclude all correspondence you have sent to us
• Exclude all correspondence we have sent to you (including all tax invoices and remittance advices)
• Specify a particular date range for documents sought, and/or
• Limit your request to a particular topic (for example, a particular review or decision).

Unclear (section 15(2)(b)): In order for your request to meet the requirements of the FOI Act, it must provide enough information about the document(s) you are seeking to enable us to locate them.

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Based on the description you have provided, we are unable to locate the documents you are seeking.

If you are seeking access to documents from your/participant’s NDIS file or about [insert topic], you may wish to revise the scope of your request to be for the following:

[insert suggested scope]

You can include the following examples:

• Information about your access to the NDIS, including the reasons for the access decision
• Information about your most recent NDIS plan, including the reasons for decisions

Unless you advise otherwise, we will take it that you agree to the names and contact details of NDIA staff being excluded from the scope of your request (that is, the information will be treated as irrelevant).

Next steps

Please contact us at foi@ndis.gov.au if you have any questions or require help.

Kind regards

First Name Senior FOI Officer Complaints Management & FOI Branch General Counsel Division National Disability Insurance Agency E foi@ndis.gov.au

The NDIA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures and to Elders past, present and emerging.

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5. Revision of scope for third party law firms

To be used after decision maker receives a notice of claim which identifies what a legal case is about.

This email directs the third party law firm applicant to revise their scope to only documents related to the alleged injuries sustain. For more information, see these training resources: 2024.02.21 FOI requests from law firms

Subject:

FOI 22/23-XXXX – Your request for information – Revision of scope

Body:

Dear [Applicant]

Thank you for your request for information.

In your original application, you requested access to:

• “…..”

and you provided a NDIA consent signed by XXXX on XX Month XXXX and the Statement of Claim filed in the Supreme Court of NSW. I note however that the consent form does not indicate why XXXX has given his/her/their consent. Further, it is not apparent that XXXX is aware of the breadth of your request.

Consent

The NDIA consent form is designed for participants to allow their representative to gain access to information held on NDIA records so they may take identified actions on the participant’s behalf – see page 8 of the consent provided.

Information about NDIS participants is protected Agency information under the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013. As you are not acting on behalf of participant in this matter, I consider that your request for a full copy of the participant’s NDIS file would be an unreasonable disclosure of protected information under the NDIS Act for the following reason.

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The matter you are managing which relates to an alleged breach and/or negligence regarding an alleged misdiagnosis of a medical condition is separate to the participant’s engagement and plan with the NDIA. Whereas the matter you are managing will be determined on its merits in a court of law, NDIA funding is determined on the permanency of the disability and supports deemed as reasonable and necessary.

Acknowledging that you have a matter before the Supreme Court of NSW, I agree that relevant documentation held by the NDIA is likely to assist in the administration of justice.

To progress this for you, can I suggest the following revised scope as follows:

• Any medical documents relating to XXXX

It would be greatly appreciated if you would kindly respond at your earliest convenience, or before XX Month XXXX and confirm how you would like to proceed.

Please contact us at foi@ndis.gov.au if you have any questions or require help.

Kind regards

First Name Senior FOI Officer Complaints Management & FOI Branch General Counsel Division National Disability Insurance Agency E foi@ndis.gov.au

The NDIA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures and to Elders past, present and emerging.

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6. Extension of Time

To be used when requesting the applicant’s agreement to an extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act OR when advising of an Application for an extension of time under 15AB of the FOI Act.

Subject:

FOI 22/23-XXXX – Your request for information – Extension of time

Body:

Dear [Applicant]

Thank you for your request for information.

We’re sorry it is taking us longer than expected to process your request.

OPTION 1 (Please delete this line in final email)

We are therefore writing to seek your agreement to a XX-day extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act. If you agree to this extension, the new due date for us to make a decision on your request will be [day month year].

Please let us know whether you agree by [day month year] (2 days).

If you don’t agree, we may need to seek an extension of time from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

OR

OPTION 2 (Please delete this line in final email)

We are therefore writing to advise you that we have sought an extension of time from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) under section 15AB of the FOI Act. If this extension of time is granted, the new due date for us to make a decision on your request will be [day month year].

The OAIC will contact you directly with the outcome of their decision.

We sincerely apologise that it is taking us longer than we expected to process your request and we appreciate your patience.

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Please contact us at foi@ndis.gov.au if you have any questions or require help.

Kind regards

First Name Senior FOI Officer Complaints Management & FOI Branch General Counsel Division National Disability Insurance Agency E foi@ndis.gov.au

The NDIA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures and to Elders past, present and emerging.

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7. Decision Notification

To be used when notifying the FOI applicant of decision.

Subject:

FOI 22/23-XXXX – Your request for information - Notification of Decision [Part 1 of X]

Body:

Dear Applicant

Thank you for your request for information.

Please find attached correspondence and documents in relation to your request. If you require this/these in a different format, please let us know.

Due to the size of the documents they have been split across XX emails, this being Part 1 of X.

[delete the ‘Part 1 of X’ from subject line and body if not applicable]

Please contact us at foi@ndis.gov.au if you have any questions or require help.

Thank you.

Kind regards

First Name Senior FOI Officer Complaints Management & FOI Branch General Counsel Division National Disability Insurance Agency E foi@ndis.gov.au

The NDIA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures and to Elders past, present and emerging.

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