Our reference: FOI 25/26-0019
GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110 25 September 2025 ndis.gov.au
Stuart Right to Know
By email: foi+request-13356-93f86e81@righttoknow.org.au
Dear Stuart
Freedom of Information request — Notice of Decision
Thank you for your correspondence of 1 July 2025 (your correspondence), 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 You have requested access to the following documents:
> “…I request access to this information under the Freedom of Information Act.
>
> 1. The total number of access requests and/or persons that are currently awaiting an
> access decision, and;
>
> a). The number of access requests/persons that have been awaiting a decision for 21
> days or less.
>
> b). The number of access requests/persons that have been awaiting a decision for
> 111 days.
>
> c). The number of access requests/persons that have been awaiting a decision for
> 112 days.
>
> d). The number of access requests/persons that have been awaiting a decision for
> 113 days.e). The number of access requests/persons that have been awaiting a decision for 114 days or more.
- Please indicate how the system determines day 1; ie. Is the day an access case is opened on a person file considered day 1 or day 0 in your calculation…”
Processing Timeframes The FOI Act provides 30 calendar days for the processing of an FOI request after it is received. As your valid FOI request was received on 1 July 2025, the original due date for your request was 31 July 2025.
On 4 July 2025, the FOI Team wrote to you requesting your agreement to a 30-day extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act. On 4 July 2025 you responded to our request stating you did not agree to an extension of time; therefore, the original due date still stands.
As we were unable to provide you with a decision on your request by the legislated due date, your application is regarded as a deemed refusal 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. Details are set out in Attachment B to this letter.
Searches conducted Searches were conducted by the Analytics, Data and Actuarial Division for documents relevant to the scope of your FOI request.
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 containing the information you requested. I have, therefore, treated your request as if it were a request for access to this document in accordance with section 17(1)(c) of the FOI Act.
As a result, one (1) document was created, this search was undertaken between 15 July and 8 September 2025 and was overseen by senior staff.
Decision I am the authorised officer pursuant to section 23(1) of the FOI Act to make a decision on this FOI request.
I have decided to grant access in full to one (1) document.
In addition, I can advise no documents were located during searches relevant to:
> “a). The number of access requests/persons that have been awaiting a decision for
> 21 days or less.
>
> b). The number of access requests/persons that have been awaiting a decision for
> 111 days.
>
> c). The number of access requests/persons that have been awaiting a decision for
> 112 days.
>
> d). The number of access requests/persons that have been awaiting a decision for
> 113 days.
>
> e). The number of access requests/persons that have been awaiting a decision for
> 114 days or more.
>
> 2. Please indicate how the system determines day 1; ie. Is the day an access case is
> opened on a person file considered day 1 or day 0 in your calculation…”Therefore, I have also decided to refuse access to information relevant to the above scope pursuant to 24A of the FOI Act on the basis that this information does not exist.
As previously explained in my email to you on 11 September 2025 for your FOI matter 25/26-0021, data is captured in real time at the end of a quarters. The data you have requested is not regularly captured during this process, nor does the agency have an operational need for this information.
The data you have requested is different to Participant Service Guarantee (PSG) 2 as it is asking how many requests were still awaiting a decision at a certain point in time and how long ago had the agency received those access requests. Whereas PSG 2 looks at access
requests where a decision has been made and can therefore measure the start and end point of a request to determine whether a decision was made within the 21-day PSG.
ADA do however report how many access requests are currently awaiting a decision at the end of each quarter and are therefore able to provide this information, but the raw data from this number does not include individual records with open dates that would allow us to calculate the number of days it has remained open as of the end of Q4.
As such, ADA are unable to generate the data you are seeking. We did also consult the Scheme Eligibility Branch as to whether they were able to generate the data you are seeking, they have explained that they also cannot generate the historical figures you are seeking but can access numbers from their real-time dashboard.
While I do not consider this information within the scope of your request as the data is after the date you submitted your FOI request, I am providing it to you administratively below:
Extracted 3 September 2025
1. 8982
a. 8982
b. 0
c. 0
d. 0
e. 0
2. The base system does not calculate a day 0 or day 1. It starts a count at the time of
day the item is created in the system (or the time of day the staff member enters the
submitted date). The adaption to the legislative requirement for a day 0 or a day 1
count is done on top of base system parameters and based upon the applicable
legislation applying to the work type.The decision in relation to the document is detailed in the schedule of documents 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 foi@ndis.gov.au.
Yours sincerely
Patrick (PHO293) Senior Freedom of Information Officer Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch Reviews and Information Release Division
Attachment A
Schedule of Documents for FOI 25/26-0019
| Document number | Page number | Description | Access Decision | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Section 17 Document – Data and Analytics – Access Requests Date: 30 June 2025 |
FULL ACCESS | Document created under section 17 of the FOI Act |
ATTACHMENT B 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.