Our reference: FOI 25/26-2442 [LEXD 18479]
GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110 28 May 2026 ndis.gov.au
David Wright
By email: foi+request-14485-edd17a46@righttoknow.org.au
Dear David Wright
Freedom of Information request — Notice of Decision
Thank you for your correspondence of 16 March 2026 (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 seek copies of any briefings since 26 September 2025 from the National Disability Insurance Agency to the Ministers for the NDIS, Mark Butler and/or Jenny McAllister, which mention the phrases “mild autism” and/or “moderate autism” and/or “mild to moderate”.”
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 16 March 2026, the original due date for your request was 15 April 2026.
On 14 April 2026, you agreed via email to a 30-day extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act, making 14 May 2026 the new date to provide you with a decision on access.
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
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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
I consulted with the Board Secretary, Ministerial and Parliamentary Branch who undertook a search of the Parliamentary Document Management System (PDMS) for documents relevant to the scope of your request.
As a result, no documents relevant to the scope of your request were located. 1 result was identified but upon review, did not fall within the scope of your request, the details of this are explained in the statement of reasons at Attachment A.
Decision on access to documents
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 refuse access to the documents you have requested pursuant to section 24A(1)(b)(ii) of the FOI Act on the basis that they do not exist.
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 foi@ndis.gov.au.
Yours sincerely
Patrick (PHO293) Senior Information Access Officer Information Access and Privacy Branch Reviews and Information Release Division
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Attachment A
Statement of Reasons
FOI 25/26-2442
Refused information
Documents don’t exist (section 24A)
Section 24A of the FOI Act provides 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.
As explained in my notice of decision, searches were conducted by the Board Secretary, Ministerial and Parliamentary Branch who undertook a search of the Parliamentary Document Management System (PDMS) for documents relevant to the scope of your request, and 1 result was identified.
Upon review of the documents contained in that result, I am satisfied that they do not fall within the scope of your request. The result is a briefing and attachments in relation to the 2024-25 NDIS Annual Financial Sustainability Report (AFSR) for the Minister to note and approve for publishing. The briefing itself has no mention of the terms “mild autism”, “moderate autism” or “mild to moderate autism” nor does it contain the term “autism” in general.
The result was located because the AFSR which is publicly available here Annual Financial Sustainability Reports | NDIS contains the term mild to moderate autism, specifically on page 92, and is an attachment to this briefing.
I have interpreted the scope of your request to be specifically for briefings to either of the Ministers that contain the terms in the scope of your request. As the document that contains the term is an attachment to a ministerial briefing, is publicly available and the briefing itself has no reference to autism in general, I am satisfied that these documents do not fall within the scope of your request, and as such am satisfied that no relevant documents were located as a result of searches.
As such, I am satisfied that all reasonable steps have been taken to locate the documents you have requested and that the documents do not exist. I have therefore decided to refuse access to your request in accordance with section 24A(1)(b)(ii) of the FOI Act.
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Attachment B
Freedom of Information request – Your review rights
As your request is deemed to have been refused under section 15AC of the FOI Act because of processing delays, you are unable to apply for an internal review of the decision.
However, if you have concern with any aspect of this decision, please contact the NDIA FOI team by email at foi@ndis.gov.au, or by post to:
Freedom of Information Section Information Access and Privacy Branch Reviews and Information Release 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 for 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 application form which is available on the OAIC’s website: OAIC Review Application Form.
An application to the OAIC must be made within 60 calendar days from the date of the deemed refusal decision, as set out in our letter to you (Notice of Decision). You may also apply to the OAIC for an extension of this timeframe, from the date of the deemed refusal decision until the date of your application for review.
Applications for review can be lodged with the OAIC in the following ways:
- Online: OAIC Review Application Form
- Post: Office of the Australian Information Commissioner GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001
- Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
- Phone: 1300 363 992 (local call charge)
- Website: www.oaic.gov.au
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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 the 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 provided above.
Your complaint to the Ombudsman can be directed to:
Phone: 1300 362 072 (local call charge) Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.au
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