NDIA Accountability Project

This project is in DRAFT

NDIS correspondence: Notice of Decision - FOI 25/26-1247 (LEXD 12180)

‹ PrevPage 1 of 4 · Source p. 1Next ›

Our reference: FOI 25/26-1247 (LEXD 12180)

GPO Box 700

Canberra ACT 2601

1800 800 110

11 December 2025

ndis.gov.au

Miles

Right to Know

By email: foi+request-13995-80a58469@righttoknow.org.au

Dear Miles

Freedom of Information request — Notice of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of 11 November 2025, 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 requested access to documents held by the NDIS, specifically, you requested access

to:

“I seek access to any documents, data, or records that contain or summarise the

following information for the most recent four financial years.

  1. The total number of internal review requests lodged in relation to FOI decisions made

by the agency.

  1. The number (and/or percentage) of those internal review requests finalised within the

statutory timeframe under the FOI Act.

  1. The number (and/or percentage) of internal review decisions that overturned or varied

the original FOI decision, specifically where access to information was subsequently

granted (in full or in part) after an initial refusal.”

Search efforts

You have requested access to data relating to the NDIA’s FOI team, therefore searches

were limited to the FOI team’s systems.

Decision on access to documents

                                                                     1

I have decided to refuse access in full.

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 foi@ndis.gov.au.

Yours sincerely

Rebecca – REM471

A/g Assistant Director

Information Access and Privacy Branch

Reviews and Information Release Division

                                                                     2

Attachment A

Statement of Reasons

FOI 25/26-1247

Refused information

Section 11(1)(a) of the FOI Act states that a person is entitled to gain access via the FOI process to a document or information held by an agency, however section 4(1) defines a document, and specifically excludes information which is maintained for reference purposes and publicly available. Such information is not considered a document for the purposes of the FOI Act.

The information you have requested is reported to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) each quarter. The OAIC make this information available for public access via their website, and at www.data.gov.au.

You asked for this data for the 4 most recent financial years, I have interpreted this to mean the 2021/2022 to 2024/2025 financial years. However, you will also find the data for quarter 1 of the 2025/2026 financial year available at www.oaic.gov.au.

Documents don’t exist (section 24A)

As the information you have requested is publicly available, it is not considered a document for the purposes of the FOI Act, I am therefore refusing your request in full under section 24A of the FOI Act.

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.

I am satisfied that all reasonable steps have been taken to locate the documents you have requested and that the documents are not documents for the purposes of the FOI Act. I have therefore decided to refuse access to your request in accordance with section 24A(1)(b)(ii) of the FOI Act.

3

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 foi@ndis.gov.au or sent by post to:

Freedom of Information Section Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch Reviews and Information Release Division 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 OAIC’s website via: OAIC Web Form, within 60 days of receipt of this letter.

Applications for review can be lodged with the OAIC in the following ways:

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:

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.

1