NDIA Accountability Project

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Freedom of Information request — Notification of Decision

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Freedom of Information request — Notification of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of 6 February 2022, 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

You have requested access to the following documents:

  • …information about the legal and specialist services, used by the Procurement, Legal Services, and HR branches of the NDIA, specifically:
      1. Procurement and Corporate Services Branch
      1. Legal – General Advice and Legislation team
      1. Legal – Corporate and Commercial team
      1. Legal – All of Legal Services Branch
      1. HR – Workplace Health Safety and Support team
      1. HR – Workplace Integrity team
      1. HR – All of Human Resources Advisory Branch

For each of these categories above, can you please provide the information below:

  • (a) How many staff are APS employees?
  • (b) How many staff are labour-hire/contractors?
  • (c) For those staff nominated in (c) above, what is the cost of the labour-hire/contractors for the period 1/1/21 to 30/6/21?
  • (d) For those staff nominated in (c) above, what is the cost of the labour-hire/contractors for the period 1/7/21 to 31/12/21?

(e) How many contracts for ‘external’ legal/specialist/consulting services were in place during the period 1/1/21 to 30/6/21?

(f) How many contracts for ‘external’ legal/specialist/consulting services were in place during the period 1/7/21 to 31/12/21?

(g) What is the total cost of ‘external’ legal/specialist/consulting services for the period 1/1/21 to 31/12/21?

On 5 March 2022, you provided the following clarification:

Clarifications:

Clarification of dates in (a) and (b) - both 31 December 2021 AND date of FOI request.

Clarification of (c) and (d) - yes, the reference should be to (b) above.

Clarification of (e) to (g) - each of legal ‘labour-hire’, and ‘private law firms’ (including AGS), and ‘consultants’ (who do not fit in other two categories).

Extension of Time

On 5 March 2022, you agreed to provide us with an additional 21 days under section 15AA of the FOI Act, to allow us to finalise processing your request. On 6 April 2022, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) granted us an additional extension of time under section 15AB of the FOI Act, making 12 April 2022 the due date to provide you with a decision on access. I apologise for the delay in providing this decision to you.

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.

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.

I have decided to grant access to this document in full.

In reaching my decision, I took the following into account:

  • your correspondence outlining the scope of your request
  • the nature and content of the documents falling within the scope of your request
  • the FOI Act
  • the FOI Guidelines published under section 93A of the FOI Act
  • consultation with relevant NDIA staff
  • the NDIA’s operating environment and functions.

Release of documents

The document for release, as referred to in the Schedule of Documents at Attachment A, is 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 foi@ndis.gov.au.

Yours sincerely

Carolyn Assistant Director FOI Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch Government Division

Schedule of Documents for FOI 21/22-0863

Document number Page number Description Access Decision Comments
1 1-3 Legal and specialist services, used by the Procurement, Legal Services, and HR branches of the NDIA FULL ACCESS Document created under section 17 of the FOI Act

Undated

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

Freedom of Information Section Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch Government 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:

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

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