Freedom of Information request

Notification of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of 26 July 2924, in which you requested access to documents held by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).

Scope of your request

You have requested access to:

“a copy of the briefing pack/any other briefing materials prepared for NDIA officials
attending the 25th July 2024 Community Affairs Legislation Committee hearing regarding
the legislative changes currently before Parliament.”

I note you also made a request to the Department of Social Services (DSS) on 26 July 2024 for a number of documents, and one of the items in your listed scope is as follows:

     ..a copy of the briefing pack/any other briefing materials prepared for NDIA officials
   attending the 25th July 2024 Community Affairs Legislation Committee public hearing
    for the current NDIS Amendment Bill inquiry.

I note that, on 7 August 2024, you were advised that part your request was transferred under section 16 of the FOI Act to the NDIA. This matter was subsequently registered as FOI24/25-0147 and acknowledged on 23 August 2024.

Given the similarity of the scopes, with the same document being the responsive document in both matters, I am responding to both FOI24/25-0091 and FOI24/25-0147 under this decision notice.

Search efforts

A search for documents has been conducted by the Parliamentary and Ministerial branch of the NDIA, and I have been provided with a copy of one document which falls within the scope of your request.

Decision on access to documents

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

I made this decision as an authorised FOI decision maker under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.

Release of documents

The document for release, as referred to in the Schedule of Documents at Attachment A, is attached.

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

Jennifer(JFD472) Senior Freedom of Information officer Government, Risk & Legal – Complaints Management and FOI General Counsel Division

Schedule of Documents for FOI 24/25-0091 and FOI 24/25-0147

Attachment A

Document number	Page number	Description	Access Decision
1	1-38	NDIS Briefing Pack — NDIS Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back No. 1) Bill 2024 Date — 25 July 2024	FULL ACCESS

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:

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