FOI 26.27 0395 Notice of Decision

Our reference: FOI 26/27-0395 (LEXD 27707)

GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110 26 August 2026 ndis.gov.au

Meaz Right to Know

By email: foi+request-15261-9ae00436@righttoknow.org.au

Dear Meaz

Freedom of Information request — Notice of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of 27 July 2026, 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 the following document(s):

“…I request access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 to all current and superseded final NDIA documents, applicable from 1 January 2026 to the date of this request, governing pre-decision quality checks for internal review decisions under section 100 of the NDIS Act.

This includes any relevant:

1. PACE guidelines, knowledge articles, procedures or checklists;
2. quality-assurance, peer-review, supervisory-review or approval processes;
3. critical and non-critical question sets;
4. pass, pass-with-feedback, fail or equivalent criteria;
5. referral, sampling, escalation, remediation and rework requirements;
6. standard feedback templates;
7. requirements to verify or reconcile risk; and
8. PACE fields, activities or audit records used to document the check and outcome.

If no document exists under the title “Internal Review Pre-Decision Quality Check,” please provide all documents performing the equivalent function for section 100 internal reviews…“

Search efforts

Reasonable searches were conducted of NDIA business systems, using all reasonable search terms that could return documents relevant to your request. In addition, I have consulted with relevant NDIA staff in the Service Guidance and Internal Reviews teams who could be reasonably expected to be able to identify documents within the scope of your request.

As a result of these searches, I have not identified any documents, which fall within the scope of your request.

Decision on access to documents

I am authorised to make decisions under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.

I have decided to refuse access under section 24A of the FOI Act.

Reasons for decision

In reaching my decision, I have taken 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
• relevant case law concerning the operation of the FOI Act
• consultation with relevant NDIA staff and business areas
• the operating environment and functions of the NDIA

I am satisfied that the documents cannot be found or do not exist. As such, I am refusing access to those documents in accordance with section 24A of the FOI Act.

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

Senior Freedom of Information Officer

Information Access and Privacy Branch

Reviews and Information Release Division

Attachment A

Statement of Reasons

FOI 26/27-0395

Refusal of access to information

Documents do not 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.

I am satisfied searches of relevant NDIA business systems have been conducted, using all reasonable search terms that could return documents relevant to your request. In addition, I have consulted with relevant NDIA staff in the Service Guidance and Internal Review teams who could be reasonably expected to be able to identify documents within the scope of your request.

Despite these search efforts, I am satisfied that the Agency does not hold documents relevant to the scope of your request. This is because quality checks on internal review decisions are not carried out prior to decisions being made. There are therefore no documents which refer to “pre-decision quality checks” as per your request.

I am satisfied that all reasonable steps have been taken to locate the document(s) you have requested and that the document(s) cannot be found or do not exist. I have therefore decided to refuse your request for access to the document(s) in accordance with section 24A(1) of the FOI Act.

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Attachment B

Freedom of Information request – 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 review, in writing, within 30 days of receiving 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 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 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, within 60 days of receiving this letter: OAIC Review Application Form.

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

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Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au

Phone: 1300 363 992 (local call charge)

Website: www.oaic.gov.au

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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