FOI 25.26 1924 Decision Notice of Decision | FOI release material

Our reference: FOI 25/26-1924 [LEXD 15205]

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

30 July 2026

David Wright

By email: foi+request-14221-08ffd949@righttoknow.org.au

Dear David Wright

Freedom of Information request — Notice of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of 23 January 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):

“Please provide the following information about all law firms engaged by the NDIA in the first six months of the 2025-2026 financial year for matters to which the NDIA was a Respondent at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT)/Administrative Review Tribunal (ART):

A list of all law firms engaged.

The number of AAT matters each law firm was engaged for.

The total of all payments made by the NDIA to each of these law firms, giving the total figure paid to each law firm and also a combined total figure of all payments.”

On 6 March 2026 you clarified that:

“My request relates only to the NDIS jurisdiction”

Extension of time

On 3 February 2026, you agreed to a 30-day extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act, making 24 March 2026 the date by which to provide you with a decision on your request.

Processing period

The date by which to provide you with a decision on your request was 24 March 2026. We have been experiencing processing delays, and were unable to provide you with a decision by this date. Consequently, your application is deemed to have been refused under section 15AC of the FOI Act.

I note that this access decision is being released to you after the due date, and I apologise for the delay. In the interests of not causing any further delay, I have decided not to apply for an extension from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) under section 15AC of the FOI Act. This means that you are unable to seek an internal review of this decision. However, you are able to apply to the OAIC for an external review of this decision. Please see Attachment C for more information about your rights of review.

Search efforts

I have consulted with relevant NDIA staff in the Chief Counsel Division who could be reasonably expected to be able to identify documents within the scope of your request or determine whether a document could be created pursuant to section 17 of the FOI Act.

As a result of this consultation, I have been provided with a document created pursuant to section 17 of the FOI Act containing some of the information you have requested.

Third-party consultation

In processing your request, I determined that it was necessary to undertake consultation with one or more affected third parties under section 27 of the FOI Act.

Under section 27 of the FOI Act, I must take all reasonably practicable steps to enable an affected third party to comment on, or object to, the potential release of business information about the third party.

I have considered submissions made by the affected third parties on the release of information.

Decision on access to documents

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

I have decided to:

grant access to 1 document in part

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
consultation with relevant NDIA staff and business areas
consultation with one or more affected third parties
factors relevant to my assessment of whether or not disclosure of information would be in the public interest

I have decided that some of the information will not be released as it comprises exempt information under section 47 and 47G of the FOI Act. I have also determined that the release of the information would be contrary to the public interest, in accordance with section 11A(5) of the FOI Act.

A detailed statement of reasons for my decision can be found at Attachment B.

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 C.

Should you have any enquiries concerning this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me by email at foi@ndis.gov.au.

Yours sincerely

Sarah (SML003)

Assistant Director – Freedom of Information

Information Access and Privacy Branch

Reviews and Information Release Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

Attachment A

Schedule of Documents

FOI 25/26-1924

Document number	Page number	Description	Access Decision	Comments
1		Payments Made by the NDIA to External Law Firms Where the NDIA was a Respondent at the AAT/ART from 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemptions claimed: s47G – business information s47 – trade secrets or commercially valuable information	Document created under section 17 of the FOI Act

Attachment B

Statement of Reasons

FOI 25/26-1924

Forms of access

Access to information not available in discrete or written form (section 17)

Section 17(1)(c) of the FOI Act provides that, to enable the release of information, an agency can produce a written document containing information which is not otherwise available in discrete or written form, in one of two ways. These are:

by using a computer to retrieve the information, and
by making a transcript from a sound recording.

We have been able to use a computer 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)(i) of the FOI Act.

Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant material deleted (section 22)

I have decided that document 1 contains material that is exempt from disclosure under the FOI Act, for the reasons set out below.

In accordance with section 22 of the FOI Act, I have considered whether it is possible to delete the exempt material from the document and have concluded that it is reasonably practicable to do so. Accordingly, I have prepared an edited copy of the document with the exempt material removed.

Refusal of access to information

Exempt information & Conditionally exempt information contrary to the public interest

Relevant law

Under section 11A(4) of the FOI Act, access to a document may be refused if the document is exempt under one or more of the provisions in division 2 of Part IV of the FOI Act.

I have refused access to part of document 1 on the basis that documents are exempt from release under section 47(1)(b) of the FOI Act.

In addition, Under section 11A(5) of the FOI Act, access to a conditionally exempt document under division 3 of Part IV of the FOI Act must be granted unless access to the document would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest.

I have also refused access to the same information located in document 1 on the basis that the information is conditionally exempt information under section 47G(1) of the FOI Act, and that the disclosure of the information would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest.

Documents disclosing trade secrets or commercially valuable information (section 47)

Section 47(1) of the FOI Act exempts a document from release if its disclosure under the Act would disclose trade secrets or commercially valuable information that would be, or could reasonably be expected to be, destroyed or diminished if the information were disclosed.

Paragraph 5.234 of the FOI Guidelines provides that, for a document to be exempt from release under section 47(1)(b) of the FOI Act:

the document must contain information that is of commercial value either to an agency or to another person or body; and
the commercial value of the information would be, or could reasonably be expected to be, destroyed or diminished if it were disclosed.

Business information (section 47G)

Section 47G(1) of the FOI Act conditionally exempts a document from release if its disclosure would, or could reasonably be expected to, unreasonably affect a third party’s lawful business, professional, commercial, or financial affairs, or prejudice the future supply of information to the Commonwealth.

Paragraph 6.181 of the FOI Guidelines provides that the conditional exemption in section 47G(1) depends on the effect of disclosure, rather than the precise nature of the information itself. Nevertheless, the information in question must have some relevance to a person in respect of their business or professional affairs, or to the business, commercial, or financial affairs of an organisation or undertaking.

Paragraph 6.191 of the FOI Guidelines distinguishes ‘business or professional affairs’ from an individual’s personal or private affairs, or the internal affairs of an organisation. The term ‘business affairs’ has been interpreted to mean ‘the totality of the money-making affairs’ of a person, organisation, or undertaking as distinct from their private or internal affairs.

Decision to refuse

I formally consulted with Mills Oakley, Maddocks, Sparke Helmore and Moray & Agnew under section 27 of the FOI Act to invite their views on the potential release of the information in question. I have considered the submissions made by them in forming my view on the release of the information.

I have formed the view that part of document 1 contains information that is of commercial value to the above law firms. Consistent with paragraph 5.235 of the FOI Guidelines, I consider the relevant information not to be widely unknown.

I have also formed the view that disclosure of the information would destroy or diminish its commercial value. These legal service providers were appointed to the NDIA’s panel of legal services by way of a competitive process, and the fees and fixed pricing arrangements they have in place with the NDIA are essential components of their business.

If the figure included in the column ‘Number of matters engaged for’ was disclosed together with the information in the ‘Total amount paid’ column, competitors of these legal service providers would be able to ascertain the average cost per matter for the legal services provided to the NDIA, which could be used to undercut their pricing model and place them at a commercial disadvantage.

As such, I am satisfied that part of the document is exempt from release under section 47(1)(b) and 47G(1) of the FOI Act.

Public interest considerations – section 47G

It is not enough that I have decided the document contains business information that is conditionally exempt under section 47G(1) of the FOI Act. I must also decide whether the public interest lies in favour of, or against, the release of that information.

Irrelevant factors

I have examined the irrelevant factors in section 11B(4) of the FOI Act, and I am satisfied I have not taken into account any irrelevant factor in reaching my decision.

Factors favouring disclosure

In favour of disclosure, I have considered the factors outlined in section 11B(3) of the FOI Act and I have determined that disclosure of the information would:

promote the objects of the FOI Act (including all matters set out in sections 3 and 3A)
promote effective oversight of public expenditure

This is because it promotes transparency and accountability regarding the expenditure of public funds and enabling public scrutiny of the NDIA’s use of external legal services.

I have decided to afford moderate weight to these factors.

Factors favouring nondisclosure

The FOI Act does not list any factors weighing against disclosure. However, the inclusion of the exemptions and conditional exemptions in the FOI Act recognises that harm may result from the disclosure of some types of documents in certain circumstances.

The harm in disclosing the business information in question is that doing so could reasonably be expected to compromise the business, professional, commercial, or financial affairs of a third party, or interfere with their ability to undertake their lawful business.

The FOI Guidelines provides a non-exhaustive list of factors against access to information at paragraph 6.233. I have examined those factors, and I am satisfied that the disclosure of the business information in question could reasonably be expected to:

prejudice the commercial position of the legal service providers by revealing information that competitors could use to infer pricing models
prejudice the Agency’s ability to obtain best value for money in future procurements if legal service providers alter their pricing or negotiating positions in response to the disclosure

With respect to section 11B(3) of the FOI Act, I also consider that the disclosure of the relevant information:

would not enhance Australia’s representative democracy in the ways described in section 11B(3) of the FOI Act

I have decided to afford significant weight to these factors favouring nondisclosure.

Balancing the relevant factors

I am satisfied that the factors against disclosure of the information outweigh the factors in favour of disclosure and that, on balance, it would be contrary to the public interest to release this information to you.

With reference to the assessment above, I conclude that this information is exempt from release under section 47G(1) of the FOI Act.

Attachment C

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

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