Freedom of Information request — Notification of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of 10 October 2023, 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 notify you of my decision on your application.

Scope of your request

You have requested access to the following documents:

• “I am requesting access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), to the following documents as referred to in ‘Practice Guide - Determine Reasonable and Necessary Supports’ —
  • Practice Guide - Disability-Related Health Supports
  • Practice Guide - Understanding Therapy Supports

And additionally:

• The “Standard Operating Procedure” documents related to “Disability-Related Health Supports” and “Therapy Supports”

• If ‘V25.0 (updated 2021-01-13)’ of ‘Practice Guide - Determine Reasonable and Necessary Supports’ is not the most recent version of this document currently in use, I also request access to the most current version of the ‘Practice Guide - Determine Reasonable and Necessary Supports’ document.”

Decision on access to documents

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

I have identified 12 documents that fall within the scope of your request. These documents are publicly available. Rather than provide you with an electronic copy of these documents, we have provided you with a direct link to access them on the NDIS website. Please let us know if you would prefer an electronic copy of the documents by email.

The documents were identified by consulting with relevant NDIA staff from our Service Guidance and Practice branch who could be expected to be able to identify documents within the scope of the request.

Further, I have identified one document in addition to the publicly available documents.

The document was identified by conducting searches of NDIA’s disclosure log. Documents on the NDIS FOI disclosure log are publicly available.

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 documents are public available via the following links:

• Part 1 - [Disability-related health supports | NDIS](Disability-related health supports | NDIS)

• Part 2 - The ‘Practice Guide – Understanding Therapy Supports’ document, as referred to in the Schedule of Documents at Attachment A, is enclosed. Please note the document is for the current version at the date of decision.

• Part 3 - Standard Operating Procedure documents related to ‘Disability Health Supports’ and ‘Therapy Supports’:

  • Assistive Technology | NDIS
  • Continence Supports | NDIS
  • Diabetes management supports | NDIS
  • Dysphagia supports | NDIS
  • Epilepsy Supports | NDIS
  • Mainstream and community supports | NDIS
  • Nutrition supports including meal preparation | NDIS
  • Podiatry and foot care supports | NDIS
  • Wound and Pressure Care Supports | NDIS

• Part 4 – [Reasonable and necessary supports | NDIS](Reasonable and necessary supports | NDIS) – Please note the link is for the current version at the date of decision.

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, Miriam Senior Freedom of Information Officer Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch Government Division

Attachment A

Schedule of Documents for FOI 23/24-0416

Document number	Description	Access Decision
1	FOI Disclosure Log - 22/23-0633 - Practice Guide - Understanding Therapy Supports	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.