Our reference: FOI 25/26-0177 (LEXD 1690)
GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110
ndis.gov.au
15 December 2025
Justin Elks
By email: foi+request-13426-b450906d@righttoknow.org.au
Dear Justin Elks
Freedom of Information request — Request consultation process
Thank you for your correspondence of 18 July 2025, in which you requested access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to documents held by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).
Scope of your request
You have requested access to the following documents:
…The decision-making process of the NDIA Decision Panel, including but not limited to documented procedures, policies, frameworks, guidance material, and internal manuals that describe:
The role, composition, and authority of the NDIA Decision Panel;
The process followed by the NDIA Decision Panel when reviewing recommendations made by NDIA planners and/or technical advisory teams.
The processes, policies, and criteria by which an NDIA delegate or the Decision Panel can override, vary, or decline to adopt recommendations or advice provided by the technical advisory team and/or a planner.
Any internal governance policies, directives, or guidance material applicable to Decision Panels or delegates about exercising discretion when their decision departs from the advice of technical specialists or planners, including any requirements for documenting reasons for doing so.
If possible, I request that these documents include any current versions as well as versions that have been in force at any time during the past three (3) years.
Practical refusal
I am authorised to make decisions under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
I am writing to advise that your request does not provide enough information about the documents you are seeking as is reasonably necessary to allow us to identify them.
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Section 15(2) of the FOI Act provides that in order for a request to be considered a valid request, it must:
- (a) be in writing; and
- (aa) state that the request is an application for the purposes of this Act; and
- (b) provide such information concerning the document as is reasonably necessary to enable a responsible officer of the agency, or the Minister, to identify it; and
- (c) give details of how notices under this Act may be sent to the applicant (for example, by providing an electronic address to which notices may be sent by electronic communication).
Section 24AA(1) of the FOI Act provides that:
For the purposes of section 24, a practical refusal reason exists in relation to a request for a document if: …
(b) the request does not satisfy the requirement in paragraph 15(2)(b) (identification of documents).
As we are unable to identify the documents you are seeking, I intend to refuse your request, as a practical refusal reason exists. However, before I make a final decision, I am writing to provide you with an opportunity to revise your request. This is called a ‘request consultation process’ as set out under section 24AB of the FOI Act. You have 14 days to respond to this notice in one of the ways set out below.
Why I intend to refuse your request
Preliminary searches of NDIA’s document management systems have been conducted using reasonable search terms that could potentially return documents relevant to your request. We have also consulted with NDIA staff who are familiar with the systems and processes for locating documents within scope.
These searches and consultations indicate that the NDIA operates with many different decision panels across different areas of the Agency. Due to the broad nature of your request, we are currently unable to identify which specific decision panels you are referring to. As a result, your request, in its current form, does not allow us to identify the documents you are seeking access to.
To assist us in progressing your request, we seek further clarification from you about the particular decision panel you are interested in.
Request consultation process
You now have an opportunity to revise your request to enable it to proceed.
Revising your request can mean narrowing the scope of the request to make it more manageable or explaining in more detail the documents you wish to access. For example, by providing more specific information about exactly what documents you are interested in, the NDIA will be able to pinpoint the documents more quickly and avoid using excessive resources to process documents you are not interested in.
To reduce the scope of your request, we need to know which decision panel you are referring to. For example, the Home and Living Panel, or the Complex Assessment Panel.
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You have 14 days from the date you receive this letter to contact me and do one of the following:
a. withdraw your request b. make a revised request c. indicate that you do not wish to revise the request.
During this period, you are welcome to seek assistance to revise your request. If you revise your request in a way that adequately addresses the practical refusal reason outlined above, we will recommence processing it.
Please note that the time taken to consult with you regarding the scope of your request is not taken into account for the purposes of the timeframe for processing your request.
You can contact me by email at redacted.
Alternatively, you can reply in writing to the following address:
Freedom of Information Section Information Access and Privacy Branch Reviews and Information Release Division National Disability Insurance Agency GPO Box 700 CANBERRA ACT 2601
If you do not contact me within this period, that is by 29 December 2025, I will issue you a formal decision letter that confirms my reasons for refusing your request.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Yours sincerely
Carolyn (CJW205) A/g Assistant Director – Freedom of Information Information Access and Privacy Branch Reviews and Information Release Division
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