NDIS correspondence: Notification of Decision - FOI 24/25-1836 | FOI release material

Our reference: FOI 24/25-1836 (LEXD 302)

OAIC reference: MR25/00959

GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110

ndis.gov.au

26 August 2025

Perfectly Normal Applicant

By email: foi+request-13067-bcb332b3@righttoknow.org.au

Dear Perfectly Normal Applicant

Freedom of Information request — Notice of revised decision under section 55G of the Freedom of Information Act 1982

Thank you for your correspondence of 23 April 2025, 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 provide you with a revised decision on your request.

Scope of your request

You have requested access to the following documents:

“…a copy of all current and in force documents that are not publicly available and relate to the use of publicly available information (including but not limited to Mayo Clinic) in making s 24 and s 25 access decisions…”

Processing period

The original due date for our access decision on your FOI request was 23 May 2025. We have been experiencing processing delays and were not able to provide you with our decision by the due date. Consequently, your application was regarded as a deemed refusal under section 15AC of the FOI Act. We sincerely apologise for this.

We note that you have now applied to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for a review by the Information Commissioner (IC) of our deemed refusal.

Revised decision under section 55G

Section 55G(1)(a) of the FOI Act provides that at any time during an IC review, an Agency may vary an access refusal decision in favour of the applicant by giving access to documents in accordance with the request (revised decision).

Section 55G(2) provides that an Agency must notify the IC of the revised decision, and that decision becomes the decision under review.

Decision on access to documents

I am authorised to make decisions under section 23(1) of the FOI Act, including revised decisions under s55G of that Act. The FOI Act states that, in making a decision on a request, I must consider the FOI Guidelines issued by the Information Commissioner pursuant to section 93A of the FOI Act. According to the FOI Guidelines, the FOI Act serves as the legislative foundation for open government, facilitating and promoting public access to information. My revised decision on your request and the reasons for my decision are set out below.

I have identified 9 documents, which fall within the scope of your request.

The documents were identified by consulting with relevant NDIA staff in the Scheme Eligibility Branch who could be expected to be able to identify documents within the scope of the request.

I have decided to:

grant access to one document in full and
grant access to 8 documents in part.

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 provisions of the FOI Act including section 3 (general objects of the Act), section 11 (Right of access), section 11A (Access to documents on request) section 22 (Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant matter deleted) and section 55G (Procedure in IC review—revocation or variation of access refusal decision)
the FOI Guidelines published under section 93A of the FOI Act
the notice of IC review and
consultation with relevant NDIA staff.

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

I have identified that Documents 1-6 and 8-9 contain material that is irrelevant to your request. The documents mentioned above were not created for the dominant purpose of informing NDIA staff about publicly available information that can be relied on when making a s24 or s25 access decision.

I have therefore found it appropriate to redact information that is irrelevant to the scope of your request under section 22 of the FOI Act without diminishing the quality or context of the information does fall within the scope of your request. Accordingly, I have prepared an edited copy of the documents with the irrelevant material removed.

Release of documents

The documents for release, as referred to in the Schedule of Documents at Attachment A, are enclosed.

In accordance with section 55G(2) of the FOI Act, I will be providing the IC with a copy of this revised decision.

If you determine that you are satisfied with this revised decision and do not require this decision to be reviewed further by the IC, please let the Agency and the OAIC know.

If you would like clarification on any aspect of my decision, please do not hesitate to contact me by email at foi@ndis.gov.au.

Yours sincerely

Patrick (PHO293) Senior Freedom of Information Officer Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch Reviews and Information Release Division

Attachment A

Schedule of Documents for FOI 24/25-1836 | MR25/00959

Document number	Page number	Description	Access Decision	Comments
1	1	AA OneNote guidance for Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Undated	PARTIAL ACCESS	Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act
2	2-4	AA OneNote guidance for List A Undated	PARTIAL ACCESS	Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act
3	5-6	AA OneNote guidance on Intellectual Impairment Undated	PARTIAL ACCESS	Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act
4	7-17	AA OneNote guidance for Developmental Delay Undated	PARTIAL ACCESS	Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act
5	18-19	AA OneNote Guidance for Stroke Date: DD Month YYYY	PARTIAL ACCESS	Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act
6	20-49	Eligibility Reassessment - Evidence of Disability – Version 2.0 Date approved: 2 May 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS	Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act
7	50	Reputable Websites for Research Undated	FULL ACCESS

Document number	Page number	Description	Access Decision	Comments
8	51-60	Scheme Eligibility Branch – Team Leader Talking Points – Version 1.0 Date: 18 July 2024	PARTIAL ACCESS	Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act
9	61-65	Email Subject: Scheme Eligibility Branch Updates & Reminders Newsletter - July 2024, Edition #20 [SEC=OFFICIAL] Date: 18 July 2024	PARTIAL ACCESS	Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act