NDIS correspondence: Notice of Decision - FOI 25/26-0959 [LEXD 10752] | FOI release material

Our reference: FOI 25/26-0959 [LEXD 10752]

                                                        GPO Box 700
                                                                                 Canberra ACT  2601
                                                                            1800 800 110

19 December 2025 ndis.gov.au

Stuart

By email: redacted: foi+request-13853-b7ee74a3@righttoknow.org.au

Dear Stuart

Freedom of Information request — Notice of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of 12 October 2025 (your correspondence), seeking 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 have requested access to the following documents:

“1. At 30 September 2025, the total number of plan change cases that were awaiting a plan reassessment decision, and; a). The number of plan change cases that had been awaiting a decision for 21 days or less b). The number of plan change cases that had been awaiting a decision for 22 to 111 days c). The number of plan change cases that had been awaiting a decision for 112 days or more”

On 25 November 2025 you confirmed via email to the following revised scope:

“At 30 September 2025, the total number of plan change requests that were open, and; a). The number of plan change cases that were open for 21 days or less b). The number of plan change cases that were open for 22 to 111 days c). The number of plan change cases that were open for 112 days or more”

Processing Timeframes

The FOI Act provides 30 calendar days for the processing of an FOI request after it is received. As your valid FOI request was received on 12 October 2025, the original due date for your request was 11 November 2025.

On 11 November 2025, the FOI Team wrote to you requesting your agreement to a 30-day extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act. On 11 November 2025 you responded to our request stating you did not agree to an extension of time; therefore, the original due date still stands.

As we were unable to provide you with a decision on your request by the legislated due date, your application is regarded as a deemed refusal under section 15AC of the FOI Act.

Despite this, I have continued to process your application. I apologise for the delay and confirm that you retain your right to seek external review of this decision. Details are set out in Attachment A to this letter.

Searches conducted

Searches were conducted by the following business areas for documents relevant to the scope of your FOI request:

•  Data and Analytics Branch

As a result of this search, no documents were located relevant to the scope of your request, however the Data and Analytics Branch advised they were able to create a document containing the information relevant to your request.

Section 17 of the FOI provides that where:

1. an application appears from the request that the desire of the applicant is for
   information that is not available in discrete form in written documents of the agency;
  and

2.   it does not appear from the request that the applicant wishes to be provided with a
  computer tape or computer disk on which the information is recorded; and

3.  the agency is able to produce a written document containing the information in
   discrete form by the use of a computer or other equipment that is available to the
  agency

The agency shall deal with the request as if it were a request for access to a written document so produced and containing that information and, for that purpose, this Act applies as if the agency had such a document in its possession, so long as the work required to

comply with this section does not substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the

agency from its other operations.

As the Data and Analytics Branch have been able to produce a document containing the

information you have requested, I have taken this to be a document of the agency for the

purposes of this request.

As such, one (1) document was located as being within the scope of your request.

Decision

I am the authorised officer pursuant to section 23(1) of the FOI Act to make a decision on

this FOI request.

I have decided to:

Grant access in full to 1 document

Request for clarification on terms used in data

In your email of 11 November 2025, you asked:

Could they also please explain at what point in the process a plan change request becomes “open” in their response this time? It’s not clear to me what the practical difference is between an “open plan change request” and just a “plan change request that is awaiting a decision”, so it would be helpful to understand that context better.

I have not taken this to be part of the scope of your FOI request and have therefore not

conducted searches for documents that may contain this information. However, I have

consulted with the area to provide further clarification on the differences between an open

plan change request and a plan change request that is awaiting a decision. The response I

received from the Data and Analytics Branch who themselves consulted with the National

Contact Centre Branch was that:

Open Plan Change Request refers to a plan change case that has been newly

created. The case may be referred to as an “open plan change request” at any stage

of the process until the case is closed.
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Plan Change Case Awaiting a Decision refers to a specific stage of a plan change

case where all required supporting information and consent have been received, and

the request is waiting for the final decision.

I hope this provides further context to the information that has been provided.

Rights of review

Your rights to seek a review of my decision, or lodge a complaint, are set out at

Attachment A.

Should you have any enquiries concerning this matter, 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

Your review rights

As this matter was a deemed refusal, internal review of this decision is not an option.

However, if you have concern with any aspect of this decision, please contact the NDIA FOI

team by email foi@ndis.gov.au or by post:

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 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.