Our reference: FOI 24/25-1567
GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110 10 October 2025 ndis.gov.au
Bob Buckley
Right to Know By email: foi+request-12950-b3840c97@righttoknow.org.au
Dear Bob Buckley
Freedom of Information request — Notice of Decision
Thank you for your correspondence of 21 March 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:
“…Over the past two years, the Australian Government developed a National Autism Strategy (NAS) and released 3 of 4 parts on 14 February 2025. The final part, the Health Roadmap for Autism was released later. Please provide, in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1982, all information showing communication between the NDIS/NDIA and: a) the secretariat for the development of the National Autism Strategy, b) the Oversight Committee/Council for the National Autism Strategy, and c) the working groups that also were involved in NAS development. I am especially interested in what information the NAS sought from the NDIS, and what information about autism the NDIS provided to NAS development…”
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 21 March 2025, the original due date for your request was 21 April 2025.
We have been experiencing a high volume of FOI requests, resulting in processing delays. 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 sincerely apologise for the delay and confirm that you retain your right to seek external review of this decision. Details are set out in Attachment C to this letter.
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Practical Refusal Notice
On 26 May 2025, we wrote to you advising that the work involved in processing your request in its current form would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the NDIA from its other operations due to its size.
Following further communication, on 9 July 2025 you agreed to revise the scope of your request to the following:
“…Emails between Samantha.taylor@ndis.gov.au and NationalAutismStrategySecretariat@dss.gov.au with the key words ‘NAS’ or ‘National Autism Strategy’ within the two year date range 21 March 2023 - 21 March 2025…”
In consideration of the revised scope of the request, the grounds for the practical refusal have been removed.
Searches conducted
Searches were conducted by the Data team for documents relevant to the scope of your FOI request.
As a result of this search, 25 documents were located. This search was undertaken between 02 July and 03 July 2025 and was overseen by senior staff. A review of those 25 documents revealed 8 duplicates and 6 emails that were included in the chain of other emails. I have decided to include the final email in the chain only, except where the email includes an attachment. As such, 11 individual emails and 22 attachments remain 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 17 documents
- Grant access in part to 16 documents in accordance with section 22 of the FOI Act, on the grounds that the deleted material is considered exempt under section 47F of the FOI Act.
The decision in relation to each document is detailed in the schedule of documents at Attachment A.
A statement of reasons for this decision are set out in Attachment B.
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
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Elizabeth
Elizabeth (EFH599) A/g Assistant Director – Information Access
Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch Reviews and Information Release Division
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Attachment A
Schedule of Documents for FOI 24/25-1567
| Document number | Page number | Description | Access Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1-3 | Email Subject: FOR INFORMATION AND COMPLETION PLEASE: National Autism Strategy Oversight Council background information and Council membership pack for Samantha Taylor [SEC=OFFICIAL:Sensitive] Date: 02 August 2023, 2:13pm |
PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: S47F — Personal Privacy |
| 1.1 | 4 | Attachment to Document 1 Email Dated 27 July 2023 |
PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: S47F — Personal Privacy |
| 1.1.1 | 5-13 | Attachment to Document 1.1 National Autism Strategy Oversight Council Terms of Reference |
FULL ACCESS |
| 1.2 | 14-15 | Attachment to Document 1 Email dated 24 July 2023 |
PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: S47F — Personal Privacy |
| 1.2.1 | 16-99 | Attachment to Document 1.2 Community Insights and Unheard Perspectives: Recommendations for inclusive community engagement in the National Autism Strategy |
FULL ACCESS |
| 1.2.2 | 100-271 | Attachment to Document 1.2 Research evidence, policy and landscape mapping to inform the National Autism Strategy - Appendices |
FULL ACCESS |
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| Document number | Page number | Description | Access Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2.3 | 272-633 | Attachment to Document 1.2 Research evidence, policy and landscape mapping to inform the National Autism Strategy — Final Report |
FULL ACCESS |
| 1.2.4 | 634-637 | Attachment to Document 1.2 National Autism Strategy Oversight Council Meeting Agenda |
FULL ACCESS |
| 1.2.5 | 638 | Attachment to Document 1.2 National Autism Strategy — Oversight Council page update |
FULL ACCESS |
| 1.3 | 639-640 | Attachment to Document 1 Email dated 27 July 2023 |
PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: S47F — Personal Privacy |
| 1.3.1 | 641-698 | Attachment to Document 1.3 Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA) Autism Research Project |
FULL ACCESS |
| 1.3.2 | 699-723 | Attachment to Document 1.3 Engaging with autistic people with an intellectual disability to develop the National Autism Strategy |
FULL ACCESS |
| 1.3.3 | 724-786 | Attachment to Document 1.3 FPDN Community Consultation — Key Issues Facing First Nations Autistic People |
FULL ACCESS |
| 1.3.4 | 787-814 | Attachment to Document 1.3 Lessons Learnt for an Australian National Autism Strategy |
FULL ACCESS |
| 1.3.5 | 815-849 | Attachment to Document 1.3 Autism in Australia — Data and Its Sources |
FULL ACCESS |
| 1.4 | 850-853 | Attachment to Document 1 National Autism Strategy Oversight Council Membership Pack |
FULL ACCESS |
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| Document number | Page number | Description | Access Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 | 854-855 | Attachment to Document 1 National Autism Strategy Oversight Council attendees |
PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: S47F — Personal Privacy |
| 2 | 856 | Email Subject: Your visitor parking arrangements for your attendance at the National Autism Strategy Oversight Council meeting at the Department of Social Services on Wednesday 16 August 2023 [SEC=UNOFFICIAL] Date: 11 August 2023, 1:16pm |
PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: S47F — Personal Privacy |
| 2.1 | 857-858 | Attachment to Document 2 Department of Social Services (Canberra) visitor car parking information |
FULL ACCESS |
| 3 | 859-862 | Email Subject: RE: FOR INFORMATION AND COMPLETION PLEASE: National Autism Strategy Oversight Council background information and Council membership pack for Samantha Taylor [SEC=OFFICIAL:Sensitive] Date: 11 August 2023, 3:00pm |
PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: S47F — Personal Privacy |
| 3.1 | 863-866 | Attachment to Document 3 National Autism Strategy Oversight Council Membership Pack |
FULL ACCESS |
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| Document number | Page number | Description | Access Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 867-872 | Email Subject: RE: FOR INFORMATION: A pre-brief with Luke Mansfield, DSS National Autism Strategy Oversight Council co-chair [SEC=OFFICIAL:Sensitive] Date: 14 August 2023, 7:48pm |
PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: S47F — Personal Privacy |
| 5 | 873-874 | Email Subject: National Autism Strategy - Oversight Council Diagnosis, Services and Supports Working Group Representative [SEC=OFFICIAL] Date: 31 August 2023, 3:29pm |
PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: S47F — Personal Privacy |
| 6 | 875-876 | Email Subject: FW: National Autism Strategy - Oversight Council Social Inclusion Working Group Representative [SEC=OFFICIAL] Date: 11 September 2023, 9:13am |
PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: S47F — Personal Privacy |
| 7 | 877-878 | Email Subject: RE: Proposed alternative National Autism Strategy Oversight Council December 2023 meeting date [SEC=OFFICIAL] Date: 18 October 2023, 4:18pm |
PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: S47F — Personal Privacy |
| 8 | 879 | Email Subject: For Information: Summary of National Autism Strategy Submissions to 2 October 2023 [SEC=OFFICIAL] Date: 19 October 2023, 8:21am |
PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: S47F — Personal Privacy |
| 8.1 | 880-888 | Attachment to Document 8 The Social Deck — National Autism Strategy Consultations |
FULL ACCESS |
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| Document number | Page number | Description | Access Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 889-895 | Email Subject: Your availability for the four proposed 2023-24 National Autism Strategy Oversight Council standing meetings to task the working groups [SEC=OFFICIAL] Date: 19 October 2023, 3:41pm |
PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: S47F — Personal Privacy |
| 9.1 | 896-898 | Attachment to Document 9 NSA Working Group Meeting Schedule |
FULL ACCESS |
| 10 | 899 | Email Subject: For Noting National Autism Strategy engagement statistics at 19 October 2023 [SEC=OFFICIAL] Date: 20 October 2023, 8:50am |
PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: S47F — Personal Privacy |
| 10.1 | 900 | Attachment to Document 10 National Autism Strategy Engagement Stats |
FULL ACCESS |
| 11 | 901 | Email Subject: For review and comment — National Autism Strategy Oversight Council draft 2 November virtual meeting agenda [SEC=OFFICIAL] Date: 20 October 2023, 1:39pm |
PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: S47F — Personal Privacy |
| 11.1 | 902-911 | Attachment to Document 11 National Autism Strategy Oversight Council — meeting agenda |
PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: S47F — Personal Privacy |
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Attachment B
Statement of Reasons
FOI 24/25-1567
Personal privacy (section 47F)
Section 47F(1) of the FOI Act states:
A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person (including a deceased person).
The FOI Act shares the same definition of ‘personal information’ as the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Paragraph 6.123 of the FOI Guidelines provide that:
Personal information means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable: (a) whether the information or opinion is true or not; and (b) whether the information or opinion is recorded in material form or not.
Documents relevant to the scope of your request contain personal information of NDIA staff members and third parties.
In my assessment of whether the disclosure of this personal information is unreasonable, I have considered the following factors in accordance with section 47F(2) of the FOI Act:
- (a) the extent to which the information is well known;
- (b) whether the person to whom the information relates is known to be (or to have been) associated with the matters dealt with in the document;
- (c) the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources; and
- (d) the affect the release of the personal information could reasonably have on the third party.
I found that the specific personal information contained within the documents:
- is not well known
- is in relation to individuals that are not known to be or have been associated with the matters dealt with in the documents
- is not available from publicly available sources
- would have a negative effect on the individuals if released
Accordingly, I am satisfied that the information in the documents is conditionally exempt under section 47F of the FOI Act.
Public interest considerations – Section 47F
Section 11A(5) of the FOI Act states:
The agency or Minister must give the person access to the document if it is conditionally exempt at a particular time unless (in the circumstances) access to the document at that time would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest.
Irrelevant factors
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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 factors in reaching my decision.
Factors favouring disclosure
I have considered the factors favouring disclosure as set out in section 11B(3) of the FOI Act. The relevant factors being whether access to the document would:
- (a) promote the objects of this Act (including all the matters set out in section 3 and 3A);
- (b) inform debate on a matter of public importance;
- (c) promote effective oversight of public expenditure
In favour of disclosure, I have considered these factors, and have determined that disclosure of the information in the documents would promote the objects of the FOI Act (including all matters set out in sections 3 and 3A).
This is because providing access to documents held by the NDIA allows for increased scrutiny, discussion, comment, and review of government held information.
I have therefore decided to afford significant weight to this factor in favouring disclosure of the document to you.
Factors weighing against disclosure
The FOI Act does not list any factors weighing against disclosure. These factors will depend on the circumstances. 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.
Paragraph 6.233 of the FOI guidelines provides a non-exhaustive list of public interest factors against disclosure. The factors I find relevant to this request are that release of this information could reasonably be expected to prejudice the protection of an individual’s right to privacy.
While I accept that there is a public interest in allowing scrutiny, discussion, comment and review of information held by the NDIA, there is also a strong public interest in maintaining an individual’s right to privacy.
On balance
I am satisfied, based on the above, the public interest factors against disclosure outweigh the factors for disclosure, and that, on balance, it is against the public interest to release the information to you. Accordingly, I find that the information is exempt under section 47F of the FOI Act.
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ATTACHMENT C
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 Complaints Management & FOI Branch General Counsel 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.
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