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:

“The request all documents in NDIA’s possession that:

Are not published/publicly available, and

Relate to cognitive behavioural therapy as a treatment for ADHD where the documents are current and/or final documents that remain in effect and are dated on or before (!) 1 January 2022, or

Relate to any relationship between CBT and ADHD and are not within scope of (2) or FOI 1474.”

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. My revised decision on your request and the reasons for my decision are set out below.

The documents were identified by TAPIB who conducted searches of NDIA’s systems, using all reasonable search terms that could return documents relevant to your request, and consulting with relevant NDIA staff who could be expected to be able to identify documents within the scope of the request.

I have decided to grant access to 4 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 FOI Act

• the FOI Guidelines published under section 93A of the FOI Act

• the notice of IC review

• relevant case law concerning the operation of the FOI Act

• consultation with relevant NDIA staff

• factors relevant to my assessment of whether or not disclosure would be in the public interest

• the NDIA’s operating environment and functions.

Regarding point 2 of your request, the line area found no documents exist that relate CBT as a treatment for ADHD for the date range requested. The line area did provide details for point 3 that have been previously released via other FOI requests. These have been provided with this decision letter.

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

I have identified that Documents 2 and 3 contain material that is irrelevant to your request. The irrelevant material relates to names and contact details of NDIA staff which is not relevant to the subject matter of your request.

In accordance with section 22 of the FOI Act, I have considered whether it is possible to delete the exempt and irrelevant material from the documents and have concluded that it is reasonably practicable to do so. Accordingly, I have prepared an edited copy of the documents with the exempt and irrelevant material removed.

Reasons for decision

Personal privacy (section 47F)

Section 47F of the FOI Act conditionally exempts a document(s) if its disclosure would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person (including a deceased person).

I have identified material in the documents falling within scope of your request which contains personal information of a third party / third parties.

Under section 47F(2) of the FOI Act, in determining whether the disclosure of documents would involve unreasonable disclosure of personal information, regard must be had to:

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. any other matters that the agency considers relevant.

Against these criteria, I take the view that:

a. it is apparent from the information that an individual is identifiable; and

b. the information referred to above is not readily available from publicly accessible sources.

With reference to the assessment above, it would be unreasonable to disclose publicly this personal information and is therefore conditionally exempt under section 47F(1) of the FOI Act.

Public interest considerations – section 47F

Section 11A(5) of the FOI Act provides that access to a document covered by a conditional exemption must be provided unless disclosure would be contrary to the public interest.

I have not considered any of the irrelevant factors as set out under section 11B(4) of the FOI Act in making this decision.

In favour of disclosure, I have considered the factors outlined in section 11B(3) of the FOI Act, and I have determined that disclosure of the relevant information in Documents 2 and 3 would promote the objects of the FOI Act by providing access to documents held by the government and providing access to information.

Against disclosure, I consider that disclosure of the relevant information in Documents 2 and 3:

• would not contribute to the publication of information of sufficient public interest to justify the likely harm caused by release

• would not enhance Australia’s representative democracy in the ways described in section 11B(3) of the FOI Act

• would not inform any debate on a matter of public importance, or promote oversight of public expenditure.

While there is limited public interest in the disclosure of information conditionally exempt under section 47F of the FOI Act, the harm that would result from disclosure is that it could reasonably be expected to:

• affect an individual’s right to privacy by having their personal information in the public domain.

In summary, I am satisfied that the factors against disclosure of the information outweigh the factors in favour of disclosure and that, on balance, it would be contrary to the public interest to release this information to you. Accordingly, I have decided that the relevant information in Documents 2 and 3 is exempt under section 47F of the FOI Act.

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

Kate (KIM627) A/Assistant Director – Freedom of Information Non Personals Team Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch Government Division

Attachment A

Schedule of Documents for FOI 24/25-1840 | MR25/01038

Document number	Page number	Description	Access Decision	Comments
1	1-14	Effective management of auditory differences in people with autism Date: 16 February 2023	PARTIAL ACCESS	Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act Previously released as 23/24-1400
2	15-58	Research Request – Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) Date: 26 May 2020	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: s47F – personal privacy	Previously released as 24/25-0151
3	59-73	ASD and DLD diagnoses after 6 years old Date: 15 February 2022	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: s47F – personal privacy	Previously released as 24/25-0380
4	74-85	Research Request – Paediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) & the Cunningham Panel Test Date: 15 September 2020	PARTIAL ACCESS	Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act Previously released as 24/25-0413

Delivered by the

National Disability Insurance Agency