Our reference: FOI 24/25-0073
GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110
dis.gov.au
12 September 2024
Bob Buckley
By email: foi+request-11722-c0e755d9@righttoknow.org.au
Dear Bob Buckley
Freedom of Information request — Request consultation process
Thank you for your correspondence of 21 July 2024, 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:
“Document 7 in FOI 23.24-0026 describes itself as: National Disability Injsurance Agency 2023. Behaviourally based intervention for children on the autism spectrum: Asystematic review and dose-response meta-analysis’. Prepared by E Ghezzi, A Lampit. Please provide, under the provision of the Freedom on Information Act, all documents relating to the contents, development, and disposition of this document.”
Practical refusal I am authorised to make decisions under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
I am writing to advise 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 and broad scope. This is called a ‘practical refusal reason’ under section 24AA of the FOI Act.
On this basis, I intend to refuse your request. 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
I have conducted a preliminary search for documents which are likely to be relevant to your request. This search has revealed that the NDIA is in possession of more than 117 individual documents matching the scope of your request, not including any attachments which may be contained within those documents.
On my reasonable estimate, I consider that there is more than 3000 pages worth of material that falls within the scope of your request as currently worded, not including emails and
Request consultation process
attachments. At a conservative estimate of 1 minute per page, this would take an FOI officer more than 50 hours to simply review and collate the documents.
The documents that are assessed as being within scope of the request will then need to be reviewed for any sensitivities and possible exemption under the FOI Act and scheduled, we will need to consider any consultations and carry these out if required, a decision will need to be made on each document, and a decision letter prepared. This will significantly increase the hours that it will take an FOI officer to process your request.
As a result, I am of the view that the work involved in the processing of this request would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the NDIA from its other operations.
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, you might like to consider:
- A date range of 6 months before publication of the requested document (November 2022 to May 2023).
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 foi@ndis.gov.au.
Alternatively, you can reply in writing to the following address:
Freedom of Information Section Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch Government Division National Disability Insurance Agency GPO Box 700 CANBERRA ACT 2601
Cooper (CHH674)
If you do not contact me within this period, that is by 27 September 2024, your FOI request will be taken to have been withdrawn under subsection 24AB(7). As this matter is deemed, a practical refusal will be issued rather than a withdrawal.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Yours sincerely
Cooper (CHH674) Senior Freedom of Information Officer Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch Government Division