NDIS correspondence: Notice of Decision - FOI 26/27-0330

Our reference: FOI 26/27-0330 (LEXD 27351)

GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110 ndis.gov.au

21 August 2026

Matilda Bawden

By email: foi+request-15203-c4e108f3@righttoknow.org.au

Dear Matilda Bawden

Freedom of Information request — Notice of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of 22 July 2026, in which you requested 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 requested access to the following documents:

…all Green and White Papers published in the last 7 years, especially pertaining to matters of State intervention services, such as child protection, corrections, and adult guardianship.

Search efforts

I consulted with relevant NDIA staff in the Board Secretary, Ministerial and Parliamentary

Branch who could reasonably be expected to identify documents within the scope of your

request.

Publicly available “White Papers” documents have been identified as falling within the scope

of your request, however, as these are publicly available, I have not considered them in

making my decision.

However, through these search efforts and consultations, we have been unable to identify

any “Green Papers” documents held by the NDIA that fall within the scope of your request.

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Further information regarding the searches undertaken and the basis for my decision is

provided at Attachment A.

Decision

I am authorised to make decisions under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.

I have decided to refuse access to the documents requested under section 24A of the FOI

Act. I am satisfied that all reasonable steps have been taken to find documents within the

scope of your request and that any such documents held by the NDIA either do not exist or

cannot be found.

Reasons for decision

In reaching my decision, I have taken into account:

• your correspondence outlining the scope of your request
• the FOI Act
• the FOI Guidelines published under section 93A of the FOI Act
• consultation with relevant NDIA staff and business areas.

A detailed statement of reasons for my decision can be found at Attachment A.

Rights of review

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

Attachment B.

Should you have any enquiries concerning this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me

by email at fox@xxxx.xxx.xx.

Yours sincerely

Carolyn (CJW205)

Assistant Director FOI

Information Access and Privacy Branch

Reviews and Information Release Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

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Attachment A

Statement of Reasons

FOI 26/27-0330

Publicly available documents

During consultations undertaken in relation to your request, the Board Secretary, Ministerial

and Parliamentary Branch advised that White Papers relevant to your request are publicly

available through the Australian Parliament House website.

The FOI Guidelines issued under section 93A of the FOI Act recognise that the right to

obtain access under the FOI Act does not apply to all documents in the possession of

agencies, including documents that are open to public access under other arrangements.

White Papers may be accessed through the Australian Parliament House website at:

https://www.aph.gov.au. Accordingly, I have not considered these documents in making my

decision.

Documents do not exist (section 24A)

Section 24A of the FOI Act provides that an agency may refuse a request for access to a

document if all reasonable steps have been taken to find the document, and the agency is

satisfied that the document cannot be found or does not exist.

I am satisfied searches of relevant NDIA business systems have been conducted, using all

reasonable search terms that could return documents relevant to your request. In addition, I

have consulted with relevant NDIA staff in the Board Secretary, Ministerial and

Parliamentary Branch who could be reasonably expected to be able to identify documents

within the scope of your request.

Despite these search efforts, I am satisfied that the following documents referred to in your

request could not be found or do not exist: *Green Papers published in the last 7 years,

especially pertaining to matters of State intervention services, such as child protection,

corrections, and adult guardianship.*

This is because consultations with the Board Secretary, Ministerial and Parliamentary

Branch confirmed that the NDIA does not publish documents described as Green Papers.

The Branch advised that documents specifically described as Green Papers would ordinarily

be developed and published by the relevant portfolio department. Searches of NDIA records

and the NDIA website did not identify any documents described as Green Papers. While the

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NDIA has published consultation and co-design papers, these documents are not referred to

as Green Papers and do not fall within the description of the documents sought in this part of

your request.

I am satisfied that all reasonable steps have been taken to locate the documents you have

requested and that the documents cannot be found or do not exist. I have, therefore,

decided to refuse your request for access to the document(s) in accordance with section

24A(1) of the FOI Act.

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Attachment B

Freedom of Information request – Your review rights

Internal review

The FOI Act gives you the right to apply for an internal review of this decision. The review

will be conducted by a different person to the person who made the original decision.

If you wish to seek an internal review of the decision, you must apply for review, in writing,

within 30 days of receiving this letter.

No particular form is required for an application for internal review, but to assist the review

process, you should clearly outline your grounds for review (that is, the reasons why you

disagree with the decision). Applications for internal review can be lodged by email

to foi@ndis.gov.au, or sent by post to:

• 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 also gives you the right to apply for the Office of the Australian Information

Commissioner (OAIC) to seek a review of this decision.

If you wish to have the decision reviewed by OAIC, you may apply for the review in writing,

or by using the online merits review application form which is available on the OAIC’s

website, within 60 days of receiving this letter: OAIC Review Application Form.

Applications for review can be lodged with the OAIC in the following ways:

Online: OAIC Review Application Form

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Post: Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

GPO Box 5218

SYDNEY NSW 2001

Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au

Phone: 1300 363 992 (local call charge)

Website: www.oaic.gov.au

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 the 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 provided above.

Your complaint to the Ombudsman can be directed to:

Phone: 1300 362 072 (local call charge)

Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.au

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