NDIA Accountability Project

FOI 26.27 0197 Decision Notice of Decision

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Our reference: FOI 26/27-0197 (LEXD 26382)

GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110

2 September 2026 ndis.gov.au

David Wright

By email: redacted: s22

Dear David Wright

Freedom of Information request — Notification of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of 10 July 2026, in which you requested access to information 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 decision on your request.

Scope of your request

You have requested access to the following:

Please provide for the 2025/26 financial year:

  1. The number of Model Litigant Obligations (MLOs) complaints received by the NDIA.

  2. Of these, the number of complaints where the NDIA conducted an investigation into the complaint and determined that one or more of the MLOs had not been adhered to by the agency (i.e. the complaint was upheld).

Deemed refusal

The 30-day statutory period for providing you with a decision on your request expired on 10 August 2026. Because we failed to provide you with a decision by this date, by operation of section 15AC(3) of the FOI Act, the NDIA’s Chief Executive Officer is taken to have made a personal decision to refuse you access to the information you seek. As a result, you cannot

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seek internal review of this decision. However, you retain your rights to external review and to complaint. These are set out in Attachment B to this decision,

Decision on access to documents

I am authorised to make decisions under section 23(1) of the FOI Act. My decision on your request and the reasons for my decision are set out below.

I have identified 2 documents, which fall within the scope of your request. These documents were produced by Agency Legal Services from data held on their database.

The documents were produced under section 17(1) of the FOI Act. This section relevantly provides:

Where:

(a) A request … is made … to an agency;

(b) it 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

(ba) …

(c) the agency could produce a written document containing the information in discrete form by:

(i) the use of a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available to the agency for retrieving or collating stored information; ..

(ii) …

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

I have decided to grant access to Document 1 in full and Document 2 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
  • consultation with relevant NDIA staff
  • the NDIA’s operating environment and functions.

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Reasons for decision

Irrelevant material (section 22)

Section 22 of the FOI Act relevantly provides:

(1) This section applies if:

(a) an agency … decides:

(i) …

(ii) that to give access to a document would disclose information that would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request for access; and

(b) it is possible for the agency … to prepare a copy (an edited copy) of the document, modified by deletions, ensuring that:

(i) access to the edited copy would be required to be given under section 11A (access to documents on request); and

(ii) the edited copy would not disclose any information that would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant to the request; and

(c) it is reasonably practicable for the agency … to prepare the edited copy, having regard to:

(i) the nature and extent of the modification; and

(ii) the resources available to modify the document; and

(d) it is not apparent (from the request or from consultation with the applicant) that the applicant would decline access to the edited copy.

(2) The agency .. must:

(a) prepare the edited copy as mentioned in paragraph (1)(b); and

(b) give the applicant access to the edited copy.

(3) The agency … must give the applicant notice in writing:

(a) that the edited copy has been prepared; and

(b) of the grounds for the deletions; …

Document 2 contains information that I regard as irrelevant to your request. This information consists of the names of individuals who complained about breaches of the model litigant obligations, the names and reference numbers of the Administrative Review Tribunal cases in the context of which those complaints arose, and the names of organisations against who those complaints were made.

I do not consider this information falls within the scope of your request for the number of MLO complaints received by the NDIA in 2025/26 and the number of those complaints which the NDIA investigated and upheld. I have redacted Document 2 accordingly.

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Release of documents

The documents for release, as referred to in the Schedule of Documents at Attachment A, are enclosed.

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 foi@ndis.gov.au.

Yours sincerely

Helen (HIL533) Senior Freedom of Information Officer Information Access and Privacy Branch Reviews and Information Release Division

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Schedule of Documents for FOI 26/27-0197

Attachment A

NDIA in the 2025/26 financial year that were investigated by the NDIA and upheld.

Document produced: 19 August 2026

Document number Page number Description Access Decision Comments
1 1 Number of model litigant complaints received by the NDIA in the 2025/26 financial year.

Document produced: 19 August 2026		 FULL ACCESS Document created under section 17 of the FOI Act
2 2 Number of model litigant complaints received by the NDIA in the 2025/26 financial year that were investigated by the NDIA and upheld.

Document produced: 19 August 2026		 PARTIAL ACCESS • Document created under section 17 of the FOI Act.
• Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act

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Attachment B

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 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 OAIC’s website via: OAIC Web Form, within 60 days of receipt of this letter.

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

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:

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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