NDIA Accountability Project

NDIS correspondence: Notice of Decision - FOI 26/27-0099

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Our reference: FOI 26/27-0099 (LEXD 25832)

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

18 August 2026

Danielle Bell

By email: foi+request-15022-ea884e00@righttoknow.org.au

Dear Danielle Bell

Freedom of Information request — Notice of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of 3 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 originally requested access to the following document(s):

“…I am hoping to access the below:

  • Understand disability-related health supports capital supports

  • Understand disability-related health supports capacity building supports

  • 3.1.4 (or equivalent) Calculate capacity-building health supports and,

  • Evidence used by TAPIB when calculating Dietitian hours funded by the NDIS. This in the context of as little as 8 Dietitian hours being recommended by TAPIB for a 12 month period for NDIS participants dependent on tube feeding/HEN, in multiple cases, as what seems like a ‘default’…”

On 20 July 2026, I wrote to you requesting your assistance in clarifying which documents

you are seeking, so that document searches can commence. I advised that your original

request does not meet the requirements of 15(2)(b) of the FOI Act, which states:

(2) The request must:

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(b) provide such information concerning the document as is reasonably necessary to enable

a responsible officer of the agency, or the Minister, to identify it.

On 27 July 2026, having not received a response from you, I initiated a formal request

consultation process under section 24AB of the FOI Act. I advised you that a practical

refusal reason existed because the original scope of your request does not provide enough

information as is reasonably necessary to enable me to identify the documents which you

seek access.

On 29 July 2026 you responded and subsequently revised the scope of your request as

follows:

“…I would like to request the evidence base used by the technical advisory group/TAPIB when making funding decisions regarding the below across all disabilities;

  • NDIS Dietitian hours (improved daily living)

  • Approvals for funding for home enteral nutrition…”

Extension of time

On 3 August 2026, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) granted us

a 14-day extension of time under section 15AB of the FOI Act, making 18 August 2026 the

date by which to provide you with a decision on your request.

Search efforts

I have taken a broad interpretation of the scope of your request, incorporating the original

and revised scope wording to ensure you are provided with an outcome which minimises the

need for you to make additional FOI requests on this subject matter. At the conclusion of

search consultations, it is my opinion that you are seeking the evidence basis of TAPIB’s

calculation of dietitian funding in NDIS plans, as is written in Knowledge Articles you

requested in your original scope.

I have consulted with relevant senior NDIA staff in the following business areas who could

be reasonably expected to be able to identify documents within the scope of your request:

  • Technical Advisory and Practice Improvement Branch (TAPIB)
  • Service Guidance

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As a result of these searches, I have identified four (4) documents which fall within scope of

only some parts of your request, specifically:

  • “…the evidence base used by the technical advisory group/TAPIB…Approvals for funding for home enteral nutrition…”

Despite reasonable search efforts, documents relating to the other part of your scope cannot

be found or do not exist, specifically:

  • “…the evidence base used by the technical advisory group/TAPIB when making funding decisions regarding the below across all disabilities - NDIS Dietitian hours (improved daily living)…”

Decision on access to documents

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

I have decided to:

  • grant access to two (2) documents in full
  • grant access to two (2) documents in part
  • refuse access to documents

Reasons for decision

In reaching my decision, I have taken 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 and business areas

I am satisfied that some documents cannot be found or do not exist. As such, I am refusing

access to those documents in accordance with section 24A of the FOI Act.

Furthermore, I have decided that some of the information in the documents is irrelevant to

the scope of your request. Accordingly, I have prepared an edited copy of the documents in

accordance with section 22 of the FOI Act, with the irrelevant material removed.

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

Release of documents

The documents for release, as referred to in the schedule of documents at Attachment A,

are enclosed.

Additionally, to assist you further, I conducted a search of the NDIS FOI Disclosure Log for

published documents which are relevant to the scope of your request. I did this by using the

Ctrl-F search function and keywords contained in the scope of your request, such as

‘disability-related’ and I found several documents that have already been released under the

FOI Act. I will administratively release these documents to you and they are attached to the

release email of this decision.

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

Elizabeth

(ECN120)

Senior Freedom of Information Officer

Information Access and Privacy Branch

Reviews and Information Release Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

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Attachment A

Schedule of Documents

FOI 26/27-0099

Document number Page number Description Access Decision Comments
1 1-7 Knowledge Article - Understand disability-related health supports – capital supports v6.0

Date: 18 July 2025		 PARTIAL ACCESS Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act
2 8-17 Knowledge Article - Understand disability-related health supports – capacity building supports v7.0

Date: 22 September 2025		 PARTIAL ACCESS Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act
3 18-31 Research Paper: Average cost and consumption of Home Enteral Nutrition Formula

Date: Undated		 FULL ACCESS
4 32-45 Research Paper: Blenderised Tube Feeds

Date: Undated		 FULL ACCESS

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Attachment B

Statement of Reasons

FOI 26/27-0099

Forms of access

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

I have identified that documents 1 and 2 contain material that is irrelevant to the scope of

your request. The irrelevant material relates to internal guidance regarding disability related

health supports which are unrelated to the subject matter your request.

In accordance with section 22 of the FOI Act, I have considered whether it is possible to

delete the 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

irrelevant material removed.

Refusal of access to information

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 this part of your request, in

the following business areas:

  • Technical Advisory and Practice Improvement Branch (TAPIB)
  • Service Guidance

Despite these search efforts, I am satisfied that documents related to the following part of

your request could not be found or do not exist:

  • “…the evidence base used by the technical advisory group/TAPIB when making funding decisions regarding the below across all disabilities - NDIS Dietitian hours (improved daily living)…”

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I have consulted with subject matter experts and senior staff in the TAPIB team, who have

advised that they do not hold documents relating to the evidence base for guidance on the

funding of dietitian hours in NDIS plans. They advised that the guidance appears to duplicate

that which was contained in the ‘*Standard Operating Procedure: Disability Related Health

Supports*’, which was in use prior to the current Knowledge Article.

For your information, I have administratively released a copy of this document to you in this

decision release email, which was previously published under the FOI Act in matter FOI

23/24-0538.

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 documents in accordance with section 24A(1) of the

FOI Act.

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Attachment C

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:

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:

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