Our reference: FOI 24/25-1296 OAIC reference: MR25/00841
25 August 2025
Frank N Fearless
By email: foi+request-12833-5fd05b14@righttoknow.org.au
Dear Frank N Fearless
Freedom of Information request — Notice of revised decision under section 55G of the Freedom of Information Act 1982
I refer to your correspondence of 13 February 2025 (your request), seeking 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 revised decision on your request.
Scope of your request
You have requested access to the following documents:
“Page 78 of your 2023-2024 Annual Report states as follows
“The Agency is reviewing the circumstances in which debts were historically raised against support claims from some participants and providers. As the Agency has identified that some historical participant and provider debts require further assessment, a provision for the estimated financial impact of these assessments has been reported. The financial impact is based on the results of actuarial analysis to date and is split between providers ($6.6m) and participants ($2.5m).”
Firstly, I would like to request the most recent document or data outlining the nature of the debts within the cohort, the progress and outcome of the ‘review’ or ‘further assessment’ process the annual report refers to.
Secondly, as a separate FOI request, I would like the actuarial analysis to which the annual report refers.”
On 23 February 2025 you confirmed via email to the following revision to the scope of your request:
“I no longer seek the actuarial analysis. I now seek only the most recent document describing “the nature of the debts within the cohort, the progress and outcome of the ‘review’ or ‘further assessment’ process”.”
Processing
Your request was accepted as a valid FOI request on 13 February 2025. The original due date for your request was 15 March 2025. On 21 February 2025, the FOI Team wrote to you requesting your agreement to a 30-day extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act. You did not agree to an extension of time.
The request became a deemed refusal, as we were unable to provide you with a decision on your request by the legislated due date. You have made an application to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for IC review of the deemed refusal.
The Information Access team continued to process your application, trying to resolve whether information existed and could be considered in response to your request.
I apologise that our response to this matter has been significantly delayed. I also acknowledge that the teams processing this matter have not communicated effectively, for which I also apologise. In this instance, a decision could have been achieved much earlier and I will try to explain this further below.
Searches conducted
Searches were conducted by the following business areas for documents relevant to the scope of your FOI request:
- Chief Financial Officer Division (CFO)
- Fraud Fusion Taskforce and Integrity Capability Division (FFTIC)
- Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch (formerly the Legal Practice and Capability Branch) (IRPLO)
- Analytics, Data and Actuarial Branch (ADA)
Following searches by the CFO Division, IRPLO Branch and ADA Branch, we were advised that no documents were located relevant to the scope of your request, these areas advised that your request would best sit with the FFTIC Division.
Debt Program
The FFTIC Division is primarily responsible for the Debt Program, to which the scope of your request relates. At the early stages of reviewing your request it appears that an approach
was adopted, in anticipation of progression of the Debt Program of work, that documents would be created that could best answer your request. Rather than focusing on the existing documents (or absence of them) or electronically stored information – that might be distilled into a document form.
I think at a much earlier stage a decision to refuse the request in part could have been progressed. As the work was still being undertaken and months from completion, no documents existed that described the nature of the debts or the progress and outcome. While there was capacity to address the ‘further assessment process’ by creating a document that detailed the actions underway.
Documents considered
Given the delays in progressing this matter, the Debt Program work has continued to be progressed since the submission of your request. Program outcomes and information will soon be published on the agency’s website.
In a meeting with the FFTIC Division I was advised that their searches located no documents meeting the scope of your request prior to the date of your request. Given this advice from FFTIC, I am satisfied that the NDIA does not hold existing documents that fall within the scope of your request.
After discussing the information that is available, stored in multiple systems, it was considered appropriate to create a document under section 17 of the FOI Act. This provides you with factual information about the status of the review, from September 2024-March 2025.
Section 17(1)(c) of the FOI Act provides that an agency can produce a written document containing the requested information, by the use of a computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available for retrieving or collating stored information.
As such, I consider there to be one (1) document that falls within the scope of your request.
Revised decision under section 55G
Section 55G(1)(a) of the FOI Act provides that at any time during the 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
I am authorised to make decisions under section 23(1) of the FOI Act, including revised decisions under s55G of that Act. I have decided to:
- Grant access to the section 17 document in full.
In reaching my decision, I took the following into consideration:
- Your correspondence outlining the scope of your request
- The nature and content of the documents identified in response to your request
- The FOI Act
- The FOI Guidelines published under section 93A of the FOI Act
- Consultation with relevant NDIA staff
- The notice of IC review
- Factors relevant to my assessment of whether disclosure would or would not be in the public interest
- The NDIA’s operating environment and functions
Release of documents
The decision in relation to each document is detailed in the schedule of documents at Attachment A.
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.
Should you have any enquiries concerning this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me by email at foi@ndis.gov.au.
Yours sincerely
Peter Director – Information Access Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch Reviews and Information Release Division
Attachment A
Schedule of Documents for FOI 24/25-1296 | OAIC reference MR25/00841
| Document number | Page number | Description | Access Decision | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Section 17 document – Summary Statement | FULL ACCESS | Document created under section 17 of the FOI Act |