Our reference: FOI 25/26-3537 (LEXD 24229)

GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110

31 August 2026 ndis.gov.au

David

By email: foi+request-14953-67f0226b@righttoknow.org.au

Dear David

Freedom of Information request — Notice of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of 15 June 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 document(s):

• From 2013 to date, documents issued as “Accountable Authority Instructions” from the NDIA Board as the nominated “Accountable Authority” under the PGPA Act 2013.

Extension of time

On 16 July 2026, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) granted us a 30-day extension of time under section 15AB of the FOI Act, making 14 August the date by which to provide you with a decision on your request.

Processing period

The original date by which to provide you with a decision on your request was 15 July 2026. We have been experiencing processing delays, and were unable to provide you with a decision by this date. Consequently, your application is deemed to have been refused under section 15AC of the FOI Act.

I note that this access decision is being released to you after the due date, and I apologise for the delay. In the interests of not causing any further delay, I have decided not to apply for

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an extension from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) under section 15AC of the FOI Act. This means that you are unable to seek an internal review of this decision. However, you are able to apply to the OAIC for an external review of this decision. Please see Attachment C for more information about your rights of review.

Search efforts

searches were conducted of NDIA business systems, using all reasonable search terms that could return documents relevant to your request. In addition, I have consulted with relevant NDIA staff in the Chief Financial Operational Division who could be reasonably expected to be able to identify documents within the scope of your request.

As a result of these searches, I have identified 12 documents, which fall within the scope of your request.

Disclosure Log Documents

In addition to the documents identified through searches of relevant NDIA systems, I note that several documents within the scope of your request have previously been released under the FOI Act and are publicly available on the NDIA Disclosure Log. For your convenience, copies of the following Disclosure Log documents were provided to you on 3 July 2026:

• 25/26-0450 – 9. Accountable Authority Instructions
• 24/25-1693 – 2. Accountable Authority Instructions 2025
• 24/25-1693 – 5. Accountable Authority

As copies of these documents were provided to you on 3 July 2026 and are publicly available on the NDIA Disclosure Log, they have not been included in the documents released with this decision.

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 12 documents in full

Reasons for decision

In reaching my decision, I have taken into account:

• your correspondence outlining the scope of your request

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• 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
• relevant case law concerning the operation of the FOI Act
• consultation with relevant NDIA staff and business areas

I am also 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.

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.

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

Nikole (NHM288)

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 25/26-3537

Document number	Page number	Description	Access Decision
1	1-16	NDIA Policy Delegations 2014-15 CEO Signed Date:13 March 2015	FULL ACCESS
2	17-19	NDIA Policy Delegations CEO Signed Date: 29 October 2015	FULL ACCESS
3	20-25	NDIA Policy Interim Financial Delegations 2017-18 Date: 7 September 2017	FULL ACCESS
4	26-45	NDIA AAIs Effective 01052018 signed Date: April 2018	FULL ACCESS
5	46-67	Accountable Authority Instructions V2.1 amended 28082019 (002) Date: July 2019	FULL ACCESS

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Document number	Page number	Description	Access Decision
6	68-85	NDIA Accountable Authority Instructions and Financial Authorisations (002) Date: August 2020	FULL ACCESS
7	86-118	NDIA HR Delegations and Financial Authorisations Manual Date: September 2021	FULL ACCESS
8	119-152	NDIA HR Delegations and Financial Authorisations Manual Date: July 2022	FULL ACCESS
9	153-170	NDIA Accountable Authority Instructions and Financial Authorisations (002) Date: 28 August 2023	FULL ACCESS
10	171-245	NDIA Accountable Authority Instructions and Financial Authorisations Oct 25 (002) Date: 1 October 2025	FULL ACCESS

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Document number	Page number	Description	Access Decision
11	246-248	Additional NDIA Accountable Authority Instructions and Financial Authorisations (002) Date: 5 January 2026	FULL ACCESS
12	249-325	NDIA Accountable Authority Instructions and Financial Authorisations updated June17 (002) Date: 18 May 2026	FULL ACCESS

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Attachment B

Statement of Reasons

FOI 25/26-3537

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 your request. In addition, I have consulted with relevant NDIA staff in the Chief Financial Operational Division 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 earlier versions of the Accountable Authority Instructions for the period 2013 to 2014, could not be found or do not exist.

Advice provided by the relevant business area indicates that the earliest version of the Accountable Authority Instructions that could be located is dated 2015 and was signed by the CEO. While the versions issued in 2015 and 2017 refer to earlier versions or instruments, the business area has been unable to locate any records of those earlier documents despite undertaking reasonable searches of available records and systems.

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

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Attachment C

Freedom of Information request – Your review rights

As your request is deemed to have been refused under section 15AC of the FOI Act because of processing delays, you are unable to apply for an internal review of the decision.

However, if you have concern with any aspect of this decision, please contact the NDIA FOI team by email at foi@ndis.gov.au, or 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 the 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: OAIC Review Application Form.

An application to the OAIC must be made within 60 calendar days from the date of the deemed refusal decision, as set out in our letter to you (Notice of Decision). You may also apply to the OAIC for an extension of this timeframe, from the date of the deemed refusal decision until the date of your application for review.

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

• Online: OAIC Review Application Form

• Post: Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

  GPO Box 5218

  SYDNEY NSW 2001

• Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au

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• 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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