Our reference: FOI 24/25-1773
GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110 ndis.gov.au
28 May 2025
Paul Carter
By email: foi+request-13048-19edddf3@righttoknow.org.au
Dear Paul Carter
Freedom of Information request - Notification of Decision
Thank you for your correspondence of 15 April 2025, 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 notify you of my decision on your application.
Scope of your request
You requested access to the following documents:
“As per the Freedom of Information Act I am requesting access to documents within the following scope:
A list of all possible “Article labels” for NDIA documents, including:
- “PACE user role names” (eg. “dc_users_reviewofficer”)
- “Topics” (eg. “t_planchanges”)
- “Case names” (eg. “dc_case_planchange”)
- “Ownership” (eg. “own_sgplanchangesandconnections”)
Article labels can be found found at the end of most Knowledge Articles, between the “Next steps” and “Version control” sections.
This is the second request I’m making for this information. FOI REF 24/25-0520 resulted in a decision that the documents did not exist. I find it highly improbable that a document does not exist or the information couldn’t be compiled into a document for release under FOI, as the use of article label tags is standardised across multiple internal documents. It doesn’t make sense that the article labels would be conceived of and manually included by document authors without any wider guidance or master list to refer to.”
The purpose of this letter is to notify you of my decision on your application.
Expiration of time A 30-day statutory period for processing your request commenced from 16 April 2025, in accordance with section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act. The due date for a decision on access was 15 May 2025. I note this time has lapsed and as a result we are deemed to have refused your request under section 15AC of the FOI Act.
Despite this, I have continued to process your application. I apologise for the delay and confirm that you retain your right to seek external review of this decision.
Search efforts Staff in the NDIA’s Technology Services Division conducted searches for documents and advised they did not locate any documents relevant to the scope of your request. I have set out the reasons for this outcome in Attachment A to this letter.
Decision on access to documents In summary, I have decided to refuse access to the information you have requested on the basis that the documents are non-existent or unlocatable pursuant to section 24A of the FOI Act.
I made this decision as an authorised FOI decision maker under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
I have provided a detailed statement of the reasons for my decision in Attachment A to this decision notice.
Rights of review Your rights to seek a review of my decision, or lodge a complaint, are set out at Attachment B.
If you have any enquiries about this matter, please contact me by email at foi@ndis.gov.au.
Yours sincerely
Kate (KIM627) A/Assistant Director – Freedom of Information Non Personals Team Government, Risk & Legal – Complaints Management and FOI General Counsel Division
Attachment A
Statement of Reasons FOI Application 24.25-1773
Refused information I have refused access to the information you requested under section 24A of the FOI Act on the basis that documents containing such information are unlocatable or do not exist.
Relevant law Under the FOI Act, a person has a right to be given access to documents of an agency. However, the right of access is subject to limitations, including grounds for refusal of access. Section 24A of the FOI Act states 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.
Searches for documents After reviewing the scope of your FOI application, I identified the need to make enquiries with the NDIA’s Technology Services Division for documents relevant to the scope of your request.
The information requested is not available to provide. There has not been a business requirement to date to have this information maintained by the Technology Servies Division.
Conclusion Based on the information I received from Technology Services Division, I consider there are reasonable grounds to be satisfied that documents containing the information you seek do not exist. I therefore refuse access to the information under section a 24A of the FOI Act on the basis that the information is does not exist.
Attachment B Your review rights
Review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner The FOI Act also 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 review within 60 days of receiving this letter.
You can apply to the OAIC for review in the following ways:
- Online: www.oaic.gov.au
- Post: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
- Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
- Phone: 1300 363 992 (local call charge)
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 the NDIA took in relation to your request. The Ombudsman will consult with the OAIC before investigating a complaint about the handling of an FOI request.
You can make a complaint to the OAIC using the contact details identified above, or to the Ombudsman by:
- Phone: 1300 362 072 (local call charge)
- Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.au
Your complaint should set out the grounds on which you consider the OAIC or the Ombudsman should investigate the NDIA’s handling of your FOI request.