NDIS correspondence: Notification of Decision - FOI 24/25-0883 | FOI release material

Our reference: FOI 24/25-0883

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

13 March 2025

Emily Lacey Right to Know

By email: foi+request-12461-fc30c6ca@righttoknow.org.au

Dear Emily Lacey

Freedom of Information request - Notification of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of 3 December 2024, requesting 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 have requested access to the following documents:

...*** Please make sure that every document contains the version control information (including version number, amended by, change description, status, and date) and NOT just the date/time the document was exported ***

Article “Make an access decision – post legislation changes”.

Article “Check decision – legislative timeframes”.

Article “Complete pre-assessment of access decision”.

Article “Understand early intervention requirements”.

Article “Understand disability requirements”.

“Access Assessor Outcome Form”.

Article “Letter – Access not met decision”.

Article “Contact to advise outcome of access decision”.

Article “Contact to request further information for access decision”.

Article “Send a manual letter”.

“Template – Access not met decision – post legislation changes”.
“Templates for requesting further information to make a decision – Post-legislation changes”.
Article “Update a person account”.
Article “Create an enquiry case”
“Impairment Categories Guide”

Note: Please provide the most recent version of each document, regardless of whether it is a draft or approved version…”

Extension of time

On 16 December 2024, we requested your agreement to a 30-day extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act. However, you declined our request and instead agreed to a 14-day extension under 15AA of the FOI Act.

Expiration of time

The extended due date for a decision on access for your request was 16 January 2025. As we did not provide you with a decision by the due date, we are deemed to have refused access to the documents you requested in accordance with section 15AC of the FOI Act.

The effect of this is that an internal review of this decision is not an option. However, I confirm that you retain your right to seek external review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

I sincerely apologise for the delay in processing your request.

Search efforts

Relevant staff from NDIA’s Service Guidance and Scheme Eligibility branches conducted searches and identified 15 documents within the scope of your request.

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 decided to grant access to 14 documents in full, and 1 document in part.

I note that your request asks for the NDIA to make sure every document provided to you contains the version control information. Scheme Eligibility team has advised that Document 6, i.e., ‘Access Assessor Outcome Form’, does not have version control applied as it is not a

‘published resource’. It is an online form created as a data collection tool for the Scheme Eligibility branch. Therefore, this form is not a resource that provides delegates with guidance; rather it is an administrative tool to capture outcomes for data collection purposes.

Scheme Eligibility team has further advised that while legislation-related updates were made to knowledge articles prior to 3 October 2024, these updated were solely to prepare for incoming legislation changes. Please note that staff were not implementing any of these changes before 3 October 2024.

Scheme Eligibility team also notes the following regarding class approvals listed under version control in the documents provided:

Class 1: Director-level approval, used for minor changes such as spelling corrections, updating hyperlinks or other minor adjustments.
Class 2: Branch manager approval, required for major updates or the approval of new processes/advice.

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 and
factors relevant to my assessment of whether or not disclosure would be in the public interest.

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

I have decided that Document 3 contains material that is exempt from disclosure under the FOI Act.

In accordance with section 22 of the FOI Act, I have considered whether it is possible to delete the exempt material from the document and have concluded that it is reasonably practicable to do so. Accordingly, I have prepared an edited copy of the document with the exempt material removed.

Reasons for decision

Personal privacy (section 47F)

Section 47F of the FOI Act states that a document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under the Act would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person.

Paragraph 6.123 of the FOI guidelines states that “personal information“ means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable:

a. whether the information or opinion is true or not and b. whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.

I have identified that document 3 contains personal information, namely the names of NDIS staff that have not previously been disclosed to you. I consider the names to be the personal information of the staff members.

In determining whether the disclosure of that information would be unreasonable, the FOI Act requires that I take account of all the relevant factors, including:

a. the extent to which the information is well known; b. whether the person to whom the information relates is known to be (or to have been) associated with the matters dealt with in the document; c. the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources; and d. any other matters that the agency considers relevant.

Against these criteria, I take the view that:

a. it is apparent from the information that an individual is identifiable; and b. the information referred to above is not well known or readily available from publicly accessible sources.

I therefore conclude that it would be unreasonable to disclose publicly this personal information and it is therefore conditionally exempt under section 47F(1) of the FOI Act.

Public interest considerations – section 47F

Under the FOI Act, I can only refuse to disclose information which is conditionally exempt if I conclude that it would be contrary to the public interest to do so. Section 11B of the Act sets out what I need to consider and what I must not consider when reaching my conclusion.

In favour of disclosure, I have considered the factors outlined in section 11B(3) of the FOI Act, and I have determined that disclosure of the relevant information in Document 3 would promote the object of the FOI Act by providing access to document held by the government.

I consider that the disclosure of individual’s names is unlikely to increase scrutiny, discussion or comments of Government processes or activities. Further, I do not consider that disclosure of the personal information in the document would promote the other objects of the FOI Act, such as informing debate on a matter of public importance or promoting oversight of public expenditure. Although disclosure of the information would provide you with access to government-held information, it would also impinge on the personal privacy of the staff members. Given the limited public interest in disclosing the information, I believe it ought to be given the most weight.

While there is limited public interest in the disclosure of information conditionally exempt under section 47F, of the FOI Act, the harm that would result from disclosure is that it could reasonably be expected to affect an individual’s right to privacy by placing their personal information in the public domain.

In summary, I am satisfied that the factors against disclosure of the information outweigh the factors in favour of disclosure and that, on balance, it would be contrary to the public interest to release this information to you. Accordingly, I have decided that the relevant information in Document 3 is exempt under section 47F of the FOI Act.

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

Ramya (RMO 260) Senior Freedom of Information Officer Complaints Management & FOI Branch General Counsel Division

Attachment A

Schedule of Documents for FOI 24/25-0883

Document number	Page number	Description	Access Decision	Comments
1	1-19	Knowledge Article - Make an access decision – Post legislation changes v9.0 Date: 20 November 2024	FULL ACCESS
2	20-24	Knowledge Article - Check decision – legislative timeframes v2.0 Date: 21 November 2023	FULL ACCESS
3	25-36	Knowledge Article - Complete pre-assessment for an access decision v6.0 Date: 28 October 2024	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: s47F – personal privacy
4	37-40	Knowledge Article - Understand early intervention requirements v2.0 Date: 29 August 2024	FULL ACCESS
5	41-44	Knowledge Article - Understand disability requirements v2.0 Date: 29 August 2024	FULL ACCESS
6	45-46	Access Accessor Outcome Form Date: Undated	FULL ACCESS	Document without version control – see ‘Decision on access to documents’ section for explanation.

Document number	Page number	Description	Access Decision
7	47-55	Letter template – Access not met decision v10.0 Date: 25 October 2024	FULL ACCESS
8	56-62	Knowledge Article - Contact to advise outcome of access decision v4.0 Date: 25 September 2024	FULL ACCESS
9	63-67	Knowledge Article - Contact to request further information for access decision v1.0 Date: 07 August 2024	FULL ACCESS
10	68-74	Knowledge Article - Send a manual letter v14.0 Date: 26 September 2024	FULL ACCESS
11	75-79	Template - Access not met decision – Post legislation changes v2.0 Date: 29 October 2024	FULL ACCESS
12	80-83	Letter template – Request for information – General v1.0 Date: 18 October 2023	FULL ACCESS
13	84-93	Knowledge Article - Update a person account v8.0 Date: 16 July 2024	FULL ACCESS
14	94-101	Knowledge Article - Create an enquiry case v9.0 Date: 28 October 2024	FULL ACCESS

Document number	Page number	Description	Access Decision	Comments
15	102-117	Knowledge Article - Impairment categories guide v1.0 Date: 10 October 2024	FULL ACCESS

Attachment B

Your review rights

Internal Review

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 Complaints Management and FOI Branch General Counsel Division 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 the OAIC’s website at www.oaic.gov.au, within 60 days of receipt of this letter.

Applications for review can be lodged with the OAIC 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 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:

Phone: 1300 362 072 (local call charge)
Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.au

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.