Freedom of Information request

Notification of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of 1 July 2024, in which you requested access to documents held by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).

The purpose of this letter is to provide you with a decision on your request.

Scope of your request

You have requested access to the following documents:

A list of Technical Advisory Branch “Research Request” document titles was released under FOI 23/24-1189. I am requesting a copy of the following documents from that list:

“Unilateral Hearing Loss”
“Speech discrimination, signal-to-noise-ratio outcomes for those with hearing loss compared to normal hearing”
“Auslan as a communication method for adults with acquired hearing loss”
“Hearing impairment”
“Experience of anxiety and depression in people who are deaf”
“Auslan and other interpreting services”

Extension of time

On 12 July 2024, you agreed to a 15-day extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act, making 16 August 2024 the new date to provide you with a decision on access.

Search efforts

A search for documents has been conducted by Technical Advisory Branch, and I have been provided with copies of 6 documents which fall within the scope of your request.

Decision on access to documents

After examining the documents, I have decided to grant access to the 6 documents in part.

I made this decision as an authorised FOI decision maker under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.

Access to edited copies with exempt or irrelevant material deleted

I have identified that Documents 1-6 contain information that is irrelevant to your request. The irrelevant material relates to names of NDIA staff which, as per your email of 31 July 2024, you have agreed to out of scope from your request.

Although I have decided to provide full access to the information requested, the removal of the irrelevant information makes the documents a partial release.

Accordingly, I have prepared an edited copy of the documents with the irrelevant material removed^1.

Release of documents

The documents for release, as referred to in the Schedule of Documents at Attachment B, 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

Jennifer (JFD472) Senior Freedom of Information Officer Government, Risk & Legal – Complaints Management and FOI General Counsel Division

^1 Section 22 of the FOI Act.

Attachment B

Schedule of Documents for FOI 24/25-0002

Document number	Page number	Description	Access Decision
1	1–17	Research Document – Unilateral Hearing Loss Date: 17/09/2019	PARTIAL ACCESS Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act
2	18–44	Research Document – Speech discrimination, signal-to-noise-ratio outcomes for those with hearing loss compared to normal hearing (Guidance for prescribing premium versus basic level hearing aids) Date: 30/10/2020	PARTIAL ACCESS Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act
3	45–69	Research Document – Auslan as a communication method for adults with acquired hearing loss (Sign language as a communication option for non-hearing impaired children and adults) Date: 03/03/2021	PARTIAL ACCESS Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act
4	70–98	Research Document – Hearing impairment (Are Heading Aids Everyday Equipment?) Date: 29/10/2021 – 22/11/2021	PARTIAL ACCESS Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act
5	99–104	Research Document – Experience of anxiety and depression in people who are deaf (Mental Health within the deaf population) Date: 11/10/2022	PARTIAL ACCESS Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act
6	105–113	Research Document – Auslan and other interpreting services (Auslan and Mandarin interpreting services in New South Wales) Date: 22/03/2024	PARTIAL ACCESS Irrelevant material removed under section 22 of the FOI Act

Attachment C

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 the review, in writing, within 30 days of receipt of 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 Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch Government 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 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