NDIA Accountability Project

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NDIS — FOI 24/25-1883: Notification of Decision

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Freedom of Information request — Notification of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of 3 May 2025, 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:

“…I request access to this information under the Freedom of Information Act.

  1. The total number of access requests and/or persons that are currently awaiting an access decision, and;

a). The number of access requests/persons that have been awaiting a decision for 21 days or less

b). The number of access requests/persons that have been awaiting a decision for 112 days or more.

So long as it is clearly stated in the decision, I’m fine with “currently” to be interpreted as either:

  • The date this request has been made (3 May 2025).
  • The date the data is accessed by the staff member fulfilling this 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 refuse your request for access under section 24A of the FOI Act. The reasons for my decision are set out below. In reaching my decision, I took the following into account:

In reaching my decision, I took the following into account:

  • the FOI Act
  • the FOI Guidelines published under section 93A of the FOI Act
  • consultation with relevant NDIA staff
  • the NDIA’s operating environment and functions.

Reasons for decision - Refuse a request for access (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 have enquired with the Analytics, Data and Actuarial (ADA) branch of the NDIA who are responsible for producing the number of Access requests that are currently awaiting an access decision. These enquiries have revealed that the NDIA is not in possession of documents matching the scope of your request. This is because at the time of your FOI request, the NDIA had not been able to produce this data.

However, I also considered whether it would be possible to produce the Access figures for you through the use of a computer. 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. The FOI Guidelines (paragraph 3.213) expand upon what is meant by the term ‘ordinarily available’ as follows:

‘…a “computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available” means “a functioning computer system including software, that can produce the requested document without the aid of’

additional components which are not themselves ordinarily available … The computer or

other equipment … must be capable of functioning independently to collate or retrieve stored information and to produce the requested document.’ This will be a question of fact in the individual case, and may require consideration of ‘the agency’s ordinary or usual conduct and operations’.

I made enquiries with the ADA division about whether the Access figures could be generated using the available computer systems. They advised me that the figures could not be produced on the date of your FOI request as they have no established logic to extract this data. It will take a considerable amount of time for ADA to derive the logic from the first principle and to produce the required data. According to section 17(2) of the FOI Act, an agency “is not required to comply with 3 subsection (1) if compliance would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the agency from its other operations.’ As the NDIA does not have a computer system ordinarily available to it which is capable of producing the figures, I am satisfied that the NDIA is not required to comply with section 17(1)(c) of the FOI Act

I am satisfied that all reasonable steps have been taken to locate the documents you have requested and that the documents do not exist and cannot be produced. My decision is based on the functionality of the computer systems ordinarily available to the NDIA at the time of your request. I have, therefore, decided to refuse access to your request in accordance with section 24A(1)(b)(ii) of the FOI Act

Rights of review

Your rights to seek a review of my decision, or lodge a complaint, are set out at Attachment A.

Should you have any enquiries concerning this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me by email at foi@ndis.gov.au.

Yours sincerely

Alana (AFW410)

Senior Freedom of Information Officer Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch Reviews and Information Release Division

4

Attachment A

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 Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch Reviews and Information Release Division 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.