NDIA Accountability Project

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NDIS correspondence: Notification of Decision - FOI 24/25-1105

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Our reference: FOI 24/25-1105

GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 6 March 2025 1800 800 110 ndis.gov.au

Mark Pietsch Right to Know

By email: foi+request-12733-d5418c7f@righttoknow.org.au

Dear Mark Pietsch

Freedom of Information request — Notification of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of 14 January 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).

Scope of your request

You have requested access to the following documents:

„…1. Internal emails, memos, or directives sent to or from the senior NDIA staff internally or externally between January 2022 and present that reference: “Growth Targets” “Growth Caps” “Cost Savings” in relation to NDIS participant numbers, scheme cost or plan utlilisation.

  1. Minutes of meetings, briefing notes, or reports prepared for or by senior NDIA executives that discuss: Strategies to manage participant growth Measures to cap funding growth Cost-saving initiatives and their projected impacts on service delivery or participant outcomes…“

Processing period

We have been experiencing processing delays and were not able to provide you with our decision by the due date. Consequently, we are deemed to have refused your application under section 15AC of the FOI Act. I sincerely apologise for the delay in releasing this decision to you.

We have continued processing your request. In the interests of not causing any further delays, I have decided not to apply for an extension to the processing period from the Office

of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) under section 15AC of the FOI Act to protect your internal review rights. However, your right to apply for an external review with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner remains protected. Please see Attachment B for more information about your rights of review.

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 24AB of the FOI Act.

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

  • your correspondence outlining the scope of your request
  • the FOI Act
  • the FOI Guidelines published under section 93A of the FOI Act
  • consultation with relevant officers of the NDIA
  • 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 the work involved in the processing of this request would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the NDIA from its other operations.

On 26 February 2025 we contacted you by email to advise:

I am writing to advise that the work involved in processing your request in its current form would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the NDIA from its other operations due to its size. This is called a ‘practical refusal reason’ under section 24AA of the FOI Act.

On this basis, I intend to refuse your request. However, before I make a final decision, I am writing to provide you with an opportunity to revise your request. This is called a ‘request consultation process’ as set out under section 24AB of the FOI Act. You have 14 days to respond to this notice in one of the ways set out below.

We advised the reason for why we intended to refuse your request:

We have conducted preliminary searches of the NDIA’s systems, using all reasonable search terms that could return documents relevant to your request. In addition, we have consulted with relevant NDIA staff who could be expected to be able to identify documents within the scope of the request, including staff who are

knowledgeable about how to conduct searches of the NDIA’s systems. Those searches indicate that the NDIA has more than 306,229 documents that may be relevant to your request. This outcome shows that the terms of your request do not provide sufficient information to allow us to identify the specific documents that you are seeking.

On my reasonable estimate, I consider that there is more than 3,062,290 pages worth of material that may fall within the scope of your request as currently worded. At a conservative estimate of 1 minute per page, this would take an FOI officer more than 51,038 hours to simply review and collate the documents.

The documents that are assessed as being within scope of the request will then need to be reviewed for any sensitivities and possible exemption under the FOI Act and scheduled, we will need to consider any consultations and carry these out if required, a decision will need to be made on each document, and a decision letter prepared. This will significantly increase the hours that it will take an FOI officer to process your request.

As a result, I am of the view that the work involved in the processing of this request would substantially and unreasonably divert the resources of the NDIA from its other operations.

During the 14-day consultation period, the agency did not receive a response. Consequently, under subsection 24AB(7), your request is now considered withdrawn. As this matter is deemed a decision under section 15AC of the FOI Act, I am obligated to issue a practical refusal rather than a withdrawal.

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

Cooper (CHH674) Senior Freedom of Information Officer Complaints Management & FOI Branch General Counsel Division

Attachment A

Your review rights

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 & 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:

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:

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.