NDIS correspondence: Notice of Decision - FOI 25/26-2441 | FOI release material

Our reference: FOI 25/26-2441 (LEXD 18474)

GPO Box 700 Canberra ACT 2601 1800 800 110 28 April 2026 ndis.gov.au

By email: foi+request-14483-16953a2e@righttoknow.org.au

Dear Bob Buckley,

Freedom of Information request — Notice of Decision

Thank you for your correspondence of 16 March 2026, in which you requested 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 provide you with a decision on your request.

Scope of your request

You requested access to documents from the NDIS. Specifically, you requested access to:

“Dear National Disability Insurance Agency, In its FoI 25/26 0499 response, the NDIS provided an email from Shaun <redacted> to Natassia Chrysanthos that shows the numbers of young NDIS participants with “developmental delay and mild to moderate autism”. Clearly, the numbers provided were not invented by the NDIS’s media unit.

I request under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 1982, all information showing a) the information NDIS officials provided for Shaun <redacted> so he could provide this response, b) who provided and/or authorised the information to be given to the media, and c) any guidance to Shaun about what he should or should not say.”

Timeframe

The original date by which to make a decision on this request was 15 April 2026. On 15 April I made an application to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to request a 10-day extension of time under section 15AB of the FOI Act, this extension was granted on 20 April, making 25 April the new date by which to make my decision.

Section 36 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 states that if another Act requires or allows a thing to be done by a certain date, and the last day to do so falls on a Saturday, Sunday or

public holiday in the place where the thing is to be done, then the next regular working day becomes the date that the thing is due. This request was due on Saturday 25 April, and Monday 27 April was a public holiday in the Australian Capital Territory where I, as the authorised decision maker, am making the decision. Therefore today, Tuesday 28 April is the last day by which to make my decision.

Search efforts

I consulted with NDIA staff in the Media team to locate additional documents relevant to your request.

I have identified 22 documents, which fall within the scope of your request.

Decision on access to documents

I have decided to grant access to twenty-two documents in part.

Reasons for decision

I have decided that some information will not be released as it comprises exempt information under sections 47E(d) and 47F(1) of the FOI Act.

A detailed statement of reasons for my decision can be found at Attachment B.

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 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

Rebecca — REM471 Senior Freedom of Information Officer

Information Access and Privacy Branch Reviews and Information Release Division

Attachment A

Schedule of Documents

FOI 25/26-2441

Document number	Page number	Description	Access Decision
1	4-4	Email Subject: For urgent clearance PM SMH_Age data enquiry on developmental delay and autism data Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemptions claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy. s47E(d) — certain operations of agencies
2	5-9	Email Subject: For urgent clearance - SMH_Age enquiry on developmental delay and autism data - supplementary Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemptions claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy. s47E(d) — certain operations of agencies
3	10-14	Email Subject: For urgent clearance - SMH_Age enquiry on developmental delay and autism data - supplementary Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemptions claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy. s47E(d) — certain operations of agencies
4	15-19	Email Subject: For urgent clearance - SMH_Age enquiry on developmental delay and autism data - supplementary Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemptions claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy. s47E(d) — certain operations of agencies
5	20-22	Email Subject: FOR URGENT CLEARANCE_ data for SMH_Age Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemptions claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy.

Document number	Page number	Description	Access Decision
		Date: 22 August 2025	s47E(d) — certain operations of agencies
6	23-26	Email Subject: FW_SMH_Age enquiry on developmental delay and autism data - supplementary Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemptions claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy. s47E(d) — certain operations of agencies
7	27-29	Email Subject: FYI - follow-up questions from SMH_Age on children 0-8 Scheme costs Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy
8	30-32	Email Subject: FYI - follow-up questions from SMH_Age on children 0-8 Scheme costs Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemptions claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy
9	33-37	Email Subject: RE_ For urgent clearance - SMH_Age data enquiry on developmental delay and autism data Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemptions claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy. s47E(d) — certain operations of agencies
10	38-42	Email Subject: Re_ For urgent clearance - SMH_Age data enquiry on developmental delay and autism data Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemptions claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy. s47E(d) — certain operations of agencies
11	43-47	Email	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemptions claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy.

Document number	Page number	Description	Access Decision
		Subject: .RE_ For urgent clearance - SMH_Age enquiry on developmental delay and autism data Date: 22 August 2025	s47E(d) — certain operations of agencies
12	48-52	Email Subject: RE_ For urgent clearance - SMH_Age enquiry on developmental delay and autism data Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemptions claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy. s47E(d) — certain operations of agencies
13	53-56	Email Subject: RE_ FOR URGENT CLEARANCE _ data for SMH_Age Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemptions claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy. s47E(d) — certain operations of agencies
14	57-60	Email Subject: RE_ FOR URGENT CLEARANCE _ data for SMH_Age Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy
15	61-64	Email Subject: Re_ FOR URGENT CLEARANCE _ data for SMH_Age Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy.
16	65-68	Email Subject: Re_ FOR URGENT CLEARANCE _ data for SMH_Age Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy.
17	69-72	Email	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemptions claimed:

Document number	Page number	Description	Access Decision
		Subject: Re_ SMH_Age enquiry on developmental delay and autism data - supplementary questions 15 Date: 22 August 2025	s47F(1) — personal privacy. s47E(d) — certain operations of agencies
18	73-76	Email Subject: RE_ SMH_Age enquiry on developmental delay and autism data - supplementary Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemptions claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy. s47E(d) — certain operations of agencies
19	77-79	Email Subject: Re_ SMH_Age enquiry on developmental delay and autism data - supplementary Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemptions claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy. s47E(d) — certain operations of agencies
20	80-82	Email Subject: Re_ SMH_Age enquiry on developmental delay and autism data - supplementary Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemptions claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy. s47E(d) — certain operations of agencies
21	83-84	Email Subject: .RE_ SMH_Age inquiry for data Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemption claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy
22	85-86	Email Subject: SMH_Age enquiry on developmental delay and autism data - supplementary questions Date: 22 August 2025	PARTIAL ACCESS Exemptions claimed: s47F(1) — personal privacy. s47E(d) — certain operations of agencies

Attachment B

Statement of Reasons

FOI 25/26-2441

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

I have decided that documents 1-22 contain material that is exempt from disclosure under the FOI Act, for the reasons set out below.

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

Conditionally exempt information contrary to the public interest

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 11A(5) of the FOI Act provides that access to a document covered by a conditional exemption must be provided unless disclosure would be contrary to the public interest.

I have refused access to information located in documents 1-22 on the basis that the information is conditionally exempt information under sections 47E(d) and 47F(1) of the FOI Act, and that the disclosure of the information would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest.

Certain operations of agencies (section 47E(d))

Section 47E(d) of the FOI Act conditionally exempts a document if its disclosure would, or could reasonably be expected to, have a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient conduct of the operations of an agency.

Reason

Documents 1-6, 9-13, 17-20 and 22 contain information relating to certain operations of the NDIA, specifically, the contact details of an internal mailbox intended for use by NDIA staff only.

As this specialist mailbox are not intended for public or routine use, emails that are sent to this mailbox can be effectively allocated to particular subject matter experts within the NDIA. This facilitates the provision of efficient and effective advice, where required. Were this mailbox to be made public, there is a reasonable likelihood of aggrieved members of the public seeking to gain advantage over others, by using internal points of contact in place of the appropriate external contact pathways. This could result in congestion of this mailbox and reduce the ability of staff to respond to targeted emails that require their subject matter expertise.

Any disclosure of an internal mailbox would, or could reasonably be expected to, result in the need for the NDIA to change their internal communication methods and procedures to ensure NDIA communication channels remain effective. I am satisfied this is a substantial adverse effect on the proper and efficient operations of the NDIA.

Public interest considerations – section 47E(d)

It is not enough that I have decided that the documents contain information that, if released, would, or could reasonable be expected to, affect the operations of the NDIA. I must also decide whether the public interest lies in favour of, or against, release.

Irrelevant factors

I have examined the irrelevant factors in section 11B(4) of the FOI Act, and I am satisfied I have not taken into account any irrelevant factors in reaching my decision.

Factors favouring disclosure

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 information would:

promote the objects of the FOI Act (including all matters set out in sections 3 and 3A)

This is because providing access to documents held by the NDIA allows for increased scrutiny, discussion, comment, and review of government-held information.

I have also referred to the FOI Guidelines published under section 93A of the FOI Act, and I have determined that disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to:

inform the Australian community of the NDIA’s operations
contribute to the administration of justice generally, including procedural fairness

I have decided to afford moderate weight to these three factors.

Factors favouring nondisclosure

The FOI Act does not list any factors weighing against disclosure. However, the inclusion of the exemptions and conditional exemptions in the FOI Act recognises that harm may result from the disclosure of some types of documents in certain circumstances.

The FOI Guidelines provides a non-exhaustive list of factors against access to information at paragraph 6.233. I have examined those factors, and I am satisfied that the disclosure of an internal mailbox could reasonably be expected to:

result in aggrieved members of the public using this information to seek to gain advantage over others
impede the ability of specialist teams within the NDIA to efficiently respond to emails requiring their subject matter expertise
negatively impact the NDIA customer service experience

I have decided to afford significant weight to these three factors favouring nondisclosure.

Balancing the relevant factors

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.

With reference to the assessment above, I have decided this information is conditionally exempt under section 47E(d) of the FOI Act. I have decided to refuse access to it.

Personal privacy (section 47F)

Section 47F of the FOI Act conditionally exempts a document if its disclosure would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person (including a deceased person). For the purposes of this conditional exemption, I must first determine whether the material meets the definition of personal information. I must then determine whether the disclosure of that information would be reasonable or unreasonable.

The FOI Act shares the same definition of ‘personal information’ as the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Personal information means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or about an individual who is reasonably identifiable:

a. whether the information or opinion is true or not

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

Reason

I am satisfied that information contained in documents 1-22 meets the definition of personal information. The identified material contains the surnames and contact details of internal staff, along with the names and contact details of third parties.

Next, I must determine whether the disclosure of this personal information would be reasonable or unreasonable. Under section 47F(2) of the FOI Act, in determining whether the disclosure of a document would involve the unreasonable disclosure of personal information, an agency must have regard to:

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

e. the personal information is not readily available from publicly accessible sources.

With reference to the assessment above, I am satisfied that it would be unreasonable to publicly disclose this personal information.

Public interest considerations – section 47F

It is not enough that I have decided that the documenta contain personal information, the disclosure of which I have decided would be unreasonable. I must also decide whether the public interest lies in favour of, or against, the release of this information to you.

Irrelevant factors

I have examined the irrelevant factors in section 11B(4) of the FOI Act, and I am satisfied I have not taken into account any irrelevant factors in reaching my decision.

Factors favouring disclosure

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 information would:

promote the objects of the FOI Act (including all matters set out in sections 3 and 3A)

This is because providing access to documents held by the NDIA allows for increased scrutiny, discussion, comment, and review of government-held information.

I have also referred to the FOI Guidelines published under section 93A of the FOI Act, and I have determined that disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to:

contribute to the administration of justice generally, including procedural fairness
advance the fair treatment of individuals and other entities, in accordance with the law in their dealings with the NDIA

I have decided to afford moderate weight to these three factors.

Factors favouring nondisclosure

The NDIA takes its obligations to its employees under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) (WHS Act) seriously. The release of staff names and internal contact details into the public domain could reasonably be expected to pose a risk to the health and safety of NDIA staff, given the public-facing nature of our work and the risk of this information being used to cause harm or online disrepute. Additionally, the ability of staff members to effectively carry out their duties as well as their willingness to maintain employment with the NDIA would be negatively impacted by any threat or harassment they may sustain by a member of the public, because of the disclosure of their personal information. Additionally, I have decided to exempt the names and contact details of third parties, as this information is not officially known. Disclosure of this information could reasonably be expected to cause distress to the identified individuals and may expose them to unsolicited and inappropriate contact.

The FOI Guidelines provides a non-exhaustive list of factors against access to information at paragraph 6.233. I have examined those factors, and I am satisfied that the disclosure of the personal information in issue could reasonably be expected to:

prejudice the protection of an individual’s right to privacy through the release of their personal information into the public domain
adversely affect or harm the interests of any individual, including by exposing any individual to an unreasonable risk of harm
prejudice the ability of the NDIA to meet its obligations under the WHS Act and Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including its obligation to maintain the confidentiality of the personal information it collects and stores
prejudice the NDIA’s ability to attract and retain staff

Given these reasons relate to health and safety of NDIA staff, I have decided to afford significant weight to the above four factors favouring nondisclosure.

Balancing the relevant factors

I am satisfied that the factors against disclosure of the information far 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.

With reference to the assessment above, I have decided this information is conditionally exempt under section 47F(1) of the FOI Act. I have decided to refuse access to this information.

Attachment C

Freedom of Information request – 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 review, in writing, within 30 days of receiving 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 Access and Privacy Branch Reviews and Information Release 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 for the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to seek a review of this decision.

If you wish to have the decision reviewed by OAIC, you may apply for the review in writing, or by using the online merits review application form which is available on the OAIC’s website, within 60 days of receiving this letter: OAIC Review Application Form.

Applications for review can be lodged with the OAIC in the following ways:

Online: OAIC Review Application Form
Post: Office of the Australian Information Commissioner GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001
Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
Phone: 1300 363 992 (local call charge)
Website: www.oaic.gov.au

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 the 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 provided above.

Your complaint to the Ombudsman can be directed to:

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