Our reference: FOI 23/24-0538
GPO Box 700
Canberra ACT 2601
1800 800 110
13 March 2024
ndis.gov.au
Karen Dempsey
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Karen Dempsey
Freedom of Information request — Notification of Decision
Thank you for your correspondence of 1 November 2023, 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:
1. “Practice Guide - Disability-Related Health Supports”
2. “Practice Guide - Understanding Therapy Supports”
And additionally –
3. The “Standard Operating Procedure” documents related to “Disability-Related Health
Supports” and “Therapy Supports”
4. If "V25.0 (updated 2021-01-13)" of "Practice Guide - Determine Reasonable and
Necessary Supports" is not the most recent version of this document currently in use,
I also request access to the most current version of the "Practice Guide - Determine
Reasonable and Necessary Supports" document.
Expiration of Time
We have been experiencing processing delays and were not able to provide our decision to
you by the due date of 1 December 2023. Consequently, your application was regarded as a
deemed refusal under section 15AC of the FOI Act.
This access decision is being released to you after the due date and I apologise for the
delay. In this instance, I have not to applied for an extension to the processing period from
the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) under section 15AC of the FOI
Act, but I note that you will still have external review rights on this decision.
Search Efforts
A search for documents has been conducted by the agency’s Service Guidance Branch and
I have been provided with copies of 4 documents that fall within the scope of your request.
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Decision on Access to Documents
I make this decision as an authorised FOI decision maker under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
After examining the documents, I have decided to release the identified 4 documents to you
in full.
Release of Documents
The documents for release, as referred to in the Schedule of Documents at
Attachment A,
are attached.
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 xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Misty
Assistant Director FOI
Complaints Management & FOI Branch
General Counsel Division
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Attachment A
Schedule of Documents for FOI-1B 23/24-0756
Document
Page
Description
Access Decision
Comment
number
number
1
1 - 42
Practice Guide - Disability-Related Health Supports
FULL ACCESS
This Practice Guide was
retired and replaced with the
Version: V6.0 2020-09-29
publicly available Disability-
Approved: 29 September 2020
related health supports |
NDIS in 2021
2
43 - 71
Practice Guide – Understanding Therapy Supports
FULL ACCESS
Version: V7.0 2021-01-06
Approved: 6 January 2021
3
72 - 116
Reasonable and Necessary Supports
FULL ACCESS
This information is publicly
available through the NDIS
website at:
Reasonable and necessary
supports | NDIS
4
117 - 161
Standard Operating Procedure - Disability Related
FULL ACCESS
Health Supports
Version: V6.0 2023-06-21
Approved: 21 June 2023
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Attachment B
Your review rights
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:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
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:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
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.
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