Our reference: FOI 24/25-0910
GPO Box 700
Canberra ACT 2601
1800 800 110
6 June 2025
ndis.gov.au
James Lock
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx Dear James Lock
Freedom of Information request — Notification of Decision
Thank you for your correspondence of 9 December 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. I sincerely
apologise for the delay in processing this request for you.
Scope of your request
You originally requested access to the following documents:
In the context of the Reform and New NDIS Bill, I am requesting documents, information,
operations guides on information that is used for the assessment and allocation of
funding for supports.
In particular, I am seeking information on What NDIS Supports will be approved under
each Impairment Catagory.
This is highlighted by the upcoming impairment notices which plan to assess if the
evidence demonstrates eligibility and if the funded ndis supports are appropriately
allocated under the registered impairment.
Informal consultation process
On 28 March 2025, we contacted you as part of an informal consultation process. We
advised you that the Agency had conducted preliminary searches for documents and we
wanted to discuss the outcome of those searches with you. We requested your contact
number and response by 1 April 2025. To date, we have not received any response from
you.
Timeframes
In accordance with section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act, a 30-day statutory period for processing
your request commenced from 10 December 2024. This 30-day period expired on 8 January
2025.
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On 17 December 2024, we sought your agreement to a 30-day extension of time under
section 15AA of the FOI Act. As we did not receive a response from you, the original due
date of 8 January 2025 remains. As we were not able to provide you with our decision by the
due date, we are deemed to have refused your application under section 15AC of the FOI
Act.
However, we have continued processing your request and in the interests of not causing
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. Therefore, internal review of this decision is not an option, however, your right to apply
for an external review with the OAIC remains protected. Details are set out in
Attachment A to this letter.
Decision on access to documents
I am authorised to make decisions under section 23(1) of the FOI Act. My decision on your
FOI request and the reasons for my decision are set out below.
I have decided to refuse your request under section 24A 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 and business areas of the NDIA.
Reasons for decision
Section 24A – Requests may be refused if documents cannot be found, do not exist or have
not been received
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.
The FOI Guidelines, at paragraph 3.85, provide that there are two elements that must be
established before an agency or minister can refuse a request for access to a document
under s 24A:
• the agency or minister must have taken all reasonable steps to find the document,
and
• the agency or minister is satisfied that the document cannot be found or does not
exist.
We undertook search consultations with staff in Service Delivery, Scheme Eligibility and
Service Guidance business areas to obtain documents which may fall within the scope of
your request:
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The outcome of these searches is that the NDIA is not in possession of documents matching
the scope of your request. The advice we received as part of the consultations is that the
NDIA does not currently use impairments to make decisions about what to fund in participant
plans, we only consider the impairment when assessing eligibility for the Scheme. Further,
the advice is that we won’t start using impairments to inform plan funding until a participant
transitions to the new planning framework.
I am satisfied that all reasonable steps have been taken to locate the documents you have
requested, and that the documents do not exist. 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 a
t xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Carolyn (CJW205) Senior FOI Officer
Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch
Reviews and Information Release Division
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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 emai
l xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx or by post:
Freedom of Information Section
Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations 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 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:
Onli
ne: 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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