Our reference: FOI 24/25-1476
GPO Box 700
Canberra ACT 2601
1800 800 110
5 May 2025
ndis.gov.au
Bob Buckley
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Bob Buckley
Freedom of Information request - Notification of Decision
Thank you for your correspondence of 6 March 2025, seeking access under the
Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) to documents held by the National Disability Insurance
Agency (NDIA).
Scope of your request
You requested access to the following documents:
"...recently, NDIA CEO Rebecca Falkingham, who appeared before Senate Estimates on
Thursday morning 27/2/2025, is reported to have said "my staff can't read 280 page
reports that they get" in relation to writing statements of participants supports for NDIS
participants.
Please provide the number of reports that NDIS planners have received with page
lengths in the ranges a) 100-149, b) 150-199, c) 200-249, d) 250-299, e) 300+
over each year from 2020..."
I apologise for the delay in processing your request.
The purpose of this letter is to notify you of my decision on your application.
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Timeframe
A 30-day statutory period for processing your request commenced from 7 March 2025 in
accordance with section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act. The due date for a decision on access was
5 April 2025
. I note this time has lapsed and as a result we are deemed to have refused your
request under section 15AC of the FOI Act.
Despite this, I have continued to process your application. I apologise for the delay and
confirm that you retain your right to seek external review of this decision.
Decision on access to documents
I am authorised to make decisions under section 23(1) of the FOI Act. My decision on your
application and the reasons for my decision are set out below.
I have interpreted your request to be for access to information presented in a data report.
Section 17(1)(c) of the FOI Act provides that, in circumstances where it appears to an
agency that an applicant seeks access to information that is not available in a discrete form
in a written document held by the agency, but the agency could produce a written document
containing the information in a discrete form, by use of equipment ordinarily available to the
agency, the agency is to deal with the request as if it were a request for access to a document
so produced.
In this instance, the NDIA is unable to produce a document under section 17(1)(c). The
reasons for this are set out in this letter. I have therefore decided to refuse your request on
the basis that it is not a request for a “document of the agency” as defined in section 4 of the
FOI Act. This section states that a document of an agency is a document in the possession
of an agency. In the present case, the NDIA does not possess the information you seek and
it is not possible to produce a document under section 17(1)(c).
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
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Why I intend to refuse your request
I have refused
access to the information you requested under section 24A of the FOI Act on
the basis that documents containing such information are unlocatable or do not exist.
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 24A of the FOI Act states 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 made enquiries with staff in the NDIA’s Cyber Security and Resilience Branch,
Technology Services Division. These enquiries have revealed that the NDIA does not hold
the information in a system that is able to produce a document containing the information
you have requested.
The agency can receive reports through various channels, the general enquiries email or
directly uploaded via the participant portals. The agency does not have categorisation within
these systems to distinguish between reports or other documents and does not record the
number of pages of each document submitted through these systems.
Based on the information I received from Cyber Security and Resilience Branch, Technology
Services Division, I consider there are reasonable grounds to be satisfied that documents
containing the information you seek do not exist. I therefore refuse access to the information
under section a 24A of the FOI Act on the basis that the information is does not exist.
Rights of review
Your rights to seek a review of my decision, or lodge a complaint, are set out at
Attachment A.
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If you have any enquiries about this matter, please contact me by email at xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Kate (KIM627)
A/Assistant Director – Freedom of Information
Non Personals Team
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 email 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 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 review within 60
days of receiving this letter.
You can apply to the OAIC for review 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 the
NDIA took in relation to your request. The Ombudsman will consult with the OAIC before
investigating a complaint about the handling of an FOI request.
You can make a complaint to the OAIC using the contact details identified above, or to the
Ombudsman by:
Phone:
1300 362 072 (local call charge)
Email:
xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Your complaint should set out the grounds on which you consider the OAIC or the
Ombudsman should investigate the NDIA’s handling of your FOI request.
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