Our reference: FOI 24/25-1883
GPO Box 700
Canberra ACT 2601
1800 800 110
23 May 2025
ndis.gov.au
Stuart
Right to Know
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Stuart
Freedom of Information request — Notification of Decision
Thank you for your correspondence of 3 May 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).
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:
“…I request access to this information under the Freedom of Information Act.
1. The total number of access requests and/or persons that are currently awaiting an access
decision, and;
a). The number of access requests/persons that have been awaiting a decision for 21 days
or less
b). The number of access requests/persons that have been awaiting a decision for 112 days
or more.
So long as it is clearly stated in the decision, I’m fine with “currently” to be interpreted as
either:
- The date this request has been made (3 May 2025).
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- The date the data is accessed by the staff member fulfil ing this request…”
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 24A of the FOI Act. The
reasons for my decision are set out below. In reaching my decision, I took the following into
account:
In reaching my decision, I took the following into account:
• the FOI Act
• the FOI Guidelines published under section 93A of the FOI Act
• consultation with relevant NDIA staff
• 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 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 enquired with the Analytics, Data and Actuarial (ADA) branch of the NDIA who are
responsible for producing the number of Access requests that are currently awaiting an
access decision. These enquiries have revealed that the NDIA is not in possession of
documents matching the scope of your request. This is because at the time of your FOI
request, the NDIA had not been able to produce this data.
However, I also considered whether it would be possible to produce the Access figures for
you through the use of a computer. Section 17(1)(c) of the FOI Act provides that an agency
can produce a written document containing the requested information, by the use of a
computer or other equipment that is
ordinarily available for retrieving or col ating stored
information. The FOI Guidelines (paragraph 3.213) expand upon what is meant by the term
“ordinarily available” as follows:
“…a ‘computer or other equipment that is ordinarily available’ means ‘a functioning computer
system including software, that can produce the requested document without the aid of
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additional components which are not themselves ordinarily available … The computer or
other equipment … must be capable of functioning independently to collate or retrieve stored
information and to produce the requested document.’ This wil be a question of fact in the
individual case, and may require consideration of ‘the agency’s ordinary or usual conduct
and operations’.”
I made enquiries with the ADA division about whether the Access figures could be generated
using the available computer systems. They advised me that the figures could not be
produced on the date of your FOI request as they have no established logic to extract this
data. It wil take a considerable amount of time for ADA to derive the logic from the first
principle and to produce the required data. According to section 17(2) of the FOI Act, an
agency “is not required to comply with 3 subsection (1) if compliance would substantially and
unreasonably divert the resources of the agency from its other operations.’ As the NDIA
does not have a computer system ordinarily available to it which is capable of producing the
figures, I am satisfied that the NDIA is not required to comply with section 17(1)(c) of the FOI
Act
I am satisfied that all reasonable steps have been taken to locate the documents you have
requested and that the documents do not exist and cannot be produced. My decision is
based on the functionality of the computer systems ordinarily available to the NDIA at the
time of your request. I have, therefore, decided to refuse access to your request in
accordance with section 24A(1)(b)(i ) 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 at
xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
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Alana (AFW410)
Senior Freedom of Information Officer
Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch
Reviews and Information Release Division
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Attachment A
Your review rights
Internal Review
The FOI Act gives you the right to apply for an internal review of this decision. The review
wil 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 the review, in
writing, within 30 days of receipt of 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
xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx or sent by post to:
Freedom of Information Section
Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch
Reviews and Information Release Division
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 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 wil 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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