NDIS Financial Sustainability Framework modelling and projected savings
Dear Department of Finance,
Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, I request access to:
1. Any briefing notes, costings or scenario analysis prepared by the Department of Finance between 1 January 2023 and 31 May 2023 that refer to an "NDIS Financial Sustainability Framework" and quantify projected savings or expenditure moderation from that Framework (for example, moderation of $622.8 million in 2026–27 and $59.0 billion over 7 years from 2027‑28 to 2033‑34, as described in Budget Paper No. 2: 2023‑24).
2. Any final briefs or memoranda provided by Finance to the Minister for Finance or to the Expenditure Review Committee between 1 January 2023 and 31 May 2023 that refer to an NDIS growth target or the NDIS Financial Sustainability Framework.
I am not seeking purely administrative emails or duplicate copies of the same document. If any document is wholly exempt, please provide a schedule of documents identifying the date, title and author area for each document withheld, so far as that can be disclosed.
If you consider that processing this request would involve a substantial and unreasonable diversion of resources, I ask that you first provide a practical refusal consultation so I can refine the scope.
Yours faithfully,
Mark Pietsch
Thank you for your email, which has been forwarded to the Department’s FOI
Team for their consideration. A member of the FOI Team will respond to
your email in the next couple of days.
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Pietsch,
Freedom of Information Request – FOI 25-26/129
Thank you for your email to the Department of Finance (Finance) requesting
access to the following documents under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (FOI Act):
Any briefing notes, costings or scenario analysis prepared by the
Department of Finance between 1 January 2023 and 31 May 2023 that refer to
an "NDIS Financial Sustainability Framework" and quantify projected
savings or expenditure moderation from that Framework (for example,
moderation of $622.8 million in 2026–27 and $59 billion over 7 years from
2027-28 to 2033-34, as described in Budget Paper No. 2: 2023-24).
Any final briefs or memoranda provided by Finance to the Minister for
Finance or to the Expenditure Review Committee between 1 January 2023 and
31 May 2023 that refer to an NDIS growth target or the NDIS Financial
Sustainability Framework.
Request for an extension of time
The processing timeframe for your request significantly overlaps with the
upcoming departmental shutdown for the Christmas/New Year period. This
would impact the ability of the FOI team to process your request including
consulting with other agencies who may have an interest in documents which
may be in scope of your request; therefore we are asking for your
agreement to an extension of 30 days for Finance to process your request.
Section 15AA of the FOI Act provides that an applicant can consent to an
extension of time up to 30 calendar days.
In the circumstances, Finance seeks your agreement to extend the
processing period by 30 days with a new due date of Monday 9 February
2026.
If you consent to the extension, Finance will notify the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) of the extension, which is part
of Finance’s reporting requirements.
We kindly ask that you reply by either:
1. Consenting to an extension of time to 9 February 2026; or
2. Consenting to an extension of time for a date less than that requested
by Finance; or
3. Refusing to grant an extension of time.
We kindly seek your response by 5pm Friday 19 December 2025.
General FOI matters
Your request was received by Finance on 10 December 2025. The statutory
period for processing your request commences from the day after Finance
received your request and a decision is due on Friday 9 January 2026.
The processing period may be extended if we need to consult third parties,
impose a charge or for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.
Liability to pay a charge
You will be notified of any charges in relation to your request as soon as
possible, before we process any requested documents or impose a final
charge.
Publication
As required by the FOI Act, any documents provided to you under the FOI
Act will be published on our [1]disclosure log, unless an exception
applies. Documents will be published within the applicable statutory
timeframes set out by the FOI Act.
Policy to exclude junior officer contact details, signatures and mobile
phone numbers
Finance has adopted a policy to generally exclude from any documents
released under FOI, the names and contact details of junior staff (non-SES
officers) and staff employed under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act
1984 (senior adviser level and below). Finance has also adopted a policy
to exclude positional mailboxes, signatures and mobile phone numbers from
any documents released under FOI (unless publicly available). Finance’s
preference is to reach agreement with FOI applicants to exclude these
details from the scope of the request. Where there is no objection, the
names and contact details of junior officers, as well as any positional
mailboxes, signatures and mobile phone numbers appearing in identified
documents, will be redacted under section 22 of the FOI Act on the basis
that these details are irrelevant to the request.
Please contact the FOI Team if you wish to discuss your request.
Kind regards
FOI Team
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
References
Visible links
1. https://www.finance.gov.au/about-us/free...
OFFICIAL
Good afternoon Mr Pietsch,
I refer to Finance’s below email acknowledging your request and seeking
your agreement to an extension of time under section 15AA of the FOI Act.
We would be grateful if you could advise at your earliest convenience
whether you would agree to an extension of time for Finance to process
your request.
Kind regards,
FOI Team
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
From: FOI Requests <[email address]>
Sent: Wednesday, 17 December 2025 1:38 PM
To: '[FOI #14112 email]'
<[FOI #14112 email]>
Cc: FOI Requests <[email address]>
Subject: FOI 25-26/129 - Acknowledgement of your request and seeking an
extension of time [SEC=OFFICIAL]
OFFICIAL
Dear Mr Pietsch,
Freedom of Information Request – FOI 25-26/129
Thank you for your email to the Department of Finance (Finance) requesting
access to the following documents under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (FOI Act):
Any briefing notes, costings or scenario analysis prepared by the
Department of Finance between 1 January 2023 and 31 May 2023 that refer to
an "NDIS Financial Sustainability Framework" and quantify projected
savings or expenditure moderation from that Framework (for example,
moderation of $622.8 million in 2026–27 and $59 billion over 7 years from
2027-28 to 2033-34, as described in Budget Paper No. 2: 2023-24).
Any final briefs or memoranda provided by Finance to the Minister for
Finance or to the Expenditure Review Committee between 1 January 2023 and
31 May 2023 that refer to an NDIS growth target or the NDIS Financial
Sustainability Framework.
Request for an extension of time
The processing timeframe for your request significantly overlaps with the
upcoming departmental shutdown for the Christmas/New Year period. This
would impact the ability of the FOI team to process your request including
consulting with other agencies who may have an interest in documents which
may be in scope of your request; therefore we are asking for your
agreement to an extension of 30 days for Finance to process your request.
Section 15AA of the FOI Act provides that an applicant can consent to an
extension of time up to 30 calendar days.
In the circumstances, Finance seeks your agreement to extend the
processing period by 30 days with a new due date of Monday 9 February
2026.
If you consent to the extension, Finance will notify the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) of the extension, which is part
of Finance’s reporting requirements.
We kindly ask that you reply by either:
1. Consenting to an extension of time to 9 February 2026; or
2. Consenting to an extension of time for a date less than that requested
by Finance; or
3. Refusing to grant an extension of time.
We kindly seek your response by 5pm Friday 19 December 2025.
General FOI matters
Your request was received by Finance on 10 December 2025. The statutory
period for processing your request commences from the day after Finance
received your request and a decision is due on Friday 9 January 2026.
The processing period may be extended if we need to consult third parties,
impose a charge or for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.
Liability to pay a charge
You will be notified of any charges in relation to your request as soon as
possible, before we process any requested documents or impose a final
charge.
Publication
As required by the FOI Act, any documents provided to you under the FOI
Act will be published on our [1]disclosure log, unless an exception
applies. Documents will be published within the applicable statutory
timeframes set out by the FOI Act.
Policy to exclude junior officer contact details, signatures and mobile
phone numbers
Finance has adopted a policy to generally exclude from any documents
released under FOI, the names and contact details of junior staff (non-SES
officers) and staff employed under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act
1984 (senior adviser level and below). Finance has also adopted a policy
to exclude positional mailboxes, signatures and mobile phone numbers from
any documents released under FOI (unless publicly available). Finance’s
preference is to reach agreement with FOI applicants to exclude these
details from the scope of the request. Where there is no objection, the
names and contact details of junior officers, as well as any positional
mailboxes, signatures and mobile phone numbers appearing in identified
documents, will be redacted under section 22 of the FOI Act on the basis
that these details are irrelevant to the request.
Please contact the FOI Team if you wish to discuss your request.
Kind regards
FOI Team
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
References
Visible links
1. https://www.finance.gov.au/about-us/free...
Dear FOI Requests,
I am happy to agree to an extension of time, though would like to request a scoping meeting as soon as practicable to discuss the request after initial searches have been conducted the help refine the direction of the investigation in order to reduce any administrative burden or voluminous document releases.
Yours sincerely,
Mark Pietsch
Thank you for your email, which has been forwarded to the Department’s FOI
Team for their consideration. A member of the FOI Team will respond to
your email in the next couple of days.
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
OFFICIAL
Dear Mark
We refer to your FOI request to the Department of Finance on 10 December
2025 (our ref FOI 25-26/129).
I write to advise that Finance will not be in the position to finalise the
decision on your request by the current statutory due date of Monday 9
February 2026.
We thank you for your offer of 20 December 2025 for a meeting to discuss
the scope of your request to reduce any administrative burden to Finance.
Finance’s searches have not identified a significant volume of documents
and the delays in processing your request have been due to complexities in
how relevant information is held in documents and systems in Finance, and
that the information within documents is technical and relates to budget
processes.
Before finalising the decision on your request, Finance will need to
consult with the National Disability Insurance Agency.
To enable this consultation, Finance will be seeking a further extension
of time of 21 days from the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner (OAIC).
We thank you for your understanding.
Kind regards,
FOI Team
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
Our reference: RQ26/01044
Agency reference: 25-26/129
Agency name Department of Finance
By Email: [email address]
Name Mark Pietsch
By Email:
[FOI #14112 email]
Extension of time under s 15AB
Dear Parties,
Please find attached an extension of time decision relating to the above
referenced FOI request.
Regards,
[1][IMG] Andriana DeIeso
Review Adviser
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5288 Sydney NSW 2001
E [2][email address]
The OAIC acknowledges Traditional Custodians of Country across
Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and
communities. We pay our respect to First Nations people,
cultures and Elders past and present.
[3]Subscribe to Information Matters
Notice:
The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.oaic.gov.au/
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.oaic.gov.au/engage-with-us/n...