Our reference: FOI 20/21-0604
GPO Box 700
Canberra ACT 2601
1800 800 110
ndis.gov.au
16 April 2021
Ben Fairless
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Ben Fairless
Your Freedom of Information request - Acknowledgement
Thank you for your correspondence of 2 April 2021, in which you requested 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 have requested access to documents about the National Disability Insurance Scheme
(NDIS). Specifical y, you requested access to:
“1. The independent assessment question workflow, including al questions, possible
answers (if multiple choice), and the rating applied to each question.
2. The source code for any software used by Independent Assessment health professionals
to perform independent assessments.
3. Questions asked prior to an independent assessment being booked.
To clarify point 3, I understand the organisations administering the pilot ask the participant
or their representative a number of questions prior to an independent assessment being
booked. I'm looking for a list of these questions.
4. The number of applicant health professionals who have requested access to participate or
view an independent assessment, and the number who have been granted access.
5. Concerns raised about applicant health professionals potential y putting scrutiny on the
independent assessment process.
5.1. concerns from the organisations participating in the NDIA pilot raised to the NDIA
about non-NDIA (indepdendent/applicant) health professionals being present at
independent assessments.
5.2. concerns from the NDIA to organisations participating in the pilot about non-NDIA
(indepdendent/applicant) health professionals being present at independent
assessments
5.3. concerns raised by non-NDIA (indepdendent/applicant) health professionals being
present at independent assessments raised directly to the NDIA.
5.4.concerns raised by non-NDIA (independent/applicant) health professionals in
relation to present at independent assessments to organisations participating in the
NDIA Independent Assessment pilot.”
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Unless you advise otherwise, we wil take it that you agree to the names and contact details of
NDIA staff being excluded from the scope of your request (that is, the information wil be
treated as irrelevant). We will also exclude draft and duplicate documents.
Processing timeframes
We received your request on 2 April 2021 and the 30-day statutory period for processing your
request commenced from the day after that date.
You should therefore expect a decision from us by 3 May 2021.
The period may be extended if we need to consult with third parties or for other reasons. We
wil advise you if this happens.
Charges
We may apply a processing charge to your request and will advise you if a charge is payable
as soon as practicable. We wil not apply charges if you are requesting your own personal
information.
Disclosure Log
Information released under the FOI Act may be published on the NDIA’s disclosure log located
on our website, subject to certain exceptions.
If you wish to raise any concerns about the publication of information concerning your request,
please contact us.
Further help
Please contact us at xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx if you have any questions or require help.
We wil contact you using the email address you provided. Please advise if you would prefer
us to use an alternative means of contact.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Team
Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch
Government Division
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