Our reference: FOI 20/21-0661
GPO Box 700
Canberra ACT 2601
1800 800 110
17 May 2021
ndis.gov.au
Ginger Meany
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Ginger Meany
Freedom of Information request — Notification of Decision
Thank you for your correspondence of 15 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).
The purpose of this letter is to provide you with a decision on your request.
Scope of your request
You have requested access to documents about the National Disability Insurance Scheme
(NDIS). Specifically, you requested access to:
“…the costs incurred by the NDIA for legal representation at the Administrative Appeals
Tribunal, including conciliation meetings and preliminary arbitration”
On 13 May 2021, we wrote to you regarding your request to ensure we had correctly
interepreted the scope and information you are seeking. We did not receive a response.
I have made a decision based on my reasonable interpretation of the scope. Specifically, I
have interpreted your request to be that you are seeking “the total costs incurred by the
NDIA for legal representation at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT)”.
Decision on access to documents
I am authorised to make decisions under the FOI Act. My decision on your request and the
reasons for my decision are set out below.
The information you requested was not available in a separate written document at the time
of your request. However, we have been able to produce a document containing the
information you have requested. I have therefore treated your request as if it were a request
for access to this document in accordance with section 17 of the FOI Act.
I have identified one documents which falls within the scope of your request.
Since your request did not provide a date range, I have taken the scope of your request to be
from the commencement of the NDIS. I note that a breakdown of costs to the level of detail
provided in the created document was not required prior to 2018-19.
I note that spending on AAT matters for 2019-20 was previously provided in a response to a
Senate Estimates Question Taken on Notice
(SQ20-000296) which is publicly available.
In accordance with section 17, I have therefore provided data from 2018-19 onwards where
possible.
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The documents was identified by conducting searches of NDIA’s systems, using all
reasonable search terms that could return documents relevant to your request, and consulting
with relevant NDIA staff who could be expected to be able to identify documents within the
scope of the request.
I have decided to grant access to one document in part.
In reaching my decision, I took into account the following materials:
your correspondence outlining the scope of your request;
the nature and content of the documents falling within the scope of your request;
the FOI Act;
the FOI Guidelines;
consultation with relevant NDIA staff;
factors relevant to my assessment of whether or not disclosure would be in the public
interest; and
the NDIA’s operating environment and functions.
Reasons for decisions
Deliberative processes (section 47C)
Section 47C of the FOI Act conditionally exempts a document if its disclosure would disclose
deliberative matter in the nature of, or relating to, opinion, advice or recommendation obtained,
prepared or recorded, or consultation or deliberation that has taken place, in the course of, or
for the purposes of, the deliberative processes involved in the functions of an agency.
Figures for the 2020-21 financial year are yet to be formally validated, therefore I have
excluded them from the created document. As provided the FOI Guidelines, the deliberative
processes involved in the functions of an agency are its thinking processes.
Where the documents contain factual material, I have, to the extent possible, released all of
the purely factual material in the document in accordance with the FOI Act.
I am satisfied that the information excluded is conditionally exempt under section 47C of the
FOI Act.
Release of documents
The documents for release, as referred to in the Schedule of Documents at
Attachment A,
are enclosed.
Rights of review
Your rights to seek a review of my decision, or lodge a complaint, are set out at
Attachment B.
Should you have any enquiries concerning this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me
by email
at xxx@xxxx.xxx.xx. Yours sincerely
Ausilia Woodhead Assistant Director
Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch
Government Division
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Attachment A
Schedule of Documents for FOI 20/21-0661
Document
Page
Description
Access Decision
Comments
number
number
Total costs incurred by the NDIA for
PARTIAL ACCESS
Document created under
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legal representation at the
section 17 of the FOI Act.
Administrative Appeals Tribunal
Exemption claimed:
(AAT) since 2018-19
s47C – deliberative processes
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Attachment B
Your review rights
Internal Review
The FOI Act gives you the right to apply for an internal review of this decision. The review
will 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
Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch
Government 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 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 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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