Our reference: FOI 20/21-0877
GPO Box 700
Canberra ACT 2601
1800 800 110
ndis.gov.au
10 September 2021
Shirley
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Shirley
Freedom of Information request — Notification of Decision
Thank you for your requests of 12 June 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
As per previous correspondence, under section 24(2) of the FOI Act an agency may treat 2 or
more requests as a single request if the subject matter is substantially the same; therefore, as
previously advised, we have combined your 7 requests into one request.
The scope of your combined request was:
“...Please provide a copy of all NDIA attestation reports for the financial year 2013-14… …Please provide a copy of all NDIA attestation reports for the financial year 2014-15… …Please provide a copy of all NDIA attestation reports for the financial year 2015-16… …Please provide a copy of all NDIA attestation reports for the financial year 2016-117
[sic]... …Please provide a copy of all NDIA attestation reports for the financial year 2017-18… …Please provide a copy of all NDIA attestation reports for the financial year 2018-19… …Please provide a copy of all NDIA attestation reports for the financial year 2019-20…”
On 3 August 2021 the FOI team issued a 24AB request for consultation due to the broad
scope of the request.
On 11 August 2021 you revised the scope of the request to be for the following documents:
“...Please revise the request to a constrained search for all attestation reporting related
to 'risk'…”
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.
I have identified seven documents, which fall within the scope of your request.
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The documents were 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 7 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
Personal privacy (section 47F)
Section 47F of the FOI Act conditionally exempts a document if its disclosure would involve
the unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person (including a deceased
person).
I have identified material in the documents falling within scope of your request which
contains personal information of third parties.
Under section 47F(2) of the FOI Act, in determining whether the disclosure of documents
would involve unreasonable disclosure of personal information, regard must be had to:
a. the extent to which the information is well known;
b. whether the person to whom the information relates is known to be (or to have been)
associated with the matters dealt with in the document;
c. the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources; and
d. any other matters that the agency considers relevant.
Against these criteria, I take the view that:
a. it is apparent from the information that an individual is identifiable; and
b. the information referred to above is not readily available from publicly accessible sources
With reference to the assessment above, it would be unreasonable to disclose publicly this
personal information and is therefore conditionally exempt under section 47F(1) of the FOI
Act.
Public interest considerations – section 47F
Under the FOI Act, access to a document covered by a conditional exemption must be
provided unless disclosure would be contrary to the public interest.
After considering the public interest factors outlined in section 11B(3) of the FOI Act, I have
determined that disclosure of the material identified as subject to conditional exemptions
would provide access to information relating to the applicant. However, I have considered
that:
disclosure of the information would not contribute to the publication of information of
sufficient public interest to justify the likely harm caused by release; and
disclosure of the information would not enhance Australia’s representative democracy in
the ways described in section 11B(3) of the FOI Act.
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While there is limited public interest in the disclosure of information conditionally exempt
under section 47F, the harm that would result from disclosure is that it could reasonably be
expected to affect an individual’s right to privacy by having their personal information in the
public domain.
In summary, I am satisfied that the factors against disclosure of the information outweigh the
factors in favour of disclosure and that, on balance, it would be contrary to the public interest
to release this information to you.
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
Assistant Director
Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch
Government Division
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Attachment A
Schedule of Documents for FOI 20/21-0877
Document
Page
Description
Access Decision
number
number
Risk Management Declaration 2013-14
PARTIAL ACCESS
1
1-2
Exemption claimed:
s47F – personal privacy
Risk Management Declaration 2014-15
PARTIAL ACCESS
2
3
Exemption claimed:
s47F – personal privacy
Risk Management Declaration 2015-16
PARTIAL ACCESS
3
4-5
Exemption claimed:
s47F – personal privacy
Risk Management Declaration 2016-17
PARTIAL ACCESS
4
6
Exemption claimed:
s47F – personal privacy
Risk Management Declaration 2017-18
PARTIAL ACCESS
5
7
Exemption claimed:
s47F – personal privacy
Risk Management Declaration 2018-19
PARTIAL ACCESS
6
8
Exemption claimed:
s47F – personal privacy
Risk Management Declaration 2019-20
PARTIAL ACCESS
7
9
Exemption claimed:
s47F – personal privacy
4
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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