Our reference: FOI 20/21-0884
GPO Box 700
Canberra ACT 2601
1800 800 110
ndis.gov.au
13 September 2021
Shirley
By email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Shirley
Freedom of Information request — Notification of Decision
Thank you for your 3 requests of 13 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 3 requests into one request.
The scope of this combined request is:
“..Please provide a copy of the business continuity management and plan test
conducted during the financial year 2018-19 [1]…
Please provide copies of the NDIA’s Risk Committee’s Minutes of Meeting for the
financial year 2018-19, cited in the NDIA 2018-19 Annual Report [1]...
Please provide a copy of the NDIA’s risk management strategy for the financial year
2018-19, cited in the NDIA’s Annual Report 2018-19 [1].…”
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 4 documents which fall within the scope of your request.
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.
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I have decided to:
grant access to 1 document in full; and
refuse access to 3 documents in full.
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;
relevant case law concerning the operation of the FOI Act;
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.
Documents 1 to 4 within the scope of your request contain deliberative matter in the form of
opinion, advice and recommendations recorded in the form of minutes of discussions held by
NDIA Board Members during Board meetings, which, if disclosed, would have a detrimental
impact on the way that the Board carries out its statutory functions.
As provided the FOI Guidelines, deliberative processes involved in the functions of an
agency are its thinking processes.
I have also considered whether the documents within the scope of your request contain factual
material that could be provided to you as part of this decision. I have decided that, to the extent
that the documents contain factual material, it is so embedded with the deliberative matter that
the remaining material would be of little value.
I am satisfied that documents 1 to 4 are conditionally exempt under section 47C of the FOI
Act.
Public interest considerations – section 47C
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
promote the objectives of the FOI Act.
However, I consider that, while there is limited public interest in the disclosure of information
conditionally exempt under section 47C, the harm that would result from disclosure is that it
could reasonably be expected to:
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interfere with the effectiveness of the NDIA Board’s deliberative processes, which
require members to have confidence in the confidentiality of their discussions to
support an open dialogue;
reduce the ability of the NDIA Board to obtain frank advice unaffected by the
possibility of disclosure that might harm third party interests or the administration of
the NDIS;
have a significant adverse effect on the management of the NDIS through skewing,
disengagement or other unintended effects arising from the early disclosure of
information that may be taken as indicating the future direction of the NDIS prior to
any concluded position being reached; and
significantly inhibit the ability of the NDIA Board to efficiently and effectively carry out
its statutory functions as a result of reduced confidence that confidential deliberations
will not be made public.
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 document for release, as referred to in the Schedule of Documents at
Attachment A, is
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
Carolyn Assistant Director FOI
Parliamentary, Ministerial & FOI Branch
Government Division
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Attachment A
Schedule of Documents for FOI 20/21-0884
Document
Page
Description
Access Decision
number
number
Meeting minutes
REFUSED ACCESS
1
-
August 2018
Exemptions claimed:
S47C – deliberative processes
Meeting minutes
REFUSED ACCESS
2
-
November 2018
Exemptions claimed:
S47C – deliberative processes
Meeting minutes
REFUSED ACCESS
3
-
February 2019
Exemptions claimed:
S47C – deliberative processes
Risk Management Strategy
FULL ACCESS
4
1-10
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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