Good Afternoon Bob,

 

We are writing to advise your request for information is not a valid FOI
request under s15 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982, and as such we
are unable to commence processing it.

 

For your request to be valid it must:

 

o state that the request is an application for the purposes of the FOI
Act

 

As such, if you would like your request to be processed under FOI could
you please copy and paste the below statement into a reply email.

 

"Could you please process my request under the Freedom of Information Act
1982."

 

Once we receive confirmation in writing we will begin to process the
request.

 

Unfortunately, if we do not receive this from you, the FOI team will be
unable to process your request and the inquiry will be closed.

 

Further information can be found on our [1]Freedom of Information webpage.

 

Should you have any questions please contact us at [2][NDIA request email].

 

Kind regards,

 

Bree

Triage Officer – Triage and Early Resolution

Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch

Reviews and Information Release Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

[3][NDIA request email]

[4]NDIA logo

[5]LGBTIQA+ rainbow graphic

The NDIA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to them and their cultures and to Elders past, present
and emerging.

 

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Dear Bob Buckley, 

 

Freedom of Information Request: Acknowledgement & Extension of Time
Request

 

Thank you for your request of 21 October 2025, made under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), for copies of documents held by the
National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).

 

Scope of your Request

 

You have requested access to: 

 

“In your recent response to FOI 25/26-0132 you provided a table in
response to part 2 of the request showing

2. the most recent reporting of the numbers of NDIS participants with
"mild autism" as their primary disability broken down by age or age
groups,

 

And you included cost data requested in part 3 of that request. I very
much appreciate your response to that request.

 

I hereby request the summary of autistic NDIS participant numbers (autism
is primary disability type) as at 30 June 2025 in the same age bands for
three separate bands of NDIS "levels of functioning" where the bands are
1-5 (as in the FOI 25/26-0132 response), 6-10, and 11-15.

Please also include the average committed supports and the 12-months
payments data in each summary.

 

Rather than providing them in PDF format, please provide them in CSV or a
MS Excel format." 

 

Processing Timeframes

 

In accordance with section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act, a 30-day statutory
period for processing your request commenced from 22 October 2025. This
30-day period expires on 20 November 2025. 

 

The 30-day period can be extended in a number of ways, including with your
agreement.  

 

Extension of Time Request:

 

Unfortunately, it is currently taking us a little longer than 30 days to
process FOI requests due to a very high volume of incoming matters. I am
therefore seeking your agreement to a 30-day extension of time under
section 15AA of the FOI Act. If you agree to this extension, the new due
date for us to decide on your request will be 20 December 2025.  

 

Please let us know if you agree by 5pm Thursday 20 November 2025.

 

Explanation of Extension of Time Request:

 

The reason I am seeking an extension of time is to ensure I preserve your
review rights under the FOI Act.  

 

FOI applicants are normally entitled to exercise a right of internal
review if they are unsatisfied with the outcome of an FOI decision.
However, this right of review lapses if a FOI decision is not made within
the statutory timeframe. This is because if an agency doesn’t issue their
decision within the statutory timeframe, they are deemed to have refused
the request for documents. If this situation happens, it will limit your
options for formal review to only contacting the OAIC. 

 

You are not obligated to agree to this request, you would still retain
your review rights with our regulatory body OAIC (Office of the Australian
Information Commission). 

 

 

Action Required

 

Can I please request a response regarding our request for a 30-day
extension of time, by 5pm Thursday 20 November 2025.

 

Next steps

 

I have completed some preliminary work on your request; however, your
matter will be allocated to an authorised FOI decision-maker for any
further action. The decision-maker may need to contact you to discuss a
range of matters, including refining the scope of your request.  

 

We will contact you using the email address you have provided. Please
advise if you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact. 

 

In the meantime, if you have any questions or need help, please contact us
at [1][NDIA request email]. 

 

Kind regards,

 

Beau

Freedom of Information Officer

Information Access and Privacy
Reviews and Information Release Division

National Disability Insurance Agency

E [2][NDIA request email]

[3]NDIA logo

[4]LGBTIQA+ rainbow graphic

The NDIA acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout
Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to them and their cultures and to Elders past, present
and emerging.

[5]Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags graphic

 

 

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