IME/Expert witness payments to Dr Kenneth Maclean for matters at the AAT/ART
Dear National Disability Insurance Agency,
Dr Kenneth Maclean has been engaged by the NDIA as an 'Independent Medical Expert' to provide expert advice and reports, and to also appear as an expert witness, in a number of Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) / Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) matters.
I request the following information:
1) The number of AAT/ART matters where the NDIA has engaged Dr Maclean (regardless of whether these matters reached the stage of a hearing or not).
2) The total amount of payments made by the NDIA to Dr Maclean for all his services for these matters.
Please incorporate within your response to items (1) and (2), all ART/AAT matters where the NDIA has engaged this expert directly, and also indirectly via any external law firm. That is, if an external law firm has engaged the expert on behalf of the NDIA for a matter, and has made any payments to the expert on behalf of the NDIA for that matter, this information should be included in your response.
Please note that, regarding the total amount of payments in item (1), I only request a single total figure. I do not request that the payments be broken down for each individual AAT/ART matter. Copies of payment invoices and the like are also not requested.
Yours faithfully,
David Wright
Thank you for your email to the National Disability Insurance Agency
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Kind regards
Freedom of Information Team
Complaints Management & FOI Branch
General Counsel Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
E [11][NDIA request email]
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 David Wright
Thank you for your request of 26 February 2025, made under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), for information held by the National
Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).
Scope of your Request
You have requested access to:
“ 1) The number of AAT/ART matters where the NDIA has engaged Dr Maclean
(regardless of whether these matters reached the stage of a hearing or
not).
2) The total amount of payments made by the NDIA to Dr Maclean for all his
services for these matters.”
I note that you requested identical data in a previous FOI request FOI
24/25-0466 which you made on 5 October 2024.
We released a document to you in response to this FOI request on 17
January 2025.
This document is now publicly available on our disclosure log. Could you
please confirm by reply email whether you are only seeking new data dating
from 6 October 2024 to the date of this new FOI request (26 February
2025)?
If you are unsatisfied with our response to your previous FOI request,
your best option is to ask the Office of the Information Commissioner
(OAIC) to review it, not to lodge another identical request.
Would you like to withdraw this request and instead seek an OAIC review of
FOI 24/25-0466?
If you would like to withdraw it, please respond to this email by COB
Monday 17 March 2025.
Irrelevant Information
Section 22 of the FOI Act allows an Agency to redact information from
documents if that information would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant
to a request for access.
Given the nature of your request, it does not seem that NDIA staff
members’ surnames and contact details would be relevant to you. Can you
please send me a reply email confirming that such details are irrelevant
to your request for access?
Processing Timeframes
In accordance with section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act, a 30-day statutory
period for processing your request commenced from 27 February 2025. This
30-day period expires on 28 March 2025.
The 30-day period can be extended in a number of ways, including with your
agreement.
Unfortunately, it is currently taking us a little longer than 30 days to
process FOI requests due to a very high volume.
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 28 April 2025.
If you do not agree and we are unable to process your request within the
30-day period, we will be deemed to have refused your request and you will
not have a right to seek internal review of that decision. You will,
however, retain your right to external review by the Australian
Information Commissioner.
Please let us know if you agree by Monday 17 March 2025.
Disclosure Log
Subject to certain exceptions, documents released under the FOI Act will
be published on the NDIA’s disclosure log located on our website.
If you have any concerns about the publication of the documents you have
requested, please contact me.
Next steps
Your request will be allocated to an authorised FOI decision-maker. 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
Brett
Freedom of Information Officer
Governance, Risk & Legal – Complaints Management & FOI
General Counsel Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
E: [2][NDIA request email]
[3]Title: NDIS delivered by the National Disability Insurance Agency
[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
-----Original Message-----
From: David Wright <[FOI #12875 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 26 February 2025 6:12 PM
To: foi <[NDIA request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - IME/Expert witness payments to
Dr Kenneth Maclean for matters at the AAT/ART
[You don't often get email from
[6][FOI #12875 email]. Learn why this is
important at [7]https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]
Dear National Disability Insurance Agency,
Dr Kenneth Maclean has been engaged by the NDIA as an 'Independent Medical
Expert' to provide expert advice and reports, and to also appear as an
expert witness, in a number of Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) /
Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) matters.
I request the following information:
1) The number of AAT/ART matters where the NDIA has engaged Dr Maclean
(regardless of whether these matters reached the stage of a hearing or
not).
2) The total amount of payments made by the NDIA to Dr Maclean for all his
services for these matters.
Please incorporate within your response to items (1) and (2), all ART/AAT
matters where the NDIA has engaged this expert directly, and also
indirectly via any external law firm. That is, if an external law firm has
engaged the expert on behalf of the NDIA for a matter, and has made any
payments to the expert on behalf of the NDIA for that matter, this
information should be included in your response.
Please note that, regarding the total amount of payments in item (1), I
only request a single total figure. I do not request that the payments be
broken down for each individual AAT/ART matter. Copies of payment invoices
and the like are also not requested.
Yours faithfully,
David Wright
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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[8][FOI #12875 email]
Is [9][NDIA request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
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If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
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Dear Brett
FOI 24/25-0466 was a request for information in relation to four expert witnesses. The reason given for refusing to provide some of this information to me was that the work required to extract it would be an unreasonable diversion of resources. At no point did the FOI unit discuss with me options for reducing the scope of my request to make it more manageable.
Accordingly, I have now submitted a new FOI request here, which is different to FOI 24/25-0466, in that it only seeks the information in relation to one of the four expert witnesses, thereby effectively limiting the scope of FOI 24/25-0466.
Please process my request separately from FOI 24/25-0466.
If the FOI unit considers that the scope of the current request is too large, please present options on how it might be limited.
I confirm that NDIA staff members’ surnames and contact details are irrelevant to my request for access, and that I agree to a 30-day extension of time, making the new due date for you to decide on my request 28 April 2025.
Thank you
David Wright
Dear David Wright
Thank you for your request for information.
Please find attached correspondence in relation to your request. If you
require this in a different format, please let us know.
Please contact us at [1][NDIA request email] if you have any questions or
require help.
Thank you.
Kind regards
Kate
Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch
Reviews and Information Release Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
E: [2][NDIA request email]
[3]Title: NDIS delivered by the National Disability Insurance Agency
[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
-----Original Message-----
From: David Wright <[FOI #12875 email]>
Sent: Thursday, 13 March 2025 2:14 PM
To: foi <[NDIA request email]>
Subject: Re: FOI 24/25-1404 – Your request for information –
Acknowledgement & Extension of Time [SEC=OFFICIAL]
[You don't often get email from
[6][FOI #12875 email]. Learn why this is
important at [7]https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]
Dear Brett
FOI 24/25-0466 was a request for information in relation to four expert
witnesses. The reason given for refusing to provide some of this
information to me was that the work required to extract it would be an
unreasonable diversion of resources. At no point did the FOI unit discuss
with me options for reducing the scope of my request to make it more
manageable.
Accordingly, I have now submitted a new FOI request here, which is
different to FOI 24/25-0466, in that it only seeks the information in
relation to one of the four expert witnesses, thereby effectively limiting
the scope of FOI 24/25-0466.
Please process my request separately from FOI 24/25-0466.
If the FOI unit considers that the scope of the current request is too
large, please present options on how it might be limited.
I confirm that NDIA staff members’ surnames and contact details are
irrelevant to my request for access, and that I agree to a 30-day
extension of time, making the new due date for you to decide on my request
28 April 2025.
Thank you
David Wright
-----Original Message-----
Dear David Wright
Thank you for your request of 26 February 2025, made under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), for information held by the National
Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).
Scope of your Request
You have requested access to:
“ 1) The number of AAT/ART matters where the NDIA has engaged Dr Maclean
(regardless of whether these matters reached the stage of a hearing or
not).
2) The total amount of payments made by the NDIA to Dr Maclean for all his
services for these matters.”
I note that you requested identical data in a previous FOI request FOI
24/25-0466 which you made on 5 October 2024.
We released a document to you in response to this FOI request on 17
January 2025.
This document is now publicly available on our disclosure log. Could you
please confirm by reply email whether you are only seeking new data dating
from 6 October 2024 to the date of this new FOI request (26 February
2025)?
If you are unsatisfied with our response to your previous FOI request,
your best option is to ask the Office of the Information Commissioner
(OAIC) to review it, not to lodge another identical request.
Would you like to withdraw this request and instead seek an OAIC review of
FOI 24/25-0466?
If you would like to withdraw it, please respond to this email by COB
Monday 17 March 2025.
Irrelevant Information
Section 22 of the FOI Act allows an Agency to redact information from
documents if that information would reasonably be regarded as irrelevant
to a request for access.
Given the nature of your request, it does not seem that NDIA staff
members’ surnames and contact details would be relevant to you. Can you
please send me a reply email confirming that such details are irrelevant
to your request for access?
Processing Timeframes
In accordance with section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act, a 30-day statutory
period for processing your request commenced from 27 February 2025. This
30-day period expires on 28 March 2025.
The 30-day period can be extended in a number of ways, including with your
agreement.
Unfortunately, it is currently taking us a little longer than 30 days to
process FOI requests due to a very high volume.
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 28 April 2025.
If you do not agree and we are unable to process your request within the
30-day period, we will be deemed to have refused your request and you will
not have a right to seek internal review of that decision. You will,
however, retain your right to external review by the Australian
Information Commissioner.
Please let us know if you agree by Monday 17 March 2025.
Disclosure Log
Subject to certain exceptions, documents released under the FOI Act will
be published on the NDIA’s disclosure log located on our website.
If you have any concerns about the publication of the documents you have
requested, please contact me.
Next steps
Your request will be allocated to an authorised FOI decision-maker. 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
Brett
Freedom of Information Officer
Governance, Risk & Legal – Complaints Management & FOI
General Counsel Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
E: [2][NDIA request email]
[3]Title: NDIS delivered by the National Disability Insurance Agency
[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
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[8][FOI #12875 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[9]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
**********************************************************************
IMPORTANT: This e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and
may contain information that is confidential, commercially valuable and/or
subject to legal or parliamentary privilege. If you are not the intended
recipient you are notified that any review, re-transmission, disclosure,
dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon,
this information is prohibited and may result in severe penalties. If you
have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender immediately
and delete all electronic and hard copies of this transmission together
with any attachments. Please consider the environment before printing this
e-mail
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References
Visible links
1. mailto:[NDIA request email]
2. mailto:[NDIA request email]
4. https://intranet.ndiastaff.ndia.gov.au/h...
6. mailto:[FOI #12875 email]
7. https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific...
8. mailto:[FOI #12875 email]
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Dear National Disability Insurance Agency,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of National Disability Insurance Agency's handling of my FOI request 'IME/Expert witness payments to Dr Kenneth Maclean for matters at the AAT/ART'.
The decision letter provides the following reason for refusing the document:
'The NDIA does not hold any information regarding if or when Dr Maclean was engaged for their opinions at any AAT/ART matters by external law firms. Therefore, the NDIA is unable to produce a document containing the information you have requested.' The letter adds that 'any documentation on the number of and specific costs associated with the engagement of Dr Maclean by an external law firm on behalf of the agency would be held by these external firms', and that 'I consider there are reasonable grounds to be satisfied that documents containing the information you seek do not exist.'
I do not accept this, for the following reasons:
1) For all AAT/ART matters where external law firms have engaged this expert, it would have done so only on specific instruction of the agency, which is the Respondent in these Tribunal matters. There would be no circumstances where a law firm engaged the expert without the knowledge and approval of the agency.
2) Such approval to engage the expert would in all instances be documented, such as in agency AAT/ART case files, and/or in itemised invoices from law firms to the agency for the payment of the expert's services. An example of such information being available to the agency, and released in response to another FOI request, is contained in FOI 24/25-0493. This directly contradicts your claim that the agency does not hold such information, and that documents containing the information I seek do not exist.
3) In correspondence following my earlier FOI request 24/25-0466 (available here - https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/i...) the reason given by the agency for refusing the requested information was that 'Whilst law firms may itemise expert witness/medical costs as part of their invoice, this level of detail is not captured in the Agency’s matter management system, LEX.' This clearly indicates that the information IS available to the agency, but just needs to be manually extracted from itemised invoices. Again, this directly contradicts the reason given in response to my current FOI request, that the agency does not hold such information, and that documents containing the information I seek do not exist.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/i...
Yours faithfully,
David Wright
Good afternoon David,
Freedom of Information Internal Review Request: Acknowledgement
Thank you for your request of 8 April 2025 , made under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (FOI Act), for an internal review of the decision
made for FOI matter 24/25-1404.
Processing timeframes
A 30-day statutory period for processing your request commenced from 9
April 2025. You should therefore expect a decision from us by 8 May 2025.
Further Help
Please contact us at [1][NDIA request email] if you have any questions or need
help with this FOI matter.
We will contact you using the email address you have provided. Please
advise us if you would prefer us to use another means of contact.
Kind regards
Mackenzie
Triage Officer – Triage and Early Resolution
Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch
Reviews and Information Release Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
[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.
-----Original Message-----
From: David Wright <[FOI #12875 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 8 April 2025 5:30 PM
To: foi <[NDIA request email]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - IME/Expert
witness payments to Dr Kenneth Maclean for matters at the AAT/ART
Dear National Disability Insurance Agency,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information
reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of National Disability
Insurance Agency's handling of my FOI request 'IME/Expert witness payments
to Dr Kenneth Maclean for matters at the AAT/ART'.
The decision letter provides the following reason for refusing the
document:
'The NDIA does not hold any information regarding if or when Dr Maclean
was engaged for their opinions at any AAT/ART matters by external law
firms. Therefore, the NDIA is unable to produce a document containing the
information you have requested.' The letter adds that 'any documentation
on the number of and specific costs associated with the engagement of Dr
Maclean by an external law firm on behalf of the agency would be held by
these external firms', and that 'I consider there are reasonable grounds
to be satisfied that documents containing the information you seek do not
exist.'
I do not accept this, for the following reasons:
1) For all AAT/ART matters where external law firms have engaged this
expert, it would have done so only on specific instruction of the agency,
which is the Respondent in these Tribunal matters. There would be no
circumstances where a law firm engaged the expert without the knowledge
and approval of the agency.
2) Such approval to engage the expert would in all instances be
documented, such as in agency AAT/ART case files, and/or in itemised
invoices from law firms to the agency for the payment of the expert's
services. An example of such information being available to the agency,
and released in response to another FOI request, is contained in FOI
24/25-0493. This directly contradicts your claim that the agency does not
hold such information, and that documents containing the information I
seek do not exist.
3) In correspondence following my earlier FOI request 24/25-0466
(available here -
[5]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...)
the reason given by the agency for refusing the requested information was
that 'Whilst law firms may itemise expert witness/medical costs as part of
their invoice, this level of detail is not captured in the Agency’s matter
management system, LEX.' This clearly indicates that the information IS
available to the agency, but just needs to be manually extracted from
itemised invoices. Again, this directly contradicts the reason given in
response to my current FOI request, that the agency does not hold such
information, and that documents containing the information I seek do not
exist.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on
the Internet at this address:
[6]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Yours faithfully,
David Wright
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[7][FOI #12875 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[8]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
**********************************************************************
IMPORTANT: This e-mail is for the use of the intended recipient only and
may contain information that is confidential, commercially valuable and/or
subject to legal or parliamentary privilege. If you are not the intended
recipient you are notified that any review, re-transmission, disclosure,
dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon,
this information is prohibited and may result in severe penalties. If you
have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender immediately
and delete all electronic and hard copies of this transmission together
with any attachments. Please consider the environment before printing this
e-mail
**********************************************************************
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[NDIA request email]
2. mailto:[NDIA request email]
4. https://intranet.ndiastaff.ndia.gov.au/h...
5. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/i...
6. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/i...
7. mailto:[FOI #12875 email]
8. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...