NDIA permanent
Dear National Disability Insurance Agency,
I request a copy of all documents that:
1. Contain current advice or guidance or similar on the definition of ‘permanent’ (as used in the Act), and
2. Are not publicly available, and
3. Are not advice et al to a specific individual (for example, an email in response to a question is not included; a reference document in Teams is, even if the reference document is not a formal SOP).
Where a document is in scope the request is for the whole document, not just the portion relating to impairment
I agree to the exclusion of non-SES details and applicant/participant personal information
Yours faithfully,
Me
Thank you for your email to the National Disability Insurance Agency
(NDIA) Freedom of Information (FOI) team.
Please note: due to a high volume of requests, our ability to respond to
you in a timely manner may be affected. We will action your request as
soon as possible and will endeavour to process your matter within the
legislative deadlines. We may need to seek your agreement to an extension
of time. We appreciate your understanding if this is required.
Participant Information
Did you know the NDIA has other ways to access the documents and
information that we hold?
Participants, Guardians and Nominees can obtain copies of some participant
information through our National Contact Centre (NCC). For more
information about what’s available through the NCC, please contact 1800
800 110.
Please visit our [1]Access to Information webpage to find out more about
accessing information through:
* The [2]Participant Information Access (PIA) scheme
* The [3]Information Publication Scheme (IPS)
* The [4]myplace portal for participants
* The [5]myplace portal for providers
Access to Data
You can also request data and statistics. Please visit our [6]Data and
insights webpage page for further information.
If you are able to obtain your information from a source listed above, you
can withdraw your FOI request by emailing [7][NDIA request email]
Further Information
Information about how to make an FOI request can be found on our website:
[8]Freedom of Information
Should you have a query unrelated to FOI, please contact the Agency by
email at [9][email address] or via webchat at [10]ndis.gov.au.
Alternatively, you can also contact us by phoning 1800 800 110.
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.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/policie...
2. https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/policie...
3. https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/policie...
4. https://www.ndis.gov.au/participants/usi...
5. https://www.ndis.gov.au/providers/workin...
6. https://data.ndis.gov.au/
7. mailto:[NDIA request email]
8. https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/policie...
9. mailto:[email address]
10. https://www.ndis.gov.au/
11. mailto:[NDIA request email]
Dear Me
Freedom of Information Request: Acknowledgement
Thank you for your request of 6 March 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:
“ I request a copy of all documents that:
1. Contain current advice or guidance or similar on the definition of
‘permanent’ (as used in the Act), and
2. Are not publicly available, and
3. Are not advice et al to a specific individual (for example, an email in
response to a question is not included; a reference document in Teams is,
even if the reference document is not a formal SOP).
Where a document is in scope the request is for the whole document, not
just the portion relating to impairment
I agree to the exclusion of non-SES details and applicant/participant
personal information
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.
I note that you have agreed to the exclusion of non-SES contact details,
consequently, NDIA staff members’ middle names, surnames and contact
details will be regarded as irrelevant under section 22 of the FOI Act.
Processing Timeframes
In accordance with section 15(5)(b) of the FOI Act, a 30-day statutory
period for processing your request commenced from 7 March 2025. This
30-day period expires on 5 April 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. 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 5 May
2025.
If you do not agree and we are unable to process your request within the
30-day period expiring on 5 April 2025, 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 18 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].
Regards
Mykal
Freedom of Information Officer
Complaints Management & FOI Branch
General Counsel 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
Dear foi,
Ordinarily I would agree to the extension but I would like the documents in the timeframe. I’d prefer OAIC review of deemed refusal to be available in 30 days not 60.
You’re welcome to apply to OAIC for extension but I understand understaffing is not an accepted reason
May I suggest NDIA does not seek an extension, plugs away at it, and hopefully the NDIA decision, albeit out of time, is before the OAIC gets to it
Yours sincerely,
Me
Dear foi,
I have submitted an OAIC review of the deemed refusal ref MR25/00665
Yours sincerely,
Perfectly Normal Applicant
Dear Me
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.
Kind regards
Patrick
Senior FOI Officer
Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch
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
Dear Patrick
[Apologies, I replied to the wrong email. This reply belongs to this request 1472]
Thanks for your email
NDIA has a bad habit of using words contrary to their ordinary meaning. For example, ‘early intervention’ is neither early nor an intervention. My email was not a ‘request for information’ and calling it such is unhelpful.
The letter however is helpful. I agree to revise the scope to add:
“and,
4. The document is a work instruction, or
5. The document is a SOP, or
6. The document instructs staff how to use or apply the word ‘permanent’ from the Act.”
The Rules are relatively clear. The problem is NDIA do not do what the Rules say. Hence a request for unpublished internal documents - a search party for where NDIA is adding non-existent requirements to the Rules to prevent people becoming participants.
Yours sincerely,
Perfectly Normal Applicant
Dear Me,
As per my last email, due to the size of the documents they have been
split across 2 emails, this being Part 2 of 2.
Please contact us at [1][NDIA request email] if you have any questions or
require help.
Kind regards
Patrick
Senior FOI Officer
Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch
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
Dear Me,
Thank you for your request for information.
Please find attached correspondence and documents in relation to your
request. If you require these in a different format, please let us know.
Due to the size of the documents they have been split across 2 emails,
this being Part 1 of 2.
Please contact us at [1][NDIA request email] if you have any questions or
require help.
Kind regards
Patrick
Senior FOI Officer
Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch
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
Dear Patrick
This is great, thank you
Can I request a clarification: are the attachments referred to in the documents also disclosed? I’m having trouble cross checking attachment names/references against the disclosed documents’ titles
Excluding attachments that are already published such as the Rules and operational guidelines
Yours sincerely,
Perfectly Normal Applicant
Dear Perfectly Normal Applicant
Linked documents may have been disclosed in this request or previous
requests on our disclosure log however I have not checked these.
To give you a more direct answer, I have not considered a document linked
within the documents as falling within the scope of your request solely
because it is referenced. The business areas assess documents based on
their content as to whether they fall within the scope of your request. If
we were to consider all linked items within all the documents to fall
within the scope, then it would likely cause a practical refusal reason
for most FOI requests where an applicant has requested this type of
information.
If you would like copies of documents linked within the documents
supplied, this would need to be done through a separate FOI request.
Kind regards
Patrick (PHO293)
Senior Freedom of Information Officer
Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch
Reviews and Information Release Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
E [1][NDIA request email]
[2]NDIA logo
[3]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.
[4]Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags graphic
Dear Patrick
Thanks for getting back to me
Yes every linked document would be huge. I meant to suggest linked/referenced documents that are also directly related to permanence
Were they included / they should be?
Yours sincerely,
Perfectly Normal Applicant
Dear Perfectly Normal Applicant
I am unsure which linked/referenced documents you are referring to.
As an FOI Officer, I do not have access to the documents contained in
those links unless they are supplied to me by the business area, and I
also rely on the business area to conduct searches for all relevant
information.
If you are unsatisfied with the decision, including sufficiency of search,
this may be something you wish to discuss with the OAIC as I understand
this matter is currently with them.
Kind regards
Patrick (PHO293)
Senior Freedom of Information Officer
Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch
Reviews and Information Release Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
E [1][NDIA request email]
[2]NDIA logo
[3]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.
[4]Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags graphic
Our reference: MR25/00665
Agency reference: FOI 24/25-1472
Applicant: Perfectly Normal Applicant
By email: [1][FOI #12891 email]
Agency: National Disability Insurance Agency
By email: [2][NDIA request email]
Further request for documents and information
Dear Parties,
As per the attached correspondence, the applicant has considered the
Agency’s decision of 14 May 2025 and wishes to continue with the IC review
on the basis that they contend the searches conducted were insufficient
and all relevant documents in scope of the review were not located by the
Agency.
In light of this, I request the Agency provides the documents outlined in
[3]Paragraph 4.1 of Annexure A.2 of the Direction as to certain procedures
to be followed by agencies and ministers in Information Commissioner
reviews.
The Agency is required to provide these documents by 1 July 2025.
Kind regards
[4][IMG] Melih Sayan
Assistant Review Advisor
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Sydney NSW | GPO Box 5288 Sydney NSW 2001
P 1300 363 992 E [5][email address]
Notice:
The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #12891 email]
2. mailto:[NDIA request email]
3. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
4. https://www.oaic.gov.au/
5. mailto:[email address]
Dear Perfectly Normal Applicant,
The decision maker who was previously assigned to this matter has had to
step away on unplanned leave.
I have taken over the processing of this matter and have identified the
need for an additional search consult. I have already initiated this
consult, however, to allow time for the line area to provide a response I
have requested an extension until 8 July 2025 from the OAIC.
The OAIC have approved this extension request and have requested that I
reach out to update you regarding the time frames. Please find this email
correspondence below.
We appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.
Kind regards,
Karla
Karla
Assistant Director, Information Access
Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch
Reviews and Information Release Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
Email: [1][NDIA request email]
[2]NDIA logo
[3]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.
From: OAIC - FOI DR <[email address]>
Sent: Friday, 27 June 2025 3:05 PM
To: foi <[NDIA request email]>
Subject: RE: OAIC – Response due 1 July 2025 on [FOI 24/25-1472] –
MR25/00665 Further request for documents [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Our reference: MR25/00665
Agency reference: FOI 24/25-1472
FOI Contact Officer
National Disability Insurance Agency
By email: f[4][email address]
Good afternoon, Karla
We acknowledge your request for an extension of time and for the reasons
outlined in your email below, we have decided to grant an extension until
8 July 2025.
Our preference is for agencies to include the applicant in correspondence
where an extension of time is sought. This allows the applicant to provide
their views on the proposed extension and be informed of expected
timeframes where an extension is granted.
Please update the applicant on expected timeframes for the agency’s
response.
Kind regards
[5][IMG] Rachel McCormack
Assistant Director | Early
Resolution
FOI Case Management Branch
Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner
GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001 |
[6]oaic.gov.au
1300 363 992 |
[7][email address]
[8][IMG] | [9][IMG] | [10][IMG] | [11]Subscribe to OAICnet
newsletter
The OAIC has revised its IC review procedure directions from 1 July 2024.
For more information, including new resources to assist applicants and
respondents, see our webpage: [12]Information Commissioner reviews.
The OAIC acknowledges Traditional Custodians of Country across Australia
and their continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We pay
our respect to First Nations people, cultures and Elders past and present.
[13]Subscribe to Information Matters
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[NDIA request email]
3. https://intranet.ndiastaff.ndia.gov.au/h...
4. mailto:[email address]
5. https://www.oaic.gov.au/
6. https://www.oaic.gov.au/
7. mailto:[email address]
8. http://www.facebook.com/OAICgov
9. https://www.linkedin.com/company/office-...
10. https://twitter.com/OAICgov
11. https://www.oaic.gov.au/media-and-speech...
12. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
13. https://www.oaic.gov.au/engage-with-us/n...
Dear Karla
Sure, not a problem. Thanks for the update
Yours sincerely,
Perfectly Normal Applicant
OAIC reference: MR25/00665
NDIA reference: FOI 24/25-1472
Applicant: Perfectly Normal Applicant
By email: [1][FOI #12891 email]
OAIC
By email: [2][email address]
Dear parties,
Please find attached our submission in response to the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner’s (OAIC) request for further
information for the above IC review.
Perfectly Normal Applicant, please note that if you wish to respond, you
have 10 business days after receiving this email to make a submission to
OAIC. Please reply all so that all parties are included. Further
information can be located within the ‘Notice’ OAIC attached in the below
initial email.
Kind regards
Sussan (SJL495)
Senior Freedom of Information Officer
Information Release, Privacy and Legal Operations Branch
Reviews and Information Release Division
National Disability Insurance Agency
Email: [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.
[6]Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags graphic
From: OAIC - FOI DR <[7][email address]>
Sent: Tuesday, 10 June 2025 12:59 PM
To: [8][FOI #12891 email]; foi
<[9][NDIA request email]>
Subject: OAIC – Response due 1 July 2025 on [FOI 24/25-1472] – MR25/00665
Further request for documents [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Our reference: MR25/00665
Agency reference: FOI 24/25-1472
Applicant: Perfectly Normal Applicant
By email: [10][FOI #12891 email]
Agency: National Disability Insurance Agency
By email: [11][NDIA request email]
Further request for documents and information
Dear Parties,
As per the attached correspondence, the applicant has considered the
Agency’s decision of 14 May 2025 and wishes to continue with the IC review
on the basis that they contend the searches conducted were insufficient
and all relevant documents in scope of the review were not located by the
Agency.
In light of this, I request the Agency provides the documents outlined in
[12]Paragraph 4.1 of Annexure A.2 of the Direction as to certain
procedures to be followed by agencies and ministers in Information
Commissioner reviews.
The Agency is required to provide these documents by 1 July 2025.
Kind regards
[13][IMG] Melih Sayan
Assistant Review Advisor
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Sydney NSW | GPO Box 5288 Sydney NSW 2001
P 1300 363 992 E [14][email address]
Notice:
The information contained in this email message and any attached files may
be confidential information, and may also be the subject of legal
professional privilege. If you are not the intended recipient any use,
disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised. If you received this
email in error, please notify the sender by contacting the department's
switchboard on 1300 488 064 during business hours (8:30am - 5pm Canberra
time) and delete all copies of this transmission together with any
attachments.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #12891 email]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[NDIA request email]
5. https://intranet.ndiastaff.ndia.gov.au/h...
7. mailto:[email address]
8. mailto:[FOI #12891 email]
9. mailto:[NDIA request email]
10. mailto:[FOI #12891 email]
11. mailto:[NDIA request email]
12. https://www.oaic.gov.au/freedom-of-infor...
13. https://www.oaic.gov.au/
14. mailto:[email address]
Dear foi,
Thanks for the submissions
My only further submission is it seems unlikely there’s nothing about ‘permanent’ given it is a compulsory and often contentious assessment criterion
Yours sincerely,
Perfectly Normal Applicant
Dear OAIC - FOI DR,
I received NDIA’s submissions
My only further submission is it seems unlikely there’s nothing about ‘permanent’ given it is a compulsory and often contentious assessment criterion
Yours sincerely,
Perfectly Normal Applicant